Welcome to October’s Monthly Minutes at Midnight! New graphic, maybe this one will last for more than a couple months? Not likely.
Here’s the deal: I’ll share the books I’ve obtained, posts of interest from others, giveaways I have happening, and just general random shenanigans. You know I love a shenanigan.
The Books
For Review:
HUGE thanks to Abrams!!
eARCs:
Via Netgalley, thanks to Bloomsbury, and via Edelweiss, thanks to Sky Pony Press!
Purchased:
Not my highest quality picture ever, but it’s okay. Books are still super pretty!
Traded/Won/Gifted:
Guys, this picture makes me realize just how crooked my house really is- I cannot get straight pictures because the stupid place is not right!
Thanks to author Paula Stokes for Vicarious, and Adventures in YA Publishing & Quercus US for Way Down Dark!! And thanks to Melissa for Forever, Again! Thanks so much for the trades, people I traded with!! ♥♥♥
Shenanigans Since Last Time:
I read 12 books. Which is okay because some of them were really great books. And some of them were really long books too. So I can live with this!
Not linking because time. This is why Goodreads and Google are your friends.
I can’t even pick a favorite! Okay, I can, it’s Scythe. But Corruption, Flashfall, and Feed were all great too. And then Iron Cast and Life in a Fishbowl were solid too. This was seriously just a good reading month, in terms of quality!
Giveaways: Click Here, or on Sidebar
Blogosphere Bulletin
Here are some of the loveliest/most entertaining/super helpful/just plain interesting posts I found this month!
- Lexie @ The Honest Bookclub shares some awesome info on fan art
- Val @ The Innocent Smiley talks about the illusion of knowledge (SO fascinating- and kind of scary!)
- Holly @ The Fox’s Hideaway talks about allll the cover redesigns (enough already, right?!)
- Krysta @ Pages Unbound discusses why it is never okay to pirate books– and has a giveaway, too!
- Cait @ Paper Fury tells us why collecting books is actually really, really bad.
- Nereyda @ Nick and Nereyda’s Infinite Booklist shares what she is looking forward to this fall
- Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction has giveaway guilt- and wants to know if you do, too!
- Jenna @ Happy Indulgence talks about why she reads historical fiction
- Molly @ Molly’s Book Nook shares some awesome writing tips, just in time for NaNo!
- Karen @ Kissin’ Blue Karen wants to know if you’d still blog if no one saw your posts (nope for me haha)
- Kyra @ Blog of a Bookaholic shares thoughts all library addicts have had
- Julia @ A Perfection Called Books has a guide to help you decide if you should buy or not
- Eva @ All Books Considered talks ARC greed
- Cynthia @ Bingeing on Books discusses how ARCs have negitively impacted her reading
- Greg @ Book Haven wants to know how scary is too scary. He also asks when do you review books. (My answer was something like “several months after I should have”)
- AJ @ Read all the Things! talks about why she doesn’t review ARCs
- Puput @ Sparkling Letters discusses the struggles of international bookworms. She also reminds us why it is NOT okay to hate on books you haven’t even read yet.
- Lola @ Lola’s Reviews has tips for running a great giveaway
- Michelle @ Pink Polka Dot Books asks why we read YA
- Briana @ Pages Unbound asks if you can have a book blog without writing reviews
- Lory @ The Emerald City has tips for building an event following
- Jeann @ Happy Indulgences shares twelve recommendations for diverse books. She also shares a super important story about self care.
- Laura @ Boats Against the Current asks how you stay inspired while blogging (I personally have NO idea, so…) She also shares five early signs that a book won’t be working for her!
- Aila @ One Way or an Author has an organizational solution for all that bookish swag!
Random Musings:
So, it was Halloween once! Here are some superheroes to save the day! Super Lena and Super Sammy, though Super Sammy would NOT stand still, so this is the best I could do. Must have been trouble afoot 😉
My favorite little superpeople.
Fancy & New Since Last I Saw You!
I love looking at pretty covers! So here are some new ones that I have fallen in love with since our last update!
So, lots of pretty this month! I seriously had to narrow it down because there were TOO many!
Things we need to talk about at this juncture:
- It’s NaNo time! I am giving this a shot but… we’ll see. Want to be buddies? Find me here! I also will be later than usual responding to stuff, but I’ll get there, promise!
- It is also my birthday month! I am less excited about this than I used to be because… being old isn’t as fun 😉
- If you are in the US… VOTE. Need I say more? Meanwhile, I will be stressed every second until the end of the election. (And loooong after it goes badly, I assume.)
- I read two of the books that you chose! The Dead House, The Women in the Walls, and These Shallow Graves were in a three-way tie when I had to pick, so I read the first two! I was… moderately underwhelmed? I am beginning to think that I cannot be scared. (By books, anyway!)
I did celebrate Halloween, and it was the best one in a long time- mainly because the weather was nice and kids actually came. Last year we got none! Well few anyway. So there aren’t piles of candy sitting around this year. Nice pic of your superheroes. 🙂 I see The 100 in your piles- twice! Are you continuing on??? Ooh dish lol. And Replica I kinda liked. I think I’m going to give Three Dark Crowns a go, the reviews have convinced me. That Burning Summer and Life in a Fishbowl look good too.
In other news the election has me stressed too. I check 538 every day now to get their updates lol. It’s like a choice between a normal candidate and a f’ing dystopian novel waiting to happen, and it’s close???? Geez WTF. But anyway moving on- good luck with Nano! And happy b-day this month.
Venturess and Reunited have awesome covers! And thanx for the shout out! 🙂
Oh wow, your bookshots are amazing, Shannon! And even the one with Gemina (which you said wasn’t the best) is gorgeous 🙂 I agree, the books are indeed very pretty.
We don’t celebrate Halloween, but we have another dress-up holiday in December that is specific to Geneva 🙂 I will post pictures of all my dressed up kids then 🙂
And hey, you’re not old! I hope your birthday month will be good! And we here in Europe are crossing our fingers about your election…
RoseBlood!!! Just a few more months before I can accost my local bookstore for it!
That is a great list of blogs posts, I’m going to have to click through when I’m at a computer.
Also can’t believe that it’s nanowrimo! November came out of NOWHERE. I never participate but I love the energy it brings to the blogosphere. I also love knowing which pubbed books came from nanowrimo as well.
I voted on Sunday and I’m still stressed. I might take a page from Elizabeth May’s book and have a baking party the night of the election.
Happy bday month!
I got Gemina, too! I’m looking forward to reading it. I love the photo of your superhero kids. So cute. Happy November!
I didn’t really celebrate Halloween, but I did wear Halloween shirt. Yesterday would have been my aunt’s birthday. Yes, getting old sucks. I can’t wait until the 9th.I am so over this election.
You’ve read quite a few books this month. Good job Shannon. Love the photo of your kids. http://www.curious-daisy.com/wrap-up/october-wrap-up-reading-life-work-update-nanowrimo-plans/
OOOh, bookmarking these for the posts and the new book covers. Many of those I haven’t seen yet so thanks. Your kids look adorable!
Nereyda│ Nick & Nereyda’s Infinite Booklist
Thanks so much for sharing my posts! 🙂
And Happy Birthday month! I never seem to get as excited about my birthday these days either, or even Christmas. I’m such a scrooge! (Although to be fair, I work in a shop, and it always gets crazy around Christmas!)
I’m doing NaNo this year too, so I hope we both make it to 50,000 words. Best of luck! 🙂
Always impressed by your hauls and all that you did in a month! ♥ your little superpeople! So many new and great books for you to read, too
My October Recap!
I tend to find adult horror novels scarier than YA. I’m glad you read The Dead House though. I didn’t really find it scary per se, but I loved the format and it was a fun read overall! Happy Birthday month. Hope it’s a good one, even if you aren’t really excited about it. hah
-Lauren
So many gorgeous new books… swoon! Your little superheroes are too cute. Hope they had fun! 🙂 I am practically frothing at the mouth (now that’s a lovely visual) for The Crown’s Fate. Need it now! Having to wait until May is cruel and unusual punishment.
Awwww your kiddies are super cute! I’m so happy you enjoyed Feed, one of my favourite books EVER. that twist at the end though! It took me a year before I could pick up Deadline. What a great stack of books! I got Three Dark Crowns from the library. Thank you for sharing my posts lovely! It was Jenna who wrote the historical fiction one 😉 it’s still not my thing hehe.
You have Gemina!! Yay!!! I NEED THAT BOOK!! I have heard it’s awesome and totally intense and I can’t wait. And seriously, I am TERRIFIED about this election. And I am so ready for it to be over. My stomach literally hurts from nerves. I submitted my absentee ballot a month ago, but it feels like a lifetime. My state (Georgia) typically goes Republican, but now it is a toss up state apparently. My husband and I were going to vote third party, but we didn’t and I am so glad. Ugh, I just want it to be November 9 already.
Ahhh I actually love the graphic, partly because I love pink <3 I'm so excited for Rose Blood! Have never read Phantom of the Opera but still excited nonetheless hahah anyway is it at all related to the Splintered series or just plainly has the same cover aesthetics? I'm also excited for Scythe!! The cover is not my style but the synopsis sounds really really interesting! I'm intrigued. Anyway thanks for linking to my posts and have a wonderful November! 😀
Aww, adorable superpeople indeed <3 Hope you enjoyed celebrating Halloween a lot. I also really like the sound of 12 books. Maybe you read more, but 6 is my usual fix and I managed 12 last month too, so I'm pretty thrilled with that number 😉 We had a couple of books in common! And yep – I'm not even American and the vote has me nail biting so I just hope… everything goes down well enough…
The Halloween costumes are super cute!! I haven’t read Life in a Fishbowl, but it looks good! Have a great Nonmember!
Twelve books read is a lot and I’m glad you liked them all. I think you had very cute superheroes this year. I dressed as Wonder Woman for my Halloween concert.
12 books is A LOT. I only hope I can get through that many this month. Man, that would be wonderful… I’ve been thinking about picking up The Dead House, partially because the audiobook sampler was pretty cool. I just finished reading Gemina Monday. It was pretty good. Hopefully you like it! I haven’t finished And I Darken, but the cover for Now I Rise looks fantastic. Also just went to the library a couple of days ago and picked up Three Dark Crowns. I’m planning on reading it in the next couple of weeks. It sounds soooo good!
There are a lot of books you’re showing here that are on my reading list. Also, your kids are adorable!