I know we say it all. the. time. But really, where is this year going?! Part of me wants to complain, because those darker mornings and evenings are just crap, but the other part of me really loves everything to do with Christmas and I’m really looking forward to some time off work… I’m conflicted.

Some exciting things happened around these parts in October. First, I met the fabulous Carrie Hope Fletcher at her book signing in Belfast for her latest release All That She Can See, and then I had an unexpected day off work so booked last-minute tickets to see The Addams Family, which was AMAZING.

After me getting all creative with photography last month, this month picture-taking fell by the wayside, so this is all I’ve got! On the plus side, I’ve almost got all of my Christmas shopping done already (I really can’t stand leaving it to the last minute – I don’t do panic-buying, and crowded shops annoy me), and my annual Christmas Bookish Gift Guide with GREAT and EXCLUSIVE discount codes will be going live on the blog soon – along with a cheeky giveaway or two!

What have you been up to in October? Let me know in the comments!

The Books:

• Without Merit: I, of course, pre-ordered this latest release from the Queen of Contemporary, Ms Colleen Hoover. I read it straight away, and really enjoyed it. Review to follow soon!
• Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy: I’ve read The Mortal Instruments series (and loved it), so decided to get this bind-up of the novellas about Simon. I’ve yet to read The Infernal Devices (even though I own them all), and I haven’t even looked near The Dark Artifices. I’m behind on the Shadowhunters world, and I should fix this soon.
• Sofia Khan Is Not Obliged: We all know I’m not the biggest fan of eBooks, but every now and then a book that’s really talked about in the community goes on a cheap deal, and this was one of those times.
• The Girl From Everywhere: See above.
• Harry Potter Movie Magic Set: I was very kindly sent this collection to review by Walker Books, and they are STUNNING. A great Christmas gift for any Harry Potter movie fan, young or old(er), or just as a treat for little old you.  

Movies and TV Shows:

I FINALLY caught up on The Big Bang Theory this month, and THAT ENDING. I can’t wait for the next season.

Wrappin’ It Up!

• Grok Nation the blog ran by Mayim Bialik, featured some great posts, including: online bullying in real life and 10 weird books all kids should read
• Lindsey @ Bring My Books talks about adulting and slacking off on things you love to do
• Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction shares her unpopular opinion on banned books
• Emily @ Books and Cleverness posted about bookish photography
• Amy @ Ten Penny Dreams wrote a post about her first book being crowd funded for publishing – spoiler, I supported it, and have a whole post about crowd funding for books coming up!
• Cait @ Paper Fury tells us about her book deal for 2018! Congrats, Cait!!
• Laura @ Boats Against the Current talks about books and memories and shares that she’s a kindle convert
• Ashley @ Nose Graze shares why it’s getting harder for her to write reviews

In Case You Missed It:

In October, I took a crazy notion to review books, so I managed to post reviews for December Girl (4*), All That She Can See (4*), One of Us Is Lying (4*), Empire of Storms (4.5*) and Tower of Dawn (4.5*).

I also wrote the following posts (images linked to original post):

My most popular post in October was eBooks v Paper Books – The Facts, and my most popular review in October was for December Girl!

What have you been up to lately? What are you hauling and reading? Let me know in the comments!