October was a very busy and exciting month for me, as I flew out to Japan, where I’m spending the next three months.
I’m staying in Osaka, which is a huge city in the Kansai region, and have been doing lots of exploring and adventuring because there is just so much to see. As a result, I haven’t had as much time to read this last month because I’ve been making new friends and going to castles/temples/shrines/parks/festivals. So my wrap up this month will be relatively short, but let’s get into it nonetheless!
I only read one novel last month (I STILL HAVEN’T FINISHED EMPIRE OF STORMS, WHO AM I?!) and seven volumes of manga.
The novel I read was Shadow Fall, which will be released on 22nd November (my sister’s birthday). I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, and you can read my full review here if you’d like.
The short version is that this novel involved a lot of over-used dystopian tropes and an annoying love triangle, but managed to drag itself out of the abyss somewhat in the last hundred pages.
The manga volumes I read were:
Bleach Volume 40
Love Attack volumes 1-5
Platinum End volume 1 (although it’s weirdly listed as chapters rather than volumes on Goodreads).
Bleach was easily my favourite volume of the month, although I started the other two on recommendations from friends and am enjoying them both.
Love Attack is great if you want light-hearted humour, romance and a kick-ass female lead (seriously, she jumps out of windows just to kick people), and Platinum End is by the creators of Death Note, so if you enjoyed the darkness and twists of that plot then you’ll likely enjoy this too.
TTT Posts
Top Ten Tuesday: Books I read because of a recommendation
Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I’d name a pet after
Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween special
(Obligatory copyright free pumpkin photo.)
Other Features
I didn’t do any tags this month (although I know I’ve definitely been tagged by a few people, so shame on me), but here are some things I wrote about:
Help me decide which books to take to Japan!
Other Highlights
Anime
I started watching a new anime called Norn9 (or Norn + Nonet), which is based off a video game of the same name. While the plot seems a little all over the place, the animation and colours are beautiful (I’m a sucker for beautiful animation) and the characters have different magical powers, which is right up my street. The only annoying thing is the male characters far outnumber the female characters (where are my powerful ladies at?), but hopefully the series will make up for this in other ways.
Music
I discovered an artist called Eurielle this month, who wrote songs for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings soundtracks, and her voice is so soulful it gives me shivers. It’d recommend Carry Me and You Said if you fancy giving her a listen.
Youtube
The lovely Ashleigh over at A Frolic Through Fiction started up her own Booktube account this month, so you should definitely go follow her if you don’t already!
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That’s pretty much it for October. I’m going to be uploading some separate posts about Japan, so that’s why I haven’t included much about it here.
Let me know what you guys have been reading this month and if you’ve been up to anything exciting!
Sounds like you are settling in well in Japan.That’s great!Enjoy yourself and take time to experience it fully.Books can wait a little bit 🙂 Have a great November.
Thanks my lovely, really appreciate the kind words. 🙂 I’m hoping to read more during November, but you’re definitely right – exploring is too exciting an opportunity to pass up! How did your October go? What did you end up reading?
I have a great October. I read 11 books and also got a chance to travel to Uganda for the first time. Here is my wrap-up post: https://ahavenforbooklovers.wordpress.com/2016/10/31/monthly-wrap-up-october-november-tbr/
I look forward to reading more about your time in Japan. Do enjoy your November reads too. Cheers ❤
Oh wow, that’s incredible! I’ll be sure to go check out your post about it! 😀
I wish to go to Japan some day….🤔