For my monthly wrap up this month I want start by taking the time to say a huge thank you to all of you who have ever read a post on my blog, or liked, or commented; to all of you who have share a post that I’ve written on social media; to all of you who have clicked to follow my blog. I have been blogging now since the end of August this year and never expected that anyone would read it. I started my blog because I needed a project, something fun to focus on, and a book blog seemed the perfect thing for a bookaholic like me.
I made it my aim to post something book-related every day and I think I’ve just about managed to keep to that. Mostly I write reviews but I also have my own bookish memories series, I join in with a couple of weekly memes, and I always do a weekly and monthly wrap up post as well. Since the end of August my blog has had almost 1200 visitors, over 2800 views and it has over 600 followers from various places. Last week I earned my Net Galley badge for Top Reviewer, which was a lovely surprise and a real confidence boost.
Through book blogging I have achieved something for me again, I have found something that I can do for myself and I don’t have the words to explain how big a deal that is for me right now (but trust me, it’s a huge deal!). To find that people are reading and sharing my blog posts has given me such a much-needed lift and I am so incredibly grateful.
Thank you so much!
Anyway, on with the books!
I read eighteen books in October and have reviewed seventeen of them (Please click the titles to read the reviews). The list is in the order I read them.
Dying to be Slim by Abby Beverley
Six Poets: From Hardy to Larkin by Alan Bennett
The Lies We Tell by Meg Carter
Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain
The Broken Hearts Book Club by Lynsey James
The Good Neighbor by Amy Sue Nathan
13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough
The Girl with no Past by Kathryn Croft
One Wish in Manhattan by Mandy Baggot
Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses by Jenny Hale
Get Yourself Organized for Christmas by Kathi Lipp
Snowflakes on Silver Cove by Holly Martin
The Record Store of the Mind by Josh Rosenthal
What We Left Behind by Robin Talley
Merry Mistletoe by Emma Davies
Written in the Scars by Mel Sherratt
The Little Bookshop on on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin (my review will be on my blog tomorrow as it’s my stop on the blog tour!)
This month’s reading has reminded my of two of the best things about being a reader and a book blogger:
(1) Discovering authors you’ve not read before and enjoying their book so much you feel compelled to buy all of their previous work right away! This month this happened to me FIVE times!! I read Mandy Baggot, Claire Seeber, Lynsey James and Emma Davies for the first time and have now bought just about all of their previous books. I also read my second Holly Martin book, which just confirmed what a fabulous writer she is and now all of her books are on my Kindle waiting to be read soon too!
(2) When an author you are a massive fan of releases a new book! Mel Sherratt’s new book, which was just released on Friday, is the fourth in her Estate series and I loved it (review here). I have read all of her previous books and they’re all completely brilliant! I bought and read Taunting the Dead back when it was self-published, and have been a huge a fan from that point on!
Which books did you read in October? Have you found any new-to-you authors? Please share with me in the comments below (and feel free to leave a link back to your own blog).
RatherTooFondofBooks 
Wow, you’ve done very well with the blogging! My first year of blogging was pretty much a lot of not much…LOL. (2008-2009). Then it all picked up and has continued to do so.
Enjoy! I loved Pretending to Dance and The Good Neighbor…and now I’m eyeing The Little Bookshop on the Seine.
Thanks for sharing…and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
Oh, and I think it’s great you discovered WordPress right away…once I did, blogging became more fun for me.
Thank you so much! 🙂 I needed a project so have thrown myself into this blog, I really enjoy it. The Little Bookshop on the Seine is a gorgeous novel, I loved it – my review of it will be on my blog tomorrow. I’ll go look at your weekly update now 🙂
I am impressed with both the number of books you read and that you reviewed almost all of them! That’s amazing!
Thank you. I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment so I’m getting through lots of books. I’m really enjoying reviewing a book once I’ve read it so it’s becoming second-nature now to do it.
That’s great! I used to try to review every single book, but sometimes I just can’t figure it out haha. I did pretty good this month with reviewing all but two that I read, but that’s unusual for me.
That’s great that you reviewed all but two books. I find it helps me to write down my thoughts about a book as soon as I finish it (or as I go along if I remember) and then it’s just a matter of making my notes into a coherent review. I also like to have at least a rough review written before I start reading a new book so that my thoughts on two books don’t end up jumbled together.
I agree with that. If I don’t write a review write away I probably won’t write one. Especially if I start another book first.
You are the Master; I bow down to thee! I am really impressed that you not only read a huge number of books, but that you were able to find time to review almost all of them? Wow, just Wow! I know what you mean about doing something for yourself, I find doing my blog distracts me from the things I can’t control that I would otherwise fret over. Here’s to your continued world dominance!
Haha! Thank you so much! 🙂 My blog is such a big focus for me at the moment, I put all my energies into it as I need the distraction. It’s been so good for me to have this.
Holy cow, that’s a lot to read in one month. Well done. I also started my blog as a side project and to keep track of my thoughts of books. It’s so fun and I love “meeting” other bookworms.
I love getting to know other bookworms and book bloggers too. 🙂 It was a great reading month for me, I don’t think I usually read quite so many books!
Well done for doing so well in terms of both reading and reviewing – as for blogging each day, big kudos. Also pleased to hear it’s making you feel you have your own little corner of the world, your own project. Keep it the way you want it to be instead of following trends or even the best online advice! I wish you the very best on this journey!
Thank you so much, I really appreciate that. I’m very much enjoying what I’m doing with my blog and am thrilled that people want to read it. x
I’m so glad to hear your book blogging experience has been so wonderful. Congrats on being a top reviewer! Hope your November goes just as great!
Thank you so much!
Eighteen books read is amazing! I wish I could read that many books a month, lol!
It was a very good reading month, I’m not sure I’ll ever manage it again! I wish I could read like this every month though, it’d be amazing.
I really want to try Holly Martin, her books sound great! I may check them out in December, since they seem like they could be perfect for Christmas!
http://dualreads.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/october-wrap-up-november-tbr.html
Yes they’re both very Christmassy and would be perfect to read in December. I hope you enjoy them if you decide to read them 🙂