Monthly Wrap-Up: November

Blog-wise, November has been the busiest month of this year for me - as well as the most rewarding throughout the time I've been blogging. All of this is down to Anti-Bullying Blog Week, a week full of interviews, guest-posts and people sharing their experiences of bullying; all set to make some small steps toward beating bullying. I am so proud of what the week achieved, and will be planning further Anti-Bullying events in 2014. I can't quite believe we are into December already; this year has gone so quickly! I've just started contemplating my 'Books of the Year' list and what will be on them - as well as planning a wish-list for Christmas. It feels strange to be doing it all-over-again.

 

School Display Wall!

I think I should begin here by thanking - once again - everyone who made my November by participating in ABBW. It meant so much to me that so many people got involved, and I'm excited about where this could go in the future. One of my favourite moments of the week was when I saw a Tweet that mentioned the fact the Coke-Bottle Theory had made it's way onto a school display-wall in Guernsey. Not only that, but my blog is a QR code so, pupils there can scan it with their phones and be lead to my blog - which is amazing! Another favourite part of the week was Bloggers on Bullying. It was great to see as many bloggers that got involved willing to share their experiences - as it's a brave thing to do - and I got a load of tweets that day which made me cry(mostly happy-tears, of course!) and emails too!

 

November may have also been the month I finally saw Catching Fire, and I can't wait to see it again! It was so true to the books, and very emotional, with the Special Effects really bringing the Quarter Quell Arena alive. We had some brilliant additions to the cast and Jennifer Lawrence really does make tears pour down your face. I won't lie and say it was perfect, as I did have some problems with it. One of these was that I missed the main focus being Katniss and her story; I felt like it cut-away from her a few too-many times. Even so, the main aspects of the story were there and I went from laughing over a certain scene with Johanna, to sobbing because of Effie Trinket. The focus on Post-Traumatic Stress was a part I absolutely loved - it was such a wise addition on Francis' behalf. The ending has got me already waiting in anticipation for Mockingjay; that was incredible!

 

Reading-wise, November wasn't my best month. I managed to read 'Fearsome Dreamer' by Laure Eve, which I absolutely adored. Eve created a World and characters I loved so much, it became one of the best Fantasy/Dystopia novels I have read this year. Although not a full-length book, I also read 'Finding Your Inner Cherokee' by Siobhan Curham, as this was one of my main inspirations for Anti-Bullying Blog Week. I got an early-copy and my review is featured within one of the first pages of the e-short, which you can download. This is one of the most exciting things that happened during last month, as, when I opened up my Kindle and went to download the book, that review was also in the Product Description! Even though I didn't finish many, I started reading both 'Allegiant' by Veronica Roth and 'Secrets and Spies: Treason' by Jo Macauley During December, I'm determined to hit a goal of forty books for the year - as well as finish the majority of my review-books. The books I'm planning to read include:

1. The rest of Allegiant - Before I began reading, I had heard really bad criticism on this novel but, I am really liking it and am gripped. Four's narrative is not as strong as Tris', but the storyline and plot has so many twists in it. I've heard the ending is upsetting, to say the least, so am beginning to prepare the tissues!
2. The rest of Secrets & Spies: Treason - I didn't really know what to expect from this, but I'm loving it! It's spine-chilling, and has an edge to the whole novel. I'm very excited about finishing this one!
3. My Brilliant Life and Other Disasters by Catherine Wilkins - I had this for review in September and haven't been able to read this yet...something I will be working on this month!
4. Leopold Blue by Rosie Rowell- I received this today in the post and think it looks brilliant! Set in 1993, in South Africa, this is very different compared to previous books I've read, but I'm intrigued already!

Thank you to Curious Fox Publishers, Nosy Crow, and Hot Key Books!

How was your November?

Did you do NaNoWriMo?

What about getting a chance to see Catching Fire?

I'm currently listening to the Catching Fire Score while writing this and I really recommend it! Such beautiful music!