Monthly Wrapups

What I’ve been up to in September 🍂 Master Preparation & the Start of Autumn

Caro @ bookcheshirecat

September Wrapup

Hello fellow bookworms 🍂 Time has escaped me yet again and it’s already the end of September??? I swear that it was just the beginning of the month but inbetween Master course preparation and finding a flat/moving, things moved faster than I anticipated. Now that I have a ‘deadline’ for moving and starting the semester introduction, I’ve been more focused on what I want to do before everything starts again. However, all the change has also brought lots of anxiety and worries, but I tried my best to compensate by planning a lot. (I am and have always been a HUGE planner) 📝 If you have any tips for making new friends at university when you’re socially anxious (I don’t know anyone at my new college/city), dealing with change and/or settling into a new flat please let me know in the comments, I’d appreciate any help 💗

A nice autumn gif to calm myself 🍂

Important Resources

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whatiread

🔄 = Reread 💌 = Library Books 🌈 = Here and Queerathon

🐯 = #YARC2020 ✨= #StartOnYourShelfathon ⌛ = Digital Arc

I read 9 books in September and honestly, I’m slowly allowing myself to be more relaxed with my reading. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading and it has helped me so much to stay anchored in quarantine, but lately it has become overwhelming with all the goals I set for myself. Reducing my reading speed and the need to read all the books at once (which just isn’t realistic) has been really good to me. Especially with busier times on the horizion I have been adapting my reading habits to be more sustainable yet still consistent, as I still want to keep up with this hobby during the new semester. (I’m considering writing a discussion post about changing reading habits sometime in the future, it would be my very first one 😱) Enjoyment-wise, September was a great reading month as I found two new favorite books (All Systems Red & The Silvered Serpents & Skyward), reread an old favorite (Geekerella, still holds up after 3 years) and generally let myself savour books again 💕

OC Update

I read 3 books out of my comfort zone in September and cracked the 40 Books mark, meaning that I’m now the proud owner of the Adventurer Badge, the highest one you can achieve 🎉 I also really liked what I was reading, so that’s always a bonus, especially as there were three new favorite books among them!! I adored All Systems Red (adult sci-fi novella, listened to it on audiobook 🎧 10/10) and The Silvered Serpents (YA historical fantasy, eArc ⌛ the book is now out though and I highly recommend you check it out). I also LOVED Skyward (YA sci-fi), so all in all September was a good month in terms of enjoyment 🥰

OOCZ_ September

All Systems Red (Martha Wells) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💌

The Silvered Serpents (Roshani Chokshi) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🐯 ⌛

Skyward (Brandon Sanderson) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

Other Books

1. All Systems Red (Martha Wells) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💌 ➽ Review

2. The Silvered Serpents (Roshani Chokshi) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🐯 ⌛ ➽ Review

3. Skyward (Brandon Sanderson) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ ➽ Review

4. Geekerella (Ashley Poston) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔄 ➽ Review

5. The Black Flamingo (Dean Atta) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💌 ➽ Review

6. The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker (Lauren James) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⌛🌈 ➽ Review

7. Bookish and the Beast (Ashley Poston) ⭐⭐⭐.5 💌 🌈 ➽ Review

8. Come Tumbling Down (Seanan McGuire) ⭐⭐⭐.5 💌 🌈 ➽ Review

9. Shuri Vol .1: The Search for Black Panther (Nnedi Okorafor) ⭐⭐⭐ 💌 ➽ Review

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Favorite Book 💕

whatiposted

Doing the Fall Time, Cozy Time Tag again in 2020 🎃 🍂 Arc Review: The Scapegracers by Hannah A. Clarke 📕 Time for Witchy Things

Fall Recommendations 2020 🍂🎃 Cozy, Sad, Spooky & Atmospheric stories 🍂 Spotlight #2 💖 Felix Ever After, 10 Things I Hate About Pinky & Loveless

Pumpkin Spice Latte Book Tag 🎃 the return of the seasonal Tags 🍂 Arc Review: The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi 🐍 A heavy sequel full of grief and thorned love

🎃 Books I MAYBE want to read 📚 help me decide!

faveposts

For this section of my wrapup I’m linking up with the Favorite Blog Posts of the Month Meme that has been created by Kristin @ kristinkravesbooks to showcase our favorite blogs of the month!

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life stuff

I finally got a flat! Trying to find a new flat as a student was one of the most stressful and frustrating experiences of the year and my mental health was at its worst 😔 I was constantly feeling bad getting another rejection or people not even replying. I could go on a whole rant of how difficult the housing market is if you’re a student trying to find a place to stay that isn’t tiny, too expensive, or too far away from the university/city (I don’t have a car). Especially as the city I’m moving to is 3+ hours away from my home I couldn’t just go to a viewing immediately and therefore I didn’t even get a chance most times. BUT THEN I tried the university’s housing register (a place where landlords can post offers for flats) and I went to view (& ultimately rent) a flat rented by an older couple! It’s super close to the university (only 5 minutes with the bus, 15 to the city) and is located in a residential area with little traffic and no train tracks like last time!!! (I need my peace and quiet during the night & the house only has 2 other people living there) There’s even a garden that’s allowed to be used by everyone in the house and a bigger kitchen (still no oven though). The only downside is that the flat is a souterrain which I normally wouldn’t have liked, but it was a good option all things considered (the rent is roughly the same compared to my last apartment and at least it’ll be cool down there in the summer 😂 All in all, I’m honestly SO relieved that I got my own place now 💕

There was a lot of Master Preparation to be done! Ever since I got my confirmation for my Master course things have been VERY busy! It’s a bit jarring compared to the last couple of months, so I’m struggling a bit to adjust to a new, more hectic routine again after being cooped up a lot at home. I’ve been trying to organize moving, now that I finally have a flat and getting to know my new city and what it has to offer/what I need. I’ve finally got more information from the university about the upcoming semester (it’ll be online and in-class) and we’ll be having an introduction week after all, just with a very reduced agenda, as we’ll obviously have to be split into a lot of groups. I hope I’ll be able to still meet some new people, yet I’,m also terrified as I don’t do well with change and this will be a BIG one. The workload at university seems to be a lot more than what I’m used to (especially in terms of exams) so I have been using my free time now to prewrite some blog posts, as I have no idea how busy I’ll get 😅 Good vibes very much appreciated 💗

Things that made me happy 😊

  • Watching so many great TV Shows 📺 Once again I was watching a lot of shows that turned out to be amazing! My friend Sandra and I watched the new season of Lucifer and The Umbrella Academy – I love both of these shows a lot! TUA was more of a surprise for me as the first season didn’t 100% hook me, but Season 2 really got me 💗 We also watched Criminal Germany & UK towards the end of the month and the concept of these shows is so intriguing!
  • Autumn Vibes 🍂 There weren’t as many of them as I would have liked because it was still too warm in September (ugh) but towards the end of the month it got colder and I’m honestly thriving in the cooler weather!! I love cozying up under blankets, lighting candles, and watching it rain outside, so I’m excited for it to get even colder in October! 💕
  • Reorganizing my bookshelf 📚 I had to do this because I needed to figure out what books to take with me to my new flat (I’ll be having the exact same bookshelf there) and which ones to leave behind. It was hard to choose, but after organizing everything, I was SO much happier with my ‘home bookshelf’. For the past couple of months, it has been overflowing with books but now that it’s less crowded I feel so much more relaxed about it! 🥰
  • Finally registring for Notion 📝 I have heard about this planner tool/website for a while now and in order to organize my new, more busy life at university I finally made an account!! ✨ I’ve taken lots of time to do my pages and I’m done with personal life stuff, reading, blogging and writing. The only pages left to do are the ones for my Master’s Course! I really love this website so far as everything is in one place and looks nice, but it does take a bit too long to load sometimes for my taste.

In case you were wondering who my favorite TUA character was ☕

looking ahead

Time to really get spooky 👻 September was still a bit too warm for me, but the weather is getting cooler and Halloween is just around the corner now 🎃 It’s one of my favorite times of the year (even though I’m a big scaredy cat and can only handle slightly spooky things) and I’m happy to be joining Sbooktober again! It’s a month-long event with photo challenges and watchalongs, but I mainly come for the Readathon, as it’s also so creative and a lot of fun to do 💕 It’s my 5th time participating in the Readathon and I’m incredibly excited to read some more spooky and atmospheric books as I’m a big seasonal reader when it comes to autumn and fall! At the same time, October will be really busy as I’ll be moving to my new flat halfway through the month with a lot of things to organize and plan. In the very last week of October, I’ll get an introduction to my new university and Master Course, so I’m already a bit nervous about how this is going to go and how I’ll adapt to being in a new city. I’m trying to hold on to my love for the colder weather and Halloween, as I don’t have official classes until the first week of November 😄

TIME TO GET SPOOKY YEAH!! 🎃

Readathon I’ll be joining in October 👻

  • Sbooktober (October 1st to October 31st) 👻 🎃 TBR list to come soon!!

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What were you up to in September? What was your favorite book this month? What’s your favorite TUA/Lucifer character? I hope you’re staying safe 🍂

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Published by Caro @ bookcheshirecat

26 thoughts on “What I’ve been up to in September 🍂 Master Preparation & the Start of Autumn”

  1. Thank you for including my post, Caro! September is a stressful month for me too, the thesis deadline is finally here and my defense will be next week so right now I’m really nervous. The weather has been really hot lately but there has been some rain too, which is a relief. I did not read a lot this month, but I did stan 2 new k-pop groups so there’s that 😂💖

    I hope you’re having a fantastic october and the rest of your master’s prep will run smoothly!

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. You’re welcome! I wish you all the best with your thesis and defense, I hope everything goes well 🥰 Happy to hear that you found two great new k-pop groups you like! Thank you! I hope you have a lovely October as well! 🎃

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  2. Caro I would love to see your notion setup!! I am so excited the book community has discovered notion since I had kind of used it before but didn’t know how to make it pretty, lol.

    I hope school goes well for you and am sending you all the positive vibes 🙂

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  3. I can completely understand the stress and anxiety that comes with moving someplace where you don’t know anyone, and I hope everything goes well for you ❤ My strategy when I studied abroad and didn’t know anyone was to just go to a TON of events (even though it was all very much outside of my comfort zone) and talk to as many people as I could. Most of those people I didn’t talk to ever again, but I eventually managed to find a little group of friends. It was very scary for my socially anxious self, but if it helps, I’ll bet almost everyone there feels the same way ❤

    So glad you enjoyed so many of the books you read in September! You’re making me really excited to read The Silvered Serpents. And I’ve had my eye on All Systems Red for a while – I really just need to read it!

    Thanks so much for sharing my post! Good luck with all your Masters prep – you got this! Happy October, and happy reading 😊

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thank you so much for that tip, Margaret! 🥰💕 Idk how many events will take place with everything going on, but getting involved on campus might be a good idea – I hope other new students will also want to connect!

      The Silvered Serpents was very emotional and tough, but such a great book! All Systems Red surprised me so much, it turned out to be so much fun and a really quick read 🥰
      Thank you! I hope you have a fantastic October 🎃❤

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  4. I so hear you on the anxiety that comes with moving and being in a new environment. I am sure you will find your footing there soon and it definitely helps that you are a planner (unlike me-I’m a complete disaster). I don’t have any specific ideas on how to make friends, maybe a study group could be helpful? I just strike up conversations with strangers in class and hope that one of them sticks … not the best method, but you never know.
    Happy Spooktober!! And thanks for sharing my post again ❤ you're the best!!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thank you for your tip 🥰 I feel like getting involved a bit on campus might be a good idea to find some people, especially those that I share courses with! Planning has also made me feel more comfortable 😊
      You’re welcome! I hope you have a great Sbooktober as well! 🎃💕

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  5. Good luck with moving and the Masters course! Moving to another city far away from home is really stressful and takes time to adapt to, so sending all the calming vibes!
    As an introvert, I really don’t have any tips for meeting new people, because I suck at that. 😅 I was really lucky to find my best friend at university, because we were both on a bookish site and he asked if anyone else there is gong to that uni course, and I answered to him. So, what I’m trying to say here is that it also takes luck, and I really hope that you’ll be able to get new friends!

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  6. I also really enjoyed The Silvered serpents! I also loved the new season of Lucifer and I really do want to watch the Umbrella Academy but I keep procrastinating lol
    YAy for getting a flat! It’s compulsory to live on campus for us, so thankfully I don’t have to search for a place to live!
    All the best for Sbooktober!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. So happy to hear that you enjoyed The Silvered Serpents and the new Lucifer season! 🥰 I hope you like The Umbrella Academy, especially the new season is so good! Thank you! Oh, that’s good, at least you won’t have to worry about that!
      Hope you have a good October 🍂

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  7. Aww, Caro, you’re one of the sweetest and most dedicated people I know in the community, I feel so happy and honored that you mentioned so many of my posts, THANK YOU SO MUCH, it means a lot 🥺✨🥺✨ & I understand that you feel anxious about so many changes, to move out and get started a new stage is never easy, but I hope it brings you incredible moments and positive experiences. ❤️
    I wish you only the best, darling & I hope you have a beautiful October 🎃🌙

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Aww, thank you so much for the kind words, Sofii!! Always happy to be sharing your posts, they are amazing 🥰💗 Thank you! I’m nervous but also looking forward to some change after being stuck in the same routine for so long!
      I hope you have a fantastic October as well!! 🎃💕

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  8. Oh I loved reading this post so much Caro!! Thank you so much for mentioning my post btw <3<3

    EEEEPPPP it seems like you had such a great month with so many great books!! YAY!! And double yay for finding a flat. Hope uni goes well and sending you all the love and support xx And also SO GLAD you loved Umbrella Academy, it's such a fun time. Also really love Five hehe. Also SAME I also finally set up my Notion which was so much fun. Wishing you a wonderful October

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    1. Thank you so much for reading Ruby 🥰
      I’m so happy to have read so many amazing books this month and finding a flat was such a relief 😊 Thank you so much, it’s much appreciated 💕 Umbrella Academy was such a nice surprise!! Happy to hear that you also love Five 🥰 Notion is such a great tool, so glad I discovered it! I hope you have an amazing October as well 🍂

      Liked by 1 person

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    1. Yes, All Systems Red was fantastic!! I’m so excited to read more and have the audiobook for books 2 and 3 on hold from the library 🥰 I hope you enjoy Skyward, it’s really great!
      Thank you! I hope you have a great month as well 😊

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  10. I’m glad you found a flat; the process of it sounds horrendous, though. :/ I hope your Master course will be good! I’d love to read your discussion about changing reading habits! I’ve also been trying to make myself accept that right now I just can’t read as much as I did a few months ago. It’s a combination of being stressed about COVID, being overwhelmed by uni, and having other interests. I thought Greekerella was really cute, so I’m glad you enjoyed it. 😀 I’m hoping to read The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker in October, so I’m glad that worked for you. Thank you for highlighting my posts! 🙂

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    1. Finding a flat is so hard, so I’m glad that I was able to get one! Thank you!! 💗 I’m definitely making some notes on the discussion as I’d love to post it maybe next year! I feel that so much, the workload of the new semester will be bigger than my Bachelor’s so I’m already a bit stressed 😅 I hope you enjoy The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker, it was a great book about ghosts 👻 You’re welcome 💕

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  11. i’ll definitely be looking forward to your discussion on changing reading habits. i feel like mine have changed so much over the years, and it definitely changed even more after lockdown. i’m still not working (i work at a school and schools have not reopened here yet and i don’t think they will for the rest of the year), so i feel like i’m still in the same lockdown habits, but they’ll change sooo drastically once things get back to normal. i’m not really anticipating it, since it will probably mean i have less time to read ): but i think it’s part of embracing the routine, right?

    i really hope you enjoy your new flat! will you be able to freely decorate it or are there any “rules” since you’re only renting it? i hope you still get to make it cozy & comfortable!

    sending you as many positive vibes as i can so you can manage blogging, reading and university well in october. thank you so much for the shoutout, btw, caro!

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    1. Thank you so much, Lais! 🥰 I definitely feel you, it’s so strange to be stuck in the lockdown routine for so long and then get back to ‘normal’, but I hope to adapt to a new routine quickly. It might mean reading less, but I think I don’t mind as I still hope to read regularly!

      Thank you!! There aren’t many rules, so I can make it as cozy and personal as I like, so that should hopefully help me settle into my new home! Thanks for all the good vibes, I hope you have a good October as well 💕 You’re welcome 🥰

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  12. I’m so happy that you found a flat, Caro and I hope that everything will be alright ❤ I completely get the anxiety of moving to a new place and adapting to a whole new environment, too. It takes a bit of time to adjust, at least it did for me back when I moved for university, too, but little by little I found my people and I'm sure you will too 🙂 sending you all the good vibes! ❤ ❤
    And everyone's so obsessed with notion, I need to do something about it? 😂

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thank you, Marie! I’m so relieved that I finally found my flat 💕 Thank you for all the good vibes, I really appreciate them 🥰 Given the current circumstances it’ll be a bit different, but I hope to still be able to connect with my fellow classmates!
      Omg yes, Marie! Notion is amazing for organization and really appeals to me visually as well 😊

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  13. THANK YOU SO MUCH for linking to my post, Caro!! I’m also incredibly late lol but ty so so much ❤🥺 Also you read so many great books this month I’m so happy for you! 😍 I hope you have a wonderful October and good luck with your Masters work! (I honestly have no idea what that is sdjsodf maybe it’s because I’m American and in high school lol)

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. You’re welcome 🥰💕 I’m also really happy to have enjoyed so many great books, at least 2020 has been good for my reading 😄 Thank you!! I hope you have a great remaining October and November😊 (Here in Germany you can go to university after your high school graduation. The first three years you can get your Bachelor degree and afterward you can choose to spend two additional years doing a Master degree 😄)

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