September 2019 Wrap Up

September Updates!

Bookstagram Pod

I had read that Bookstagram Pods were really helpful in getting your Bookstagram going, so I created my own. The people in my pod talk every day and we all share our posts with each other and like and comment on each other’s stuff. I have been really liking it.

Made my Instagram a Business Profile

I really should have done this sooner, but I didn’t even know about it! I made my Instagram a business account. Now I get all these stats and insights on my account so I can use them to help my account grow and become better. I’m trying to grow my Bookstagram and if anyone has more tips on how to get more engagement I would love some good advice!

Check out my Instagram!

Got a New Phone

My phone was over 5 years old, so it was more than time to get a new one. My new phone has 64 GB of space PLUS my SD card, so there is finally room for all the apps I’ve wanted for so long. I downloaded Google Podcasts, Canva, WordPress, a bunch of sports apps and some Palette apps (Real Colors, Palette and Spark Post) so I can make graphics for books and use the colors within book covers so that the graphics look better. Since I got the new phone I’ve been able to make graphics on Canva for my Bookstagram stories and also access my blog anywhere rather than just on my computer. It’s already made my life way easier. If anyone has recommendations on apps that help them with their blog or bookstagram I’d love some recommendations!

Work

I have gotten more comfortable at my new job and I’m working a lot more. It has been quite a struggle to learn how to manage both my job and my blog, so I bought a planner and I’m trying to plan things out better. I am not finding that my reading is being affected too badly, but I do find that I don’t have a ton of time to blog hop or write posts the same way that I used to. I was having trouble juggling posts, but I think I’m doing a little better with it now. If anyone has any recommendations on how to juggle a blog and work at the same time I could use some help organizing my life!

Books Read

I read a total of 8 books this month! That’s pretty good considering that I have been working so much this month. I think that aiming for 10 books a month is too much when I’m also working, so I think 8 books is more realistic. Unfortunately I did not have a fabulous reading month. I feel like there were many mediocre reads this month, which is always disappointing and slows down my reading pace. All of the books I read this month were ARCs, which I had anticipated because I have a ton of Fall ARCs. I predict that I won’t get to any backlist titles in October either.

The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring — 4 Stars — Check out Blog Tour and Review!

A Treason of Thorns by Lara Weymouth — 3 Stars — Review to come soon!

Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan  — 5 Stars — Check out my review!

In the Hall with the Knife by Diana Peterfreund –4 Stars  — Review to come soon!

A Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron — 3 Stars — Check out Spotlight Post! Review to come soon!

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia — 5 Stars — Check out my review!

The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy — 2 Stars — Review to come soon!

The Furies by Katie Lowe — 4.5 Stars — Review to come soon!

Total Pages

Honestly… I am no longer going to be counting how many pages I read a month. It’s one of those things that makes me feel like my reading is measured in quantity rather than quality and that really shouldn’t be the case. I want to read GREAT books, not worry about how many I’m reading or how many pages I got through. I’m going to stop including this section in my wrap ups because I don’t want my own reading to feel like I’m competing against myself month to month.

Favorite Books Read

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia, Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan and The Furies by Katie Lowe. I had anticipated that Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts and The Furies would both be amazing because they were both on my Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2019 list.

Top 3 Posts of September

Once again my top 3 posts of September were all Top 5 Saturday posts. I have been loving doing the top 5 Saturday posts and am enjoying that so many people are participating. Here are my top 3 most popular posts of September.

Top 5 Books over 500 Pages I Want to Read

Top 5 Summer Reads I Want to Read

Top 5 Books with Maps I Want to Read

Top 5 Saturday Topics for October

If you haven’t heard about my Top 5 Saturday series, it’s a series that I do every week that other bloggers can participate in. Each week I pick a topic and everyone shares their top 5 books of the current topic– these can be books that they want to read, have read and loved, have read and hated, they can do it any way they want. The more the merrier! I would love it if you joined!

10/5/19 — Books with the Scariest Covers

10/12/19 — Books that Cast a Spell on You

10/19/19 —  Creepy Books

10/26/19 — Trick or Treat (Pick your own topic!)

Podcasts Listened To

I’ve really wanted to get into podcasts for a while now, and I haven’t ever listened to them before so I didn’t know where to start. I love fantasy and I knew that I wanted to listen to a fictional podcast where I could listen from the beginning. I started listening to The Bright Sessions and I absolutely love it! It’s about a therapist, Dr. Bright, who has “atypical” patients and the whole podcast is the recordings of her sessions with her patients. All of them have supernatural abilities and Dr. Bright helps them deal with them. It’s definitely one that you will want to start at the beginning because the story develops throughout the seasons. I listen to it when blogging or when walking to the bus. I started listening at the beginning of the month and I’m already almost at the end of season 3.

I also found out that Lauren Shippen just came out with a book called The Infinite Noise, which is based on The Bright Sessions and I REALLY want to get a copy once I finish the show.

If anyone has recommendations for podcasts to check out once I’m done with The Bright Sessions I would love to check some other ones out! I would prefer a fictional podcast that has a continuous storyline throughout the series that way I can start from the beginning.

 

 

 

Shows Watched

This month I wanted to watch Carnival Row. I did start the show, but I haven’t gotten very far in it just yet. I am only up to episode 4, but since the show just came out there is only one season, so I think it’s probably best to take it slow anyways.

Penfield Public Library Used Book Sale

I look forward to this book sale every year! I have gone to quite a few library book sales around the city that I live in, but this one is at my local library and I think that it is the best one that there is out there. I went on half price day and the books only cost .50 cents! I got 27 books for $13.50! Check out my book haul here!

Stats

Since I started my job my blog has taken a little bit of a hit stats wise. I knew that this might happen and I’m really not that upset about it. Obviously it’s an adjustment to juggle work and the blog at the same time. The one thing that really shocked me is that my comments went WAY down. I’m not going to really look into the percentages it went down or anything. I started a new job, and that is wonderful.

How did September Goals Go?

September Goals

1. Update my How to get ARCs — A Guide post with more links and newer information. — Not Completed
2. Get 5,700-5,800 monthly blog views in September. — Not Completed (4,542 blog views)
3. Get 900 blog followers. (Currently at 860.) — Almost Completed (897 Blog Followers)
4. Get 3,200 blog visitors. — Not Completed (2,641 Blog Visitors)
5. Read 10 books.
6. Read one Brandon Sanderson title — The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3). — Not Completed
7. Take Bookstagram photos weekly. — Completed
8. Post 5 Bookstagram photos a week. — Completed
9. Get 880 followers on Bookstagram. (Currently at 852.) Follow me! — Completed (883 Bookstagram Followers)
10. Get 1350 followers on Twitter. (Currently at 1200.) Follow me! — Not Completed (1244 Twitter Followers)
11. Write 2 reviews a week. —  Kind of Completed — I posted 2 reviews a week, but didn’t write 2 new reviews a week.
12. Complete 3-4 old book tags or awards. (I’ve been putting a lot of these off for a while) — Not Completed — I only did one this month

October Goals

1. Update my How to get ARCs — A Guide post with more links and newer information.
2. Get 4,800-5,000 monthly blog views in October. (Had 4,542 in September)
3. Get 930 blog followers. (Currently at 897.)
4. Get 2,800 blog visitors. (Had 2,641 in September)
5. Read 8 books.
6. Read all physical October ARCs.
7. Take Bookstagram photos weekly.
8. Post 5 Bookstagram photos a week.
9. Get 910 followers on Bookstagram. (Currently at 883.) Follow me!
10. Get 1300 followers on Twitter. (Currently at 1244.) Follow me!
11. Get up to date on all reviews.
12. Write 3 Blogtober posts!

Let’s Chat!

How was your September? Did you hit any of your goals? Do you have any goals for October? Did anything exciting happen? What was your favorite read of the month? How many books did you get to? How many pages did you read? Are you doing Blogtober? Make sure to comment below so we can chat about how September went blogging wise!