My Goings On in November:
I won NaNoWriMo!!!- I got really depressed over certain events toward the beginning of the month (that I won’t rehash now).
- But I won NaNoWriMo!!
- I started reading two new manga series, and I’m loving both of them.
- I probably did some other things, but the real news is …
- I won NaNoWriMo!! (And my first draft of my book is nearly done.)
Most Popular Posts:
This month was really weird for traffic. My number one post was A Spoiler-Filled Discussion of Three Dark Crowns, which was posted at the end of September, but it was my most popular post of October AND November. I actually kind of love this because I had so much fun writing this post! I want to see everyone’s thoughts on the book!! (I’m still getting comments on that post too, so it’s fun!)
Then I had a weird nonexistent page (/sharebutton.to) that I’ve never seen before get a ton of hits. I don’t know what this is or what it means. Any ideas?
After that, two other old posts that got a lot of hits. Then my Sunday posts. Considering I didn’t put much up in the way of discussions, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but the numbers still struck me as funny. Sometimes you just can’t predict how these things are going to go!
Other Features & Discussions:
Sunday Un-Post
A NaNoWriMo Update
Why I’m So Thankful for the Book Blogging Community
November Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-up
My 2016 Reading Progress:
I’m past my 2016 goal! (But don’t be fooled—my number jumped a lot this month because of several manga books I read.)
November 2016 Reviews
I knew this month would be slow with NaNoWriMo. But I loved so many of these books!
- Bloodmoon by Aurora Whittet | Review | Rating: 4/5
- Red Winter by Annette Marie | Review | Rating: 4.5/5
- The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid | Review | Rating: 5/5
- Heartless by Marissa Meyer: Audiobook Review | Review | Rating: 5/5
- The Lost Codex by Heather Lyons | Review | Rating: 4/5
- One Snowy Night by Jill Shalvis| Review | Rating: 3.5/5
- Scythe by Neal Shusterman | Review | Rating: 5/5
- The Stranger Game by Cylin Busby | Review | Rating: 4/5
- What Light by Jay Asher | Review | Rating: 3.5/5
November Best of the Bunch:
Have to go with Scythe. Basically, Neal Shusterman is a genius and he can do no wrong in my eyes. (Though both The Diabolic and Heartless were also excellent.)
Reading Challenges:
Status: 37/49 Discussions posted
Not many discussions this month, but that’s okay.
Why I’m So Thankful for the Book Blogging Community
A NaNoWriMo Update
Introducing My NaNoWriMo Novel
A Recap of the YA Lit Conference & Fandom Frenzy
I Don’t Do Scary (But Books Don’t Scare Me).
I Have Giveaway Guilt!
I’ve Been Known to Go Off on a Tangent … Or Two.
A Spoiler-Filled Discussion of Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
A Spoiler-Filled Discussion of Me Before You: Book and Movie
What Do You Think of Goodreads’ New Look?
Sex and Violence in YA Books: Is There a Difference?
How Reading Can Help Us “See” Hidden Disabilities
My Foray into Anime and Manga
Audiobook Acceleration
I Dream in YA!
The Perils of Growing a Bigger Blog
Is Celibacy Shaming a Thing?
Fun with Spam!
#BEA16 Day One Wrap-Up & Giveaway!!
#BEA16 Day Two Wrap-Up & Jennifer Niven Holding Up the Universe Giveaway!!
#BEA16 Day Three Wrap-Up and Giveaway
Do Stats and Reports Help You?
Do Author Bios Ever Make You Want to Read a Book?
BEA is Coming Soon! What You Need to Know. (BEA Tips)
A Completely Useless (but kind of fun) Bookish Infographic
The Series Dilemma
Sometimes You Just Need to Disappear for a Little While
How Much Do You Read?
The Fine Line Between “Inspired By” and “Copycat”
Can Book Blogging Lead to a Job
Some Books Just Aren’t All That Memorable
Books that Intimidate Us
2015 End of Year Book Survey
Replying to Comments on Older Posts
What Blogging Has Done to My Bookshelves
What Type of YA MC Would You Be?
Culling the TBR
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Feed Your Fiction Addiction & It Starts at Midnight
Status: 6/5 Books Read
None this month!
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Shooting Stars Mag
Status: 17/12 Books Read
Red Winter takes place in Japan and features all Japanese characters and Japanese folklore.
Also, I’m not counting this one for the challenge, but I wanted to point out that Scythe has a really interesting take on futuristic race—everyone is a blend and the goal is to achieve a good balance of races in your heritage (yes, it’s an actual goal).
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Chasing Faerytales & Read Sleep Repeat
Status: 12/21-30 Books Read
I got nothin’. Sigh.
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Chapter Break, Second Run Reviews & Bookworm Brandee
Status: 6/12 Series Finished
I finished the Bloodmark Trilogy this month.
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Love at First Page
Status: 7/9-10 New Series
Nothing this month.
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Lisa Loves Literature
Wrap-Up Round-Up!
Don’t forget to link your November wrap-up posts up to the Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up! And check out the giveaway, which will be posted over at Paved With Books on the 8th!
You’ve been doing a lot this month – Nano so it is just amazing that you did anything else with that!
It was a bit crazy, but I kept up pretty well. I’m happy with how November went!
Congrats on NaNo and passing your Goodreads challenge. Even with manga, I’m hugely impressed that you’ve read 182 books. How do people read so fast?!
I’m just a quick reader, I think. I can often read a book in a day–if it takes me more than two or three it feels like a LONG reading process to me. LOL!
Congrats on NaNo! I’m impressed you read so much alongside it as well. I won NaNo, but my my reading and blogging definitely took a bit of a slide this month!
Yeah, I definitely didn’t get a whole lot of blogging done this month. But that’s okay–it was worth it!!
You so rocked NaNoWriMo! Congrats on that Nicole! I hope whatever had you down early in the month has been resolved. Or that you at least have some peace with it. I have never read any manga… wouldn’t even know where to start. I’ll be interested to see what you’re reading soon!
I just started reading manga a little while back, and I got some great suggestions from people on my blog. I’ve really been enjoying the two series I’m reading right now!
Congrats on your NaNoWriMo win!
Looks like you read a lot of awesome books this last month! I love the cover of Scythe and am looking forward to checking it out sometime! I’m going to try really hard to get back into the discussion posts for Dec. 🙂
Happy readings!
I didn’t manage to post many discussions in November either – hopefully I’ll be back in the swing of things now in December!
Congrats again on winning NaNo! I think you read quite a bit for writing all month long, especially with some of the longer books.
-Lauren
Thanks, Lauren!! I was pleased with everything I managed to accomplish in November!
You won NaNo!!! Congrats!! Awesome job on GR challenge this year. Have a great December!
Thanks so much, Grace!
Congratulation on winning NaNoWriMo!! It is a huge achievement to actually finish writing a book <3 and yessss most of the times we can't predict what post would be a hit! I'm so excited to read Scythe and The Diabolic, they sound so promising and I've seen a lot of bloggers raving about them. I'm going to read Heartless immediately after I finish my current read, so happy to see you give it five stars <3
Congrats again on winning NaNo!! Sounds like you had a busy month too! You’ve definitely sold me on Scythe…even though I knew I wanted to read it before your review, now I NEED it 😀 Happy December Nicole ♥
You always get so much read. I have no idea how you do it! Congrats on winning at NaNoWriMo again, that just makes you super woman.
Amazing amount of books you read! I hope to read Scythe soon. I read the first chapter and loved it so now I have to get a copy. Wish list!
You are zooming along on your reading challenges and even on your busy months you read so many books, wow! Here’s hoping you can fit the books into December that you were hoping to read this year. ❤
I only read four books :(,congrats
That’s okay! I’m a fast reader so it’s pretty typical for me to read this many.
Heartless is so good
I definitely have to agree with you there!
I’ve been in the same boat as you! A few years back, my Goodreads progress was insane, until I got a reality check when I realized that a good chunk of that was from novellas and manga. They still count, though, right?! ?
I think they still count—at any rate, I want to keep track of them, so I’m not changing anything. I just have to realize that some of my Goodreads count is inflated because of that. Either way, I hit way above my goal, so I’m happy.