#Might make some mini dabbles for this duology

[thebookishgoddess]

ELLA’S MONTHLY WRAP-UP: SEPTEMBER 2018

I’m not going to lie. September was a slow month for reading, in my most honest opinion. Mainly because I’ve only just gotten used to my work schedule. And lo’ and behold, that schedule changes right into October. Life’s never really simple in this industry I work in--making it hard for me to read my beloved books. But it’s not to say it hasn’t been a great month overall! I’ve received a few amazing books from some close bookish friends, and I can’t wait to share it with you all!

Also, September was the month of The 39th Manila International Book Fair here in the Philippines and let’s just say it’s been a semi-blast (mostly because I didn’t get to see my #LadyBirds because arghhh work), but it was fun because I got to go with two of my co-workers! More on that in this wrap-up, so let’s get right into it!

So if you guys followed my August Wrap-Up, you all know I just got a job last month and it was super new to me. It still feels a bit new even after a month of working for the industry I’m in. It’s not the first time I worked in this industry, but it is the first time where I managed to get a decent dayshift--just very crappy rest days. But overall, I’m slowly getting used to it, and the whole month of September working in my job just proves that I just needed time to adjust to it.

And adjusting to work also meant adjusting my reading schedule. Let me tell you, it has not been easy. The best I could do on a regular work day is read my books/listen to my audiobooks during break time or when there’s no work to be done on a particular day. I mostly do my reading on my rest days, though two days really isn’t enough to read as many books as I wish in one go. Ya girl’s gotta get her decent shut eye at some point.

But less into that, and more into some of the actual bookish things that’s happen this month!

39TH MANILA INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR

September was, as I’ve mentioned in the intro, the month for The 39th Manila International Book Fair. It is the biggest book fair in the country to date, the closest we can get to a YALLFest or BEA here, mainly. I normally go with friends to this yearly event, though sadly, with my schedule being Thursdays to Mondays, I only managed to go on the first day of the event (which was on a Wednesday). But it’s not to say I didn’t have fun!

I went to MIBF with my co-worker, RB, and my Team Leader, Ces. You guys could not believe my delight when I heard that a few people at work loves to read books as much as I do. The moment I told them there was a book fair, they were stoked to come with--and am actually surprised they’ve never heard of it before.

We went on the first day (Wednesday) and bought just a few books because we were into the second week after payday so we had very few funds to start with! Here’s my mini MIBF haul:

Mini MIBF Haul: An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir & A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

I was so frustrated because Book Binge Bazaar happened on a day when I was at work. Luckily, I was able to go because the BBB at MIBF is up until 12 midnight. I come out at 8 in the evening, and I just knew I had to go to the BBB event even if I was only left with leftover books after a whole day of bookworms hoarding every P175 book they can find. I managed to get three for myself, one each for my co-worker and Team Leader, and one for my little brother.

Mini BBB Haul: The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead, The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid and The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine.

It was not a lot, but it felt good to at least get a few books from this amazing sale!

BOOK TRADE WITH BOOKISH FRIENDS

After the big #BookishWish event on Twitter had slowly died out into September, I thought that it shouldn’t end this way. So I started up a little trade train on my Twitter account. Granted, I was only able to offer up two books from my pile--but I was happy to give those two books new homes.

I was also able to receive one of the books on my #BookishWish, plus a lil’ gift from one of my #LadyBirds friends from the BBB event that I wasn’t able to get much into.

I traded out my copy of These Rebel Waves with #LadyBird Shai (@themeanderingsoul) for her Throne of Glass copy. Then I traded my Don’t Look Back with #LadyBird Angel (@whimsy_wanders) for her Beauty Queens copy.

Mini Book Trade Haul: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas & Beauty Queens by Libba Bray.

And a little (or not so little, considering how big this hardcover was) post-birthday gift from one of my #LadyBirds, Ailla (@MioneJeanPotter)! She snagged me a gorgeous hardcover of A Court of Misty and Fury from the BBB event. I cannot thank her enough for this precious copy!

Post-Birthday Gift: A Court Of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Last, but not the least though, the last #BookishWish granted from the event. The Scorpio Races PLUS a little Matthias Helver from the Six of Crows Duology magnetic bookmark from one of my closest and dearest friends in college, Clare (@thebookishpoppet)! I traded my copy of An Ember In The Ashes (one that I got from Shai) over to hers because she wanted to read it after she saw how I raved about it. I’m super excited for her to dabble into the beauty that is the Ember Quartet.

#BookishWish: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

BOOKS READ THIS MONTH

Adjusting to this month with my reading was very difficult, so I was only able to read a handful of books. I mostly just finished the rest of the ACOTAR books and decided that I will do one reread this year of the amazing Harry Potter series.

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Now, you guys may be wondering why I haven’t written a review for the ACOTAR books yet, especially since I’ve expressed several times that I enjoyed reading this series and even went as far as to purchase merch for it.

The honest answer? I was too lazy to write one out. I had planned on writing a review for ACOTAR the moment I finished it, but September was a difficult month to get book reviews out.

Will I ever write a book review for the books? Probably not. My thoughts for the books are long overdue. But to give an overall impression of the books, let’s just say that I absolutely enjoyed all of it. Also, ACOFAS is lowkey not canon because that book was a disaster POV wise and plot wise. I think majority of the fandom can agree with me on that. But I do look forward to more ACOTAR books! I have all three of the series’s books (not intending to buy ACOFAS at all lmao), so that says a lot. I am excited to see where Maas takes the rest of these characters to. I heard there were going to be spinoffs for each character/ship, so we’ll see!

When will you start reading new books? Riiiiight after I finish Harry Potter. I wanted to cheat on my Goodreads a little bit after I made a bloody fool of myself by changing my reading stats of 30 books to 50 books, so I must pay the price. But I will say that I’ll get into Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco right after! I just purchased the book on my second salary and I’ve been tempted the whole way home to read it. But I have to wait just a little more for it.

SEPTEMBER BOOK HAUL

It’s an amazing month for filling up my bookshelf! I can’t thank my friends, MIBF and BBB enough for lessening my shelf space. To be honest, my bookshelf is more of a book trunk at this point. I’m still asking my dad to make me a bookshelf. He said he might have one made for on Christmas, so we’ll see!

Thanks for tuning in to my little rambles for September’s wrap-up! I look forward to writing something out for this blog again, especially with NaNoWriMo looming ever closer. But that’s another story to tell right before October ends.

Happy October and autumn, everyone!