Sparkling Letters Monthly Recap: October 2016

Can you believe we’re already at the end of October??? Time is flying unbelievably fast this year! I can’t believe we’ll reach 2017 soon! ♦♦♦ This month has been very productive yet unproductive at the same times. Like I did a lot of super absurd and useless things but I also did a lot of productive things? 😛 Without further ado, let’s see what I’ve been up to this month ♥

• I’m STILL job hunting but currently at the very final selection process and I’m nervous and excited at the same times!! I can’t help feeling optimistic because I’ve made it this far and I believe in myself but I also don’t want to get my hopes up too high because I’m afraid of being disappointed if I don’t get it 😦 but I WANT THIS JOB SO BAD! :’) wish me another luck? ♥
• I’ve been spending my time binge watching some k-dramas 😛 I re-watched my favorite series Descendants of the Sun, started Signal but gave up mid series because it was too boring for my taste, and started & finished W-Two Worlds which was FABULOUS ♥ if you love k-drama and enjoy something cheesy & twisty, W is the answer! The plot is just so unique and the chemistry between the lead characters are so undeniable 😛
• I was thinking of learning a new language! I want to continue learning French since I had already learned the basic back in high school and Korean (haha) because apparently watching k-drama could familiarize someone with the language 😛 but my mom said Chinese, what do you think? But I don’t think I’m ready to learn any language that has its own letters though… that would be super difficult :’)

It’s safe to say that October is definitely my worst reading month so far </3 I normally read around 10 books each month but I only managed to read 4 😦 remember that time when I read Vassa in the Night and absolutely disliked it? Well… that book kind of killed my mood for reading and I ended up not reading anything for a week afterward 😦 I started a lot of books but I was too lazy and distracted to finish any of them. These are four that I managed to finish and they are great! ♥

• Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (5/5), which is my ULTIMATE FAVORITE because it’s just so so so good! Great plot, unpredictable twist, precious characters, and so. much. feels! </3 I can’t recommend this book enough! 😛 Full review here.
• Twisted Palace by Erin Watt (4/5). The conclusion to my most guilty-pleasure read of ever! The drama was a bit too much, but I loved it anyway 😛 I also wrote a discussion about the problematic aspects of the entire Royals series as an entry for #CritYourFaves
• A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab (4.5/5). As fabulous and unpredictable as before, but so much slower! I’m still loving it and can’t wait for book three! ♦ Full review here.
• Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven (3/5). I had a mixed feeling about this book. While I loved the story, I wasn’t really into the female protagonist and the romance, so… there. Full review here.

On the brighter side, I bought so many books this month! Like, way too many! 😛 It was a lot more than I usually buy each month :’) here are my October haul ♦

I’ve also ordered Gemina but it STILL hasn’t arrived yet 😦 it’s on its way so it’ll probably arrive this week. I absolutely can’t wait to read it! ♥ anyway, I haven’t read most of these books but I’m planning to real soon 😀

I was on a bit of a blogging slump earlier this month. Actually it was more that I’ve got no time than the mood. I was busy with some more important stuffs and I felt guilty spending time on the blog… I was so behind on comments and tags and I’m so sorry! :’) I always want to reply genuinely so it might take longer for me to reply comments. But you are all amazing and please don’t stop commenting or tagging or nominating me for awards 😛 Since I was also on a reading slump, I almost ran out of things to post because no books means no reviews </3

Anyway, is there any specific post or topic that you want me to talk about? I’m completely open to suggestions! ♥

My favorite posts this month :

• The Struggle of An International Bookworm
• It’s NOT COOL to Hate on Books You Haven’t Read
• My Reading Kaleidoscope Part 2

My most popular posts this month :

• The Struggle of An International Bookworm
• How Book Blogging Changed the Way I Read
• It’s NOT COOL to Hate on Books You Haven’t Read

All around the blogosphere ♥

• Jordon @ Simply Adrift discloses 6 things that make her want to read a book blog
• Fadwa @ Word Wonders wrote a thought-provoking post about access to books
• Briana @ Pages Unbond was wondering whether we could run a book blog without book reviews
• Cait @ Paper Fury listed down some fabulous foodie fiction recommendation that will leave you craving for foods
• Lauren @ Wonderless Reviews shared her experience on blogging burn out and some suggestions on how to overcome it
• Reg @ She Latitude talked about things that make her remove books from her TBR

This month was also a blast on instagram ♥ I joined the #BookishRainbow16 challenge and it was so fun and filled my feeds with beautiful, colorful photos! I also met a lot of new-to-me bookstagrammers and some of them are from Indonesia!! Ahh it always feels good to meet a fellow Indo book blogger or bookstagrammer because we are so rare 😛

Go ahead & follow me if you haven’t 😛 @sparklingletters_

I also participated on a couple of twitter chats this month! I know this might seem like not that big of a deal, but it is actually a big deal for me 😛 my number #1 problem with twitter chat is time because I live in GMT+7 so whenever a twitter chat is hosted by someone living in US, I almost never be able to participate. It would be either too late or too early on my timezone :’)

So that’s my October recap, everybody! How about yours? Anything interesting?  Link me to your own recaps or just tell me! Would love to hear your thoughts! ♥♥

OH, and if there’s any specific topic you want me to talk about on the blog, do tell me. I need more ideas 😛

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