Sparkling Letters Monthly Recap: November 2016

Hello everyone, can’t believe it’s the end of the month already! ♥

Time flies so fast and we’re about to begin December soon! I am sooo excited because December is my birth month and I know you guys out there are also excited because it’s Christmas and snowing 😀 Without further ado, let’s see what I’ve been up to this month ♦♦♦

• I received a really upsetting news around mid November and I admit I was crushed </3 It was unexpected. I was sad and my mom seemed pretty sad too but she tried to cheer me up. Didn’t work honestly… but I did drown myself in loud & sad music, ate a lot of ice cream, and read some heartbreaking books. I’m fine now 🙂
• On the brighter side, our cat gave birth to 5 adorable little kittens ♥ The kittens were born on November 4, so they’re almost a-month-old as for now 😀 Two of them are males and the rest are females. Their names are Jack, Archy, Nala, Kimba, and Dory. Here’s a picture of their happy family! ♥

• We just installed iflix (it’s basically a local version of netflix) and I’ve been binge watching A LOT of tv shows ever since 😛 I started Teen Wolf and Supernatural and re- watched my favorite episodes of How I Met Your Mother and New Girl. But one show that obviously got me hooked was Brooklyn Nine Nine! I thought it was a serious-cop show but it turned out to be really really funny 😛 I watched all the episodes including the most recent one.

You might remember that October was my worst reading month this year. Thankfully, November turned out to be one of the best! 😀 I read a total of 18 BOOKS and that was a lot on my standard ♦ but what really made me happy is that I read books from a variety of genres and topics!

Books I Read 

YA CONTEMPORARY. I read a lot of contemporaries this month. I also intentionally seek out books involving mental illness and safe to say that I’m happy with my reads. They’re all really accurate and realistic!

• Made You Up by Francesca Zappia (4/5). Realistic portrayal of schizophrenia + strong & unreliable MC + cute romance = a great contemporary read!
• The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner (5/5). Two words : SO GOOD! I cried so much my head hurts. Just read it! my review.
• Highly Illogical Behaviour by John Corey Whaley (4/5). This book successfully pleased me by dealing with tough issues in a light way ♥ my review.
• Whisper to Me by Nick Lake (4/5). Suuuch a good surprise! One of the most realistic book I’ve ever read. my review.
• The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis (5/5). A very important book dealing with the issue of rape culture. It’s brutal, heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, and highly recommended. There’s no label on Alex’s disorder, but I’m pretty sure it is a mental illness, probably a personality disorder? my review.

I also read some great, non-related to mental illness contemporaries ♥

• Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum (5/5). Not at all what I expected but really amazing! Sweet, adorable romance with a weirdo love interest 😛
• Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway (3/5). I know the title AND the cover are as bland as white sheets but the story isn’t that boring at all! So funny, plus there’s a good best friend romance ♥
• A Week of Mondays by Jessica Brody (4/5). A perfect light read if you’re in the mood for something sweet and magical.

NA ROMANCE. I was never into new adult romance because of a ridiculous reason : THE COVERS! They always have naked men on the cover. Sometimes they’re really, really muscular. And even worse, sometimes there’s oil glistening their bodies. Ugh, as if the muscles aren’t bad enough?? Point is, I feel uncomfortable collecting books with said covers, let alone reading them in public :’) HOWEVER, I was curious and decided to try one and now I’m kind of addicted >.<

• The Off-Campus Series by Elle Kennedy. I did finish the entire series. Sue me 😛
  • The Deal (4/5). The best of all 4 books ♥
  • The Mistake (4/5). Classic playboy meets innocent girls, but executed well.
  • The Score (4/5). Fun characters are fun 😉
  • The Goal (3/5). Started off really well but kinda went downhill </3
• Faking it by Cora Carmack (3/5). Honestly? Kind of mediocre. Guy’s too good to be true.
• Tangled by Emma Chase (4/5). I loved this! Fun workplace banter resulted in a realistic yet adorable/hot romance 😛

SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY. Surprisingly, my favorite genres are the ones I read the least this month :’) I was so deep in my contemporary binge and didn’t want to break the streak. But I read some really good ones ♣

• Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (4/5). Amazing plot but the characters aren’t as amazing as I expected. Still hung up on Kady & Ezra, I guess… my review.
• Vicious by V.E. Schwab (5/5). SO PHENOMENAL! Probably my favorite Schwab’s books of all ♥ my review.
• Unicorn Tracks by Julia Ember (2/5). Such an original idea but sadly the execution was weak 😦 my review.
• The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan (4/5). Better than I expected but still no Percy 😛 Sassy, funny, and diverse characters ♣ my review will be up in the next few days!

November Haul

I don’t know if it’s true or just a happy coincidence, but I think Book Depository has improved their shipping time! The Serpent King arrived ONLY 13 days after I placed my order and Highly Illogical Behaviour arrived after 17 days. Which is a lot faster because they usually take at least 21 days for shipping. I seriously hope this is true >.<

And here are my November hauls! ♦♦♦

I’m so pleased to say that November might be my best blogging month so far! 😀 Not only stats-wise, but also the fact that I was in great spirit and had some awesome, original ideas for the blog 😛 I felt happy and I really want to keep this mood ♥

My favorite posts this month :

• 6 Reasons WHY You Should Write Discussion Posts + Tips & Tricks to Nail Them
• The Roles of Family in Young Adult Fiction // A LOT of Book Recommendations!
• 10 Bookish Pet Peeves I Can Not Get Over From

My most popular posts this month :

• MY Double Standard in Rating Books: Do You Do This Too?
• Should I Freak Out When Real Life Friends Read My Blog?
• The Roles of Family in Young Adult Fiction // A LOT of Book Recommendations!

All around the blogosphere ♥

• Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight was wondering whether social media competence equal blog success.
• Briana @ Pages Unbound shared some tips on how to write more blog posts without reading more books. 
• Reg @ She Latitude shared some tips on time management for bloggers.
• Ashleigh @ A Frolic Through Fiction talked about whether book blogging & book tube have become more competitive 
• Molly @ Molly’s Book Nook shared how Bloglovin became her BFF & how to use it. 
• Fadwa @ Word Wonders shared some reasons why reviews are less popular than other post.
• Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books was wondering whether being original is a must for book bloggers.

This month was a good month on instagram as well ♦ I added fake flowers as a new prop and it kinda changed my whole aesthetics! So vibrant ♣ I like it but I miss my old one, it was calmer and had more space… but I love these flowers. What do you guys think about it?!! Go ahead & follow me if you haven’t 😛 @sparklingletters_

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

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