November Wrap Up: Burn Out, Glorious Bookishness & Confusing TV

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 Hi, guys! So, November was a pretty awful month and I’m glad to see it go!

Work has been horrendous and we have been scrabbling around, totally behind the game spending most of our time putting out fires. I have been feeling utterly burnt out. BUT WHO WANTS TO TALK ABOUT THAT??? I don’t, I’ve already lived it!

Here are some of the highlights from this month – there are actually more positives than I thought!

  • I came across some Beatrix Potter 50p coins after buying some food and had a total nerd out. I love Beatrix Potter and used to read all the books when I was younger, so I was surprised to look down at my change and find both Tom Kitten and Jeremy Fisher staring back at me! They’re now in pride of place on my bookshelf! (You can view the collection here.)
  • I went to a new Turkish restaurant which essentially specialises in meat platters. It was fantastic and they had the biggest portions I’ve ever seen!
  • I treated myself to a book haul and all the covers are so beautiful I COULD CRY.
  • I received my first ever book subscription box from illumicrate. I’ve been so tempted to get one of these for a while, but with most being £30 a pop it’s not exactly an impulse buy. But this month I decided to treat myself, damn it! It was so fun having a mystery box full of goodies to open, and it had a book enclosed that I’ve been desperately coveting for the last couple of months! If you’re interested to see what was in it, you can view my instagram story (it’s on my highlights)!

What were your personal highlights this month?

November book haul.jpgNovember illumicrate box

books read

November Book Wrap Up 18

Total Books Read: 3 | ARCs: 1| Books from a Series: 2

Frostbitten | ★★★★| Comments: I love the Women of the Otherworld series, it rarely lets me down. Frostbitten is book 10 and the werewolf characters are back with a bang! Elena and Clay have grown a lot since we last checked in to them, their relationship has reached new depths and levels of understanding, and they’re now older and trying to adjust to the fact that they’re not quite as spritely as they used to be. Their positions in the pack are also shifting into something new. I loved this!

Shadow of the Fox | ★★★1⁄2| Comments: This was a really fun, action-packed diverse fantasy novel with a gorgeous Asian setting and cool mythology! It’s definitely one of the most unique books I’ve read this year!

Kingdom of Ash | ★★★★| Comments: This was a very satisfying end to the Throne of Glass series, but it was bittersweet having to say goodbye to all the characters I had grown to love! Now I need to get started on the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. 🙂

What did you read this month?

film and TV watched

November 2018 film and tv .jpg

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina | ★★★| Comments: This Sabrina reboot confused the heck out of me. The basic premise of the story stayed the same (Sabrina having to choose between the human world and the witch world) but in this version, all witches worship Satan and there are a lot more dark spells and blood going around. On the one hand, I thought the girl who played Sabrina was absolutely brilliant, and her outfits were to die for, but on the other hand, this was just too random for my taste. I kind of got on board by the end? If you’ve seen this, I would love to discuss in the comments!

The Greatest Showman | ★★★| Comments: This was just okay for me. I have a feeling if I had watched this when I was younger I would have been UTTERLY OBSESSED. At 24, it was good but a bit cliche. It held my attention for the first half and then I drifted. The songs A Million Dreams and Rewrite the Stars are new faves though!

Killing Eve | ★★★★★| Comments:  Oh wow, this series BLEW MY MIND. It’s about a psychopathic female assassin and the team trying to capture her. It’s a BBC production and a seriously dark comedy. The acting was phenomenal. If you take one rec from this post, make it this one!!!

Black Panther| ★★| Comments: I didn’t like this at all, which makes me sad. I’ve spoken about my love-hate relationship with Marvel before – a lot of them don’t do much for me, so this is a probably down to me as opposed to the film itself! There just weren’t enough funnies and the character development was thin (which is a regular Marvel complaint I make!)

Wonder | ★★★★★| Comments: Based on the bestselling book of the same name about a boy with a deformed face from birth, this film was utterly feel good, adorable, well acted and made me cheesy grin x 1000! I also liked how it looked at the whole family units different reactions to a difficult situation.

The Crimes of Grindelwald | ★★★|Ufft. How to rate this one? I was not a fan of the first film, and while I enjoyed this one a lot more while I was watching it, it’s hella problematic and the character development was STILL wafer thin, so I have a feeling the rating would drop on a rewatch. This is a wrap-up, so I can’t go into it too much, but the pros were all the HP links such as Nicolas Flamel and getting to go back to Hogwarts (sob) but the cons were badly handled gay Dumbledore, breaking canon and timelines, and Nargini only having like TWO LINES IN THE WHOLE FILM. Check out this blogger and this Mugglenet post for more details and excellent rants!

What did you watch this month?

product of the month

ampersand-oliver-bonas.jpg

This month I’m loving my gold metal ampersand from Oliver Bonas. This shop is one I LOVE browsing in but as its a) mostly homeware and I don’t have my own house to fill with its goodies and b) it’s quite expensive, so I never normally buy anything! For about 3 years everytime I went in, I’d stroll over to their pretty golden letters, admire them, and walk back out again thinking they were too pricey, but this time I decided to treat myself! I picked the ampersand because it reminds me a) of reading, and b) that there’s always a ‘next’ – a next good day, a next good book, a next adventure! It also goes perfectly on my bookshelf. 😉

posts published

Reviewing Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J MaasShadow of the FoxJulie Kagawa guest post

Blogs Posted: 3 | Book Reviews: 2

Most Popular:  Spoiler Free Review of Kingdom of Ash

elsewhere on the blogosphere

Untitled design

Let’s Chat!
How was the month of November for you? What have you been reading, watching and discovering? Do you have your Christmas decorations out yet? Let me know in the comments!

Becky the Bookaholic

35 thoughts on “November Wrap Up: Burn Out, Glorious Bookishness & Confusing TV

  1. November seemed more liked Never-ender to me. The month seemed to last forever, and was very expensive (Small fortune on a new hob! Christmas and birthday presents!)

    I thought the contemporary soundtrack on The Greatest Showman might date it in a few years, but we’ll see…my review for it is out on the 14th. 😉
    Black Panther is next on my watch list!

    • Ugh, agreed, that is the perfect way to describe it! Gutted that you had to fork out so much money for a hob that could have gone on nicer things. 😦

      The Showman soundtrack actually felt very Disney-esk to me with its sweeping music and playfulness, so I think it will stick around for a while!

      I hope you enjoy Black Panther more than I did! I’m often in the minority with Marvel so hopefully, that will be the case. 😀

  2. Thanks for this post, Becky! I’m sorry your November was horrendous. I hope December treats you better! I was so excited to read about your personal, bookish rewards though. I know how you feel! On a particularly awful day, I only have to browse my local book store for those nasty feelings to melt away and I feel a little better. Lol.
    Love your staged book pics! The new “Shadow of the Fox” one with that gorgeous spray of red blossoms is my fav.

    • November was not the best, I cannot lie! I hope yours was better than mine! I’ve got a few events I’m looking forward to in December, so I’m sure it will be MUCH better. 😀
      Books are almost a guaranteed cure for a bad day (as long as it’s a good book) they take you to a completely different place and all your worries fade away.

      Thank you so much! They were from my bookstagram. Do you have an instagram account? If so let me know because I’ll give you a follow. 🙂 There’s a Shadow of the Fox with red blossom spray edges?!?! HOW HAVE I NOT SEEN THIS?!?! *GOOGLES IMMEDIATELY*.

    • Thank you, Marilyn. I hope yours was better! Onwards and upwards for December though, I’ve got a few things I’m looking forward to this month. 🙂

      Well done for getting your decorations started. Ours have made it out of the loft, but they’re still in their boxes! Decorating will be the goal of this week I think. 🙂

      Thanks for visiting and reading!

  3. Oh, i absolutely loved the new Sabrina! ❤
    It was nothing like the old show, but it still kinda worked for me. The atmosphere, creepy vibes… even the music. 🙂

    • I wish I could have loved it more but I just felt so confused while watching it! I think maybe I might enjoy it more with a rewatch now that I know what to expect? I did love the creepy vibes, the camera work, the outfits, EVERYTHING except the actual story which I couldn’t quite make my mind up about.

  4. Hi again😉

    How awesome that you got your first bookish subscription box! Those are so fun🙂 I love watching unboxings and discovering what’s inside! I’ve never tried one out myself though. They’re usually not the cheapest and I’m scared I won’t like the book. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll give them a go some time in the future.

    I’m going to see Crimes of Grindelwald in the cinema soon and I kind of don’t want to anymore. I’m more going for a good time with a friend than for the movie if that makes sense. I’ve just heard really bad things and I’m dreading all the problematic elements.

    That ampersand is beautiful! It looks really good on your shelf🙂

    I just want to end by saying how kind it is of you to shout some people out each month!

    • Hello! Thank you for hopping over to my blog. 😀

      I had exactly the same concerns as you regarding bookish subscription boxes, they ARE expensive when you don’t have a lot of disposable income which is why I have never gotten one until now. The great thing about illumicrate is that it’s quarterly, and as I understand it, you can opt out of ones you decide that you don’t want. I was certainly happy with my first crate, so hopefully, that will continue. 😀

      Ah man, that’s the really bad thing about the internet sometimes, you can know so much about a book or movie before you get a chance to read or see it and decide for yourself. I must admit, I went into the movie with low expectations. I hope you enjoy the time with your friends at the very least!

      Awh, thank you so much! I feel like blogging can feel like a bit of a thankless task sometimes or like shouting out into the ether, so I think it’s so important that we support each other and spread the love. 😀 ❤

      • It was my pleasure!

        That’s awesome about Illumicrate. I might actually consider this one!

        I agree! I’m going in with low expectations as well, hoping it’ll be better than I expected. Thanks, I hope I have fun too🙂

        You’re welcome! I agree! ❤

  5. I’m sorry work wasn’t the best for you this past month but at least we have books to save us 😊

    I love gushing over the covers of the books I have recently brought. I have the constant need to stare at them for a while after I have got them 😂

    I have always wanted to get a subscription box as well. They look so fun 😊 I’m glad you liked yours.

    I read Kingdom of Ash in November too– I can’t believe it is over– all the emotions!! And I need to pick up shadow of the fox soon- it sounds really good.

    I hope you have a great December and I haven’t got my decorations out yet. I need to get round to it 😂

    • YES, THANK THE BOOK GODS. 😀
      I love obsessing over gorgeous book covers too, the ones I got in my recent haul were especially drool-worthy and I can’t stop stroking them!
      I’m so glad I gave the subscription box a go, I would highly recommend it! I already can’t wait for the next one to come through in a few months.
      I feel kind of lucky because although I’ve finished Throne of Glass series now, I still have Maas’s other series that I haven’t even started, so I won’t go completely cold turkey. 😀 I would recommend Shadow of the Fox, it was great fun!

      Thank you so much! I just cracked open the decs box today. Good luck with yours. 🙂

      • Indeed 😂
        Haha it has to be done– book covers are eye candy!!
        That’s good that you would recommend the subscription box. It nice that they give you something to look forward to.
        Haha that’s true. I have read the other series but I have the novella to read yet so I have something 😂 I hope you enjoy the series 😊
        Ok that’s good. *adds shadow of the fox to basket* 😂
        Very nice. Thank you– I will get the Christmas music playing loud as well 😊

    • I’m glad it wasn’t just me!! :’D … and I mean that in the NICEST way possible! LOL.
      The shipping makes a MAJOR difference with the subscription boxes, right? I looked at Owlcrate first and the shipping amount was madness. Luckily, I also knew of illumicrate which was based in my country so shipping was cheaper. Hopefully, as subscription boxes become more popular there will be more set up in different countries making them more accessible.

      Thank you so much for visiting and reading my blog!

  6. I really hope that December will be better for you, I’m sending you tons of positive vibes ❤
    In good news though, yay for getting all of these gorgeous books and an Illumicrate! I always want to get a bookish box but I never do, because the shipping is too expensive and I am nervous not to like what's inside, too, hahaha 🙂
    I get your frustration about The Crimes of Grindelwald, I liked seeing Hogwarts again, but there were so many problematic and bothering things, I just… I don't know how I could rate that movie haha 🙂
    I hope you'll have a lovely December! xx

    • Thank you so much! I’ve got a few things in December I’m really looking forward to, so hopefully, it will be a lot better!
      The shipping for subscription boxes makes such a big difference to the overall cost, it’s such a shame! I feel like there should be some kind of bookish awesomeness exception. 😀 I was really lucky because illumicrate is based in the UK which means the shipping is not too bad, but I am very aware that I am very privileged to have that available to me.
      I almost cried seeing Hogwarts on the big screen again, I felt so emotional! Shame about the rest.
      Thanks, back at ya. 😀

      • Agree! I wish there was a magical… something that made shipping costs disappear, because they’re SO terrible for us international bloggers. It makes me so sad sometimes.
        SAME HERE ahhhh, all the emotions at seeing Hogwarts again. I miss it so much haha. ❤

      • It must be so tough being an international blogger! I do really empathise because living in the UK, I used to feel like it was so unfair that US bloggers got so many opportunities! Now, the UK seems to have caught up quite a lot when it comes to ARCs, we even have our own book festival now. I really hope your side of the pond catches up soon, every country should have bookish opportunities and with the community growing, I’m sure it will happen soon. 🙂

  7. November wasn’t the best for me either, but I’m SO HAPPY that you liked Shadow of the Fox and Kingdom of Ash! They’re definitely on my list of favorites I read this year. ❤ I also really have been wanting to watch the Wonder movie. The book gave me all the wonderful feels, and I can't wait to see it in movie format! 🙂

    • So glad to hear your enjoyed Shadow of the Fox and Kingdom of Ash too. 😀
      I watched Wonder on Netflix, so if you have an account (or a friend with an account) that’s probably the best way to watch it. Hope you enjoy!

      Thanks for taking the time to read and comment 😀

  8. BECKYYYYYy! YOU ARE TOO KIND TO ME. *Sobs happily* Thank you for linking up to my post and for your super kind words. ALSO, this post was super fun to read!!!! I’ve never heard of the Women of the Otherworld series, bUT DANG BOI. TEN BOOKS??? That’s quite the series! I feel accomplished if I’m able to stick with a trilogy. I think knowing a series was ten books long would make me feel stressed haha. But it seems that you like them a lot, so that’s good!

    Anyways, I’m sorry that you had such a horrible month. I’m sending you all the good vibes and I hope you have a wonderful December!

    • I AM NOT BECAUSE YOU ARE AWESOME. I am just the right amount of kind. 😀 😀

      I’m so glad you enjoyed reading this post. I can honestly say I didn’t realise how long the Women of the Otherworld series was going to be when I first picked it up – long series can be quite intimidating! However, the books are super easy to read and are about 300 pages. I have a feeling when I reach the end of the series I will be crying for more. :’D They also follow a lot of different characters so they can be almost like stand alone supernatural mysteries that just slightly link up.

      Thank you for the good vibes, December is fairing better for me already so fingers crossed!

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