Saturday, October 3, 2015

September Wrap-Up!


The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  

 First things first, there are still 48 hours left in my Banned Book Week Celebration Giveaway! Enter to win the banned book of your choice!

I have a new header! A big thanks to my wonderful husband for helping me with it! I am the complete opposite of tech savvy, so I was very happy to have his help.

Well another month has come and gone. I am so excited for September . . . except for that whole Christmas being around the corner thing. I am excited for cooler weather. It has finally cooled off here in Naples, Italy and I cannot be happier. I really, really hate the heat. 

My husband and I traveled a bit in September. We spent Labor Day weekend in Tuscany (you can look at a few pics of my trip here) and we celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary on the Amalfi Coast. I adored both trips. The Amalfi Coast was the more relaxed of the two. Here are a few pics of this trip.
Ahhh . . . good times.

Okay, I do admit that I was a little lazy with the blog during the month of September. Maybe it was all the travel or maybe it was some unexpected stress my husband and I have had. My husband is a civilian worker for the Navy (that is the reason we have temporarily moved to Italy from the States) and we have been anxiously awaiting word on whether the government would shut down or not. If it did, my husband would have been furloughed (aka: not receiving a paycheck for the duration). This same thing happened two or three years ago and to say it has been stressful has been an understatement. Luckily, we are in a much better place savings wise than last time. But the government did not shut down and all is well! The bottom line though is that it has taken me much longer than usual to respond to comments and I didn't have as many non-review posts as I like. The stress has eased up a bit though and I seem to be on a roll. I have already written several discussion posts, all the top tens for the month of October, and most of my reviews. The only reviews I haven't written is for books I haven't read yet. It feels great to be so far ahead. If only I could be that good every month. 

This was an okay month, reading wise. I read 21 books this month. Looking back at my Goodreads ratings, there were only a couple of books that I absolutely loved. Most books read this month got a 3 star rating or less.

These are the books I have read this month:
Favorite Book Read This Month:

 I do believe it is a tie for my favorite book. These are the only two books I gave five star ratings to this month: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia and All We Have Is Now by Lisa Schroeder. Both of these were amazing books.
Most disappointing book read this month:

 This is a tough one. There were a lot of books I thought were only okay, but none that I really hated. I guess the most disappointing one was Weird Girl And Whats His Name.

Reviews Posted This Month:

I did some more 5 word mini reviews for Broken Monsters, Rook, Bluest Eye, Since You've Been Gone, and Racing in The Rain
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Breakaway by Kat Spears
The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow
I did a round up of reviews of several Courtney Summers books
The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew
Top Ten Lists:


I also had an interesting discussion post about self-censorship. This was one of my most viewed posts this month.


How was your September? What was your favorite book this month? What do you think of my new header?




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44 comments :

  1. Grace @ RebelMommyBookBlogOctober 3, 2015 at 3:56 PM

    Love the new header! Looks like you had a great Septemeber book and travel wise. The pictures are so pretty. Awesome job on being so ahead on all your posts. I need to get more of the top tens and discussions done. Hope you have a great October!

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  2. LoryOctober 3, 2015 at 7:27 PM

    Nice header -- it feels great to have a fresh new look, doesn't it? You had an amazing month quantity-wise but I'm sorry the quality was not so high overall. At least you found two five-star books, that would make it a good month for me!

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    1. CynthiaOctober 4, 2015 at 9:00 AM

      Thanks Lory! Yes, I am so happy that I read a couple of books that I really, really loved. And yeah, I love my new look. I may get ADHD and get tired of it in a couple of months, but for now, I love it.

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  3. Loony LiterateOctober 4, 2015 at 2:23 AM

    YAY a new header, how exciting. I love little changes like that and how it all feels new :) And yay for the government not shutting down, haha.

    GOOD ON YOU getting so far ahead for October ;)

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  4. Shannon @ It Starts at MidnightOctober 4, 2015 at 3:15 AM

    GAH the glorious travel pictures!! They are just so, so beautiful! I love the new header too! Nice work, hubby!

    I also love that I was basically able to pick which books were your favorites based on which books I liked a lot. We are for real twinsies. I also now know to skip Weird Girl :( That's too bad! Did you like Everything Everything?
    Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

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    1. CynthiaOctober 4, 2015 at 9:05 AM

      Thanks Shannon! I know, we are such book twinsies that it's crazy!! And yes, I did really enjoy Everything, Everything. I loved Maddy. But I have to say that I was not a fan of the twist at the end. I kind of saw it coming and I thought it was a bit of a cop-out by the author. Other than that, I really enjoyed it.

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  5. GregOctober 4, 2015 at 8:39 AM

    Great pics! That coast looks wonderful. And yay for no govt shutdown- that must be nerve wracking for you guys.

    Glad you liked All We Have Is Now. I read that one recently too and it was interesting.

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    1. CynthiaOctober 4, 2015 at 9:06 AM

      Thanks so much Greg. The coast was absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to go back. And yeah, there was some stress for sure, but I am so glad it worked out.

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  6. Piecraft BucharestOctober 4, 2015 at 9:31 AM

    Wonderful pics, Cynthia! Also, if this is what you call lazy, I need a hole to crawl into and hide my shame right now...

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    1. CynthiaOctober 4, 2015 at 1:09 PM

      Bahahaha Ramona. Well, I was lazy for most of the month. It was only in the last week that I was able to write so many posts and work on the new header. It's like I got a sudden burst of energy or something. :)

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  7. Trish @ Between My LinesOctober 4, 2015 at 11:40 AM

    Love the new header! Those poor books, I want to restore them :)

    The photos are fab and wow you read loads! I can understand about being anxious about your husbands job, that sounds scary but thankfully it all ended well. But getting furloughed sounds so unfair!

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    1. CynthiaOctober 4, 2015 at 1:11 PM

      Thanks Trish! The picture was taken at a bookstore in Venice, Italy. There were quite a few very, very old books that were not in the best condition, mainly because of water damage. But oh, they were still so lovely. Yeah, getting furloughed because of the government shut down would have been massively unfair. Two years ago, it was super stressful on both of us. So glad things worked out so well this time!

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  8. Linda @ (un)Conventional BookwormsOctober 4, 2015 at 11:48 AM

    The new header is gorgeous!
    It sounds like September was a bit difficult, what with waiting to know if your husband would get paid or not... I'm glad you got to visit Tuscany and have a good time, though. Tuscany is my favorite part of Italy, so beautiful, and all that good food and wine :D
    Have a fantastic week ahead and happy reading.

    Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

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    1. CynthiaOctober 4, 2015 at 1:13 PM

      Thanks so much Lexxie! Oh yes, Tuscany is one of my favorite parts of Italy as well. It is so incredibly beautiful up there. And I am pretty sure I gained ten pounds over the course of four days. The food was amazing!

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  9. Reading Away The DaysOctober 4, 2015 at 1:47 PM

    I like your new banner. You read so fast, you read a lot of amazing books in September. Have a great week.

    Megan @ http://readingawaythedays.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. CynthiaOctober 5, 2015 at 9:11 PM

      Thanks so much Megan. I have always been a fast reader. Now if only I didn't keep adding to my TBR every time I read something, then it might not be so big. :)

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  10. Heather @ Random Redheaded RamblingsOctober 4, 2015 at 2:53 PM

    Italy looks so beautiful, I would love to visit one day.

    That is a lot of books tucked under your belt, well done and have a great reading month in October!

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    1. CynthiaOctober 5, 2015 at 9:12 PM

      Thanks Heather! Italy is amazing. I hope you are able to visit one day. :)

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  11. Steph from fangswandsandfairydust.comOctober 4, 2015 at 4:07 PM

    I often say the free books in blogging are great but I can't eat them and they are not accepted as currency. Unfortunately, everything I do is like that! And, any money I make is minuscule compare to my husband, so were he to be unexpectedly furloughed nothing I could do would help.

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    1. CynthiaOctober 5, 2015 at 9:13 PM

      You are so right Steph! Living in Italy, jobs are scarce so I am not able to do much to bring in income. We do live okay on just my husband's salary, but it would be really, really hard if we didn't have his income. I am so glad things worked out!

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  12. LisaOctober 4, 2015 at 5:24 PM

    Your pictures are stunning. It is a dream of mine to travel to Italy, and looking at pics keeps that dream alive! I'm glad that the furlough didn't happen, and that things are going well in your neck of the woods! Happy fall!

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    1. CynthiaOctober 5, 2015 at 9:14 PM

      Thanks so much Lisa! Italy really is amazing. It is everything I hoped it would be and more. :)

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  13. Kimberly @ Caffeinated ReviewerOctober 4, 2015 at 6:23 PM

    All those books and mostly 3's so sad. I am loving all the pictures..thank you for sharing. I cannot believe Christmas is just around the corner!

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    1. CynthiaOctober 5, 2015 at 9:16 PM

      Thanks so much Kimba. I know, I feel like I should be shopping for Christmas already or at least have ideas. I am so unprepared.

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  14. Lyn KayeOctober 4, 2015 at 6:57 PM

    Lovely pictures! And I love the new header!

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  15. UnknownOctober 4, 2015 at 8:58 PM

    I Love your new header! High five to the hubs he did a great job! I like your book list for the month!

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    1. CynthiaOctober 5, 2015 at 9:17 PM

      Thank you so much! I am so happy my husband is more tech savvy than me. It helps. :)

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  16. Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction AddictionOctober 4, 2015 at 9:39 PM

    I love your new header - it looks great!! Glad that the job situation worked out, but sorry it was so stressful! I am really impressed with how many books you read - wish you'd had more reads you loved, though!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. CynthiaOctober 5, 2015 at 9:18 PM

      Thanks so much Nicole! It does suck to read so many average books. I want more really amazing ones! Argh, hopefully next month. :)

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  17. Joy October 4, 2015 at 10:32 PM

    Oh my gosh. How wonderful! I've always wanted to visit Tuscany and Amalfi Coast! Wow. So jealous! Good job, hubby! Love the old books and the raw concrete wall. :) And yay! You loved Made You Up! I did too when I read it. :)

    Have a fantastic October!

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    1. CynthiaOctober 5, 2015 at 9:19 PM

      Thanks so much Joy! Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast are my favorite places in Italy . . . definitely must visits. The picture I used was of a very old bookstore in Venice, Italy. I loved it.

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  18. StormiOctober 4, 2015 at 11:40 PM

    Love the header! Hope you have a great October! :)

    Stormi
    Week in Review

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  19. DebbishOctober 5, 2015 at 1:20 AM

    I love the new header - love the look of the books!

    And Tuscany....? It's my dream to go there one day. I really have no great desire to travel anymore, but it's really the only place on my list.

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    1. CynthiaOctober 5, 2015 at 9:20 PM

      Thanks Deborah! If you must visit one place, please make it Tuscany. It is one of my favorite places in Italy. So beautiful!

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  20. UnknownOctober 5, 2015 at 1:34 AM

    I love the new header, Cynthia! It's so lovely. :) I'm so jealous of you and all your travelling! That sounds incredibly fun. I am also really impressed by how many books you read! I only read 5 or so due to the start of school again, but I'm so glad you liked Made You Up--I've been watching to read that book for so long! I clearly need to pick it up soon. :)

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    1. CynthiaOctober 5, 2015 at 9:22 PM

      Thanks so much Jessica! You must read Made You Up very, very soon. It was such an incredible book. I loved it so much. I am just a very, very fast reader plus I don't have a job or kids or school. I think 5 books with school is excellent. :)

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  21. UnknownOctober 5, 2015 at 2:02 AM

    oh Tuscany , sounds like it was a lovely trip. I wish i could travel! you had quite the busy and exciting month :)

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    1. CynthiaOctober 5, 2015 at 9:23 PM

      Thanks Lily! Tuscany was pretty amazing. I feel very lucky to live so close. :)

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  22. LolaOctober 5, 2015 at 4:49 PM

    I like your new banner. I am not good with designing banners either, so I always ask others for help with that. Here in the Netherlands we've also had some cooler weather, but sunny days too, which was nice. That trip to Tuscany looks amazing, i hope you had a lot of fun. Have a great week!

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    1. CynthiaOctober 5, 2015 at 9:24 PM

      Thanks Lola! I love these days that are bright and sunny, yet on the cooler side. I kind of hate the heat. I am dying to go to the Netherlands at some point. Tuscany was a pretty amazing trip. :)

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