Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Turning the Page on October 2017

october collage

October was a fabulous month for me! My mom and brother were out for a week-long visit and we had a wonderful time playing tourist. While they were here we took Alohi for her first boat ride and her first long hike! We also went to the beach a few times, went to a luau, toured Iolani Palace, did plenty of sight-seeing, and ate tons and tons of delicious food.

At the end of October I turned 32, and I celebrated by getting a couples massage with my husband, taking Alohi to the dog park, and going out to dinner at a restaurant I'd been dying to try -- then falling asleep on the couch at 10:30!

I love Halloween, and I love working at a place that encourages costume-wearing! All of my library co-workers dressed up and we all looked fabulous. I went as a book fairy, complete with book-page fairy wings.

As far as TV and movie watching goes, I'm thrilled to say I finally got to see "Wonder Woman" and "Guardians of the Galaxy 2," both of which were great. TV-wise we're working our way through the third season of "Broadchurch" and the second season of "Stranger Things" (which, by the way, came out on my birthday!). I'm also keeping up with "This Is Us," "Poldark," and "Designated Survivor" (which is quickly losing me, unfortunately -- it's too much of a one-catastrophe-after-another show with not enough character development).

october books

Books read: 8
Himself by Jess Kidd // 4 stars
The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne // 3 stars
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers #1) // 5 stars!
Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett // 3.5 stars
One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson // 4.5 stars
Setting Free the Kites by Alex George // 3.5 stars
Origin by Dan Brown (Robert Langdon #5) // 4 stars
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn // 4.5 stars

Started in October and currently reading: The House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Favorite book: I totally loved The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet! I just felt happy reading it, and I'm really looking forward to reading the second book in the series!

Biggest let-down: The House of Leaves! It's supposed to scare the pants off me, but I actually put it down because I was so bored! I'm not giving up on it yet, though -- I do want to keep reading.

November release I'm most looking forward to: Artemis by Andy Weir!!!!

Book I'm most excited to read in November: So many! I'm working my way through all the 2017 releases I want to get to before the end of the year, plus I'm participating in Non-Fiction November so I'll be reading at least one non-fiction book. I have The Heart's Invisible Furies on hold at the library and a good friend just gave it 5 stars, so I'm definitely looking forward to that one.

Current library checkouts: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh and Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (for the kids' book club at work)

Books added to to-read list: 6 (not bad at all -- and two were series continuations so those barely count!)

Most intriguing TBR addition: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (Imperial Radch #1). After reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, I'm craving more sci-fi set in space!

From Goodreads: On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest. Once, she was the Justice of Toren -- a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy. Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.

Favorite bookstagram: Yes, I know I said this book was my biggest disappointment of the month, but I love the Halloween atmosphere in this photo! (Plus I was excited to show off the ghostie lights I made.) Find me on Instagram @knittinglindsay!

IMG_7106

I actually did a teeny, tiny bit of knitting this month! Between Alohi trying to "help" and general busyness, I've barely knit at all this year. I've been itching to get my hands on my needles, though, and I finally picked up (and ripped out and started over) the Newt Scamander scarf I was supposed to have given to a friend months and months and months ago.

I also made those cute ghost lights in the picture above! They were super-easy: ping pong balls, cheesecloth, Christmas lights and Mod Podge. Just put "ping pong ball ghost lights" into Pinterest and I'm sure you'll find a tutorial similar to the one I was inspired by, if you feel inclined to make your own!

Favorite post: 10 Book Characters Who Are Sexy As Hell In Their Movie & TV Adaptations. Mmmmhmmm.

Book reviews:

American Eclipse: A Nation's Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World by David Baron
The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne
Himself by Jess Kidd
Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson

7 comments:

  1. Ooh if you enjoyed Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, you will LOVE the second book! It's basically a standalone but it incorporates all the great things about Long Way and adds in some new really interesting world-building. Looking forward to seeing your thoughts!

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    1. I saw that it was a standalone and I was a little bummed at first because I loved all the characters so much, but I'm excited to see where Lovey's story goes!

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  2. I'll second Katy!

    I actually liked "A Closed and Common Orbit" better than the first book!

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    1. So glad to hear it! I can't wait to dive back into that world!

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  3. What an eventful month. Alohi is getting so big. Your costume was great! I hate to hear you are bored with House of Leaves. It will only encourage me to leave it sitting on my shelves.

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    1. I know -- Alohi's getting huge, at least compared to how teeny-tiny she was when we brought her home 8 months ago! But as I learned today after she got completely filthy in the yard, at least I can still carry her up a flight of stairs (and to the bath tub!) if needed!

      I'm hoping/planning/intending to pick "House of Leaves" back up but we'll see. I'm on a roll with my list of 2017 releases I want to read by the end of the year!

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