[Rewind] November 2016

05:00 Cilla 15 Comments



We're almost at the end of the year, guys! I'm excited for Christmas, if nothing else, for the music and the atmosphere. I considered putting my Christmas playlist on to write this post, but it still feels too early. Anyway, this is about the past month.


In Life


↠ November has been fairly good for me, despite having to study for an exam (my last one ever, ever!). I realised that this time of the year for the last two years were marred with anxiety and existential crisis for me. This year, I'm in a course where I'm pursuing my life goal, so I'm making more of an effort to not complain about the work I have to do to get there. 😄

↠ I failed at NaNoWriMo. I'd like to discuss it more in a separate post, but even though I fell far from the word count goal, I was compelled to think about my world-building and story a lot more. So, it wasn't entirely a failure!

↠ I went to my first university ball! A couple of my girl friends and I had never been, and we decided it would be a fun celebration to mark the end of our first year as Masters students. It was fun getting dressed up and dancing, but I'm too old to enjoy music so loud I can't hear my friends. 😂

↠ I went to my second Harry Potter trivia. My team, Snapes On a Plane, went third place - only one point apart from the group who won first place! And as it turns out I knew the Weasleys family tree well enough to win a free jug of beer, which I shared with other tables as I actually dislike beer and my friends don't drink it either. 

New to My Shelves


↠ I went to a library sale and came away with three books: Under a Hawthorn Tree, Eligible, and The Wild Girl. Eligible is the only one I'd heard of previous to the sale, but that's the beauty of $1 books - I don't feel so guilty about buying books on the whim of the moment.

↠ I won the September Discussion Challenge Giveaway and chose Laurinda. I saw Alice Pung in a panel as part of Emerging Writers Festival, and have been keen to read something of hers ever since! Plus my friend said she loves this book, so my expectations are high.

Reviews

↠ Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin. ✮✮✮✮✮
↠ Timekeeper by Tara Sim. ✮✮✮

Other Things on the Blog

↠ Paved With Books got a makeover! I haven't had a chance to refine some of the details yet, but I think it's largely working. I'm quite pleased with it, and I hope you like it too!

↠ I listed my next pile of TBR here. Some of them are library books and some of them are books that have been sitting on my shelf for a while.

↠ What are your thoughts on pop culture references in books? Have they ever put you off reading a particular book?

Challenges Progress

  • ↠ Goodreads challenge: 55/30 books
  • ↠ Discussion challenge: 10/24 discussion posts
  • ↠ #RockMyTBR challenge: 10 books
  • ↠ Around the World challenge. 
  • ↠ Commenting 365 challenge: 67/365 comments

In Store for Next Month

There will be a post about my first time finishing a Jane Austen book, a discussion on why sometimes I watch the movie before I read the book, aaand a couple of reviews. I'm hoping I'll be organised enough to get back into blog-hopping regularly again too.


How was your November? 
Did you get to try something new?
Link me to a post you wrote last month and are proud of!


15 comments:

  1. Batch of Books1 December 2016 at 09:15

    I've failed many a NaNoWriMo, so don't worry! There's always next year. :)

    Dena @ Batch of Books

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  2. Geraldine @ Corralling Books2 December 2016 at 11:14

    AWWW, you went to your first ball! I haven't been to one yet, but DO TELL ME ALL! :D
    And congrats on the HP trivia! I don't like beer either heheh xD
    Have you kept up to date with the Around The World Challenge? I think I've kind of dropped off from it! >.<

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    Replies
    1. Cilla8 December 2016 at 13:37

      I diiid! Really it was basically drinking, trying to make yourself heard over the music to your friends while you chat, and dancing (with 40% chance of getting alcohol spilled on you because people take their drinks to the dance floor). It's really only fun if you go with the right group of people, I think!

      Thank you! It was the first time I've ever won anything like that, haha.

      I totally have dropped off from it as well! I keep including them in my rewind posts despite not updating the map. XD I think it's a bit too much effort for me!

      Delete
  3. Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction2 December 2016 at 23:14

    I'm glad that NaNo was helpful, even if you didn't technically "win." Really, just getting yourself writing and thinking about your writing is the main goal, so that means it was a success! Hope you love Laurinda!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    Replies
    1. Cilla8 December 2016 at 13:34

      I like to think of my NaNo experience that way! :D Thanks, Nicole <3

      Delete
  4. cw @ readthinkponder8 December 2016 at 14:36

    Hi Cilla!
    Congratulations on finishing your exam! That must feel relieving, but I can understand the whole impending existential crises and whatnot too. You have my best, best wishes for whatever is ahead of you, and you'll be okay!

    I failed NaNoWriMo too. It was my first time, and I really overestimated my ambition to write every day. I look forward to reading your post about NaNoWriMo though!

    To answer your questions:
    My November was good! Very eventful and life-changing, but mostly good. While it's your last exam of university, I'm going back to uni! I'm pretty excited but also a little scared because I've been out of study for close to three years. :(

    As for trying something new, I started watching Westworld? (Does that count? XD) I think my December will be more adventurous so... *watch this space* :)

    A post I wrote in November was my book recs post for female friendships! (https://readthinkponder.wordpress.com/2016/11/21/book-recs-fantastic-female-friendships/) ^_^

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    Replies
    1. Cilla12 December 2016 at 16:31

      Hi cw!

      Thank you so much! <3 I like to think I've learned to manage my stresses, but sometimes they do crop up. Thanks so much for the best wishes too <3

      *high fives* I too overestimated my ambition to write every day. I think 50k became too much pressure once the initial adrenaline faded! At least we learned something about ourselves from the NaNo experience?

      That's so exciting that you're going back to uni! Going back to study is a decision that takes quite a bit of courage, so go you <3 It may be difficult at first, but I believe in you!

      That totally counts! I've been hearing a lot about Westworld, but I have a habit of not watching highly-hyped TV show (I still haven't watched Game of Thrones except for one episode). I'll totally watch that space haha.

      I read that post, and I loved it! I think there needs to be more books that feature female friendships, so thank you for sharing that list!

      Delete
  5. Danielle H.14 December 2016 at 23:28

    I love my library's used book sale room. $1 books here too and some are less when they have a special sale. I have purchased many books and also don't feel guilty about the money spent as it helps the library too.

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    1. Cilla26 December 2016 at 12:47

      Yess, it's amazing what you can find at those sales!

      Delete
  6. Constanza Riquelme19 December 2016 at 21:04

    I WANNA TRY NaNoWriMo someday

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  7. Christine27 December 2016 at 07:53

    Ugh, the NaNo struggle is very real. I tried (and failed) twice before (after "succeeding" before with a book idea that was beyond salvaging after the fact), and didn't even attempt this year. Something about the pressure doesn't sit well with me--I end up forcing out writing that I don't like and don't know how to fix after I've finished. I've come to terms with the fact that it just isn't for me.

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  8. jo28 December 2016 at 23:17

    I fail NaNo too I'm it's Netflix's fault not mine :(

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    Replies
    1. Cilla29 December 2016 at 05:06

      Haha Netflix, forever getting in the way of productivity!

      Delete

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