Month in Review for October, and Upcoming Posts

If you have a Dorkie Dog, you must knit her a Dorkie sweater.

This month was kind of a weird mishmash of things for me: first I got addicted to an old video game, then I promptly fell out of love with it after I conquered all available places in its "open world" with the greatest of ease. Then I loom-knitted my darling Dorkie a sweater, which she modeled with a great deal of contempt (see picture). I also blogged, threw in a new feature, and had to recalculate the schedule. I had planned on reading three Halloween-centric books for October and only finished one, probably due to conquering the behemoth that has been sitting on my currently reading shelf for much too long (The Broken Eye). So yes, I didn't get what I wanted to do for my blog and reading done this October, but I really don't care- at least the Dorkie will be warm this winter.

Statistics:
 Total Posts: 19
  Total Critiques: 13
  Genres:
    Fantasy: 1
    Historical: 1
    Horror: 2
    Magical Realism: 1
    Mini Macabre Reviews: 4
    Paranormal Romance: 2
    Sci-Fi: 1
    Urban Fantasy: 2

Most Popular Posts of October:
Mini Macabre Review Monday: "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe
"Poe" by J. Lincoln Fenn (Only My Second Five Star Read for 2014)
EC: "Of Bone and Thunder" by Chris Evans 
"Unborn (Unborn #1)" by Amber Lynn Natusch
Mini Macabre Review Monday: "The Lottery" and "The Most Dangerous Game"
"Cipher (The Shadow Ravens #1)" by Aileen Erin
Sunday Fun Five: The 5 Unluckiest Characters in Books

Pageviews for the Month: 600+
Comments: 10

Blog Schedule and Features: Back to Critiques on Tuesdays, Thursdays, sometimes Fridays, and Saturdays. On Sundays, I rotate between the Sunday Fun Five, and Confessions of an Insomniac Book Devourer (or Not Quite a Confession).

The TBR Lottery for November

From now on, at the beginning of each month when I'm typing up the Month-in-Reviews, I'll also be drawing a few paper slips from my the-pile TBR Jar (more on that below in Upcoming Posts) for books to read during the month. I've decided this month I would blind draw two slips of paper, therefore not picking based on genre (I have mine color-coded). For November I'm doing two books, mostly because I only finished one book I planned to read in October, so hopefully I'll be able to read two planned reads this month.

My Draws:

Ironically I paid $1.29 for each of these books. And they're both huge.

Historical: Legacy by Susan Kay (570 pages, 4.14 Star Average on Goodreads)
  Basic Plot: Historical Fiction about Elizabeth Tudor (The Virgin Queen).
  Expectations: Pretty high due to the star rating, and also I like historicals about kings and queens.

Fantasy: King's Dragon (Crown of Stars Volume One) by Kate Elliott (623 pages, 3.76 Star Average on Goodreads)
  Basic Plot: Set in an alternate Europe (like basically 70% of fantasies) this book follows a young man and woman as they struggle to find their place in the world and get drawn into different factions, etc. as battles rage for the survival of humanity.
  Expectations: Not as high as with Legacy- this was one I voted for as a pick for a GR fantasy book club and it didn't win. That may or may not mean something- maybe people didn't like the cover art.

Upcoming Posts

The Broken Eye (Lightbringer #3) by Brent Weeks

I finally finished this beast of a book and it was worth it. The ending made me very sad, though. I'll just have to wait for the next book to come out to root for my favorite characters.

Genres: Epic Fantasy, Magic, Action/Adventure, Romance

Feelin' Crafty: the-pile TBR Jar Project

Wherein I craftify my own TBR jar, for my pile of unread physical books, known simply as the-pile on Goodreads.
Tags: Miscellaneous.

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

This is such a beautiful book that I knew I'd have to review it sometime, and with the color of the cover (sepia or brown) it felt very "fall" to me. And also, soon to be a movie! I can't wait!

Genres: Historical, Magical Realism, a touch of Romance

Trinity (The Koldun Code #1) by Sophie Masson

I requested this on NetGalley after reading the intriguing synopsis:

'An unexpected encounter with a handsome stranger in a Russian wood changes the life of 22-year-old traveler Helen Clement forever, catapulting her into a high-stakes world of passion, danger, and mystery. Tested in ways she could never have imagined, she must keep her own integrity in a world where dark forces threaten and ruthlessness and betrayal haunt every day.

'Set against a rising tide of magic and the paranormal in a modern Russia where the terrifying past continually leaks into the turbulent present, Trinity is a unique and gripping blend of conspiracy thriller, erotically charged romance and elements of the supernatural, laced with a murderous dose of company politics. With its roots deep in the fertile soil of Russian myth, legend, and history, it is also a fascinating glimpse into an extraordinary, distinctive country and amazingly rich culture.'

I'm willing to read anything culturally different from my daily life, for simple reasons like escapism.

Genres: Urban Fantasy? Action/Adventure?? I don't know yet, but it was under Fantasy on Netgalley.