Wrap-Up of the Month

Since I didn't get to blog much this month, I've decided to post a wrap-up of things that happened in October. I think that I will have to cut down the blogging to once a week, though, because I want to post posts other than book reviews and need some time to come up with them.

So on the buying side, I bought a book!

Which is news because I usually don't buy books. They are rare and beautiful and NO you cannot borrow them. Sorry, but I am very protective. :)

I have also discovered a squishy cat (which I ordered last month, but I never pointed it out here like I wanted, so here you go). See two of the pictures above, where it is center stage. Also, here is the link if you are considering purchasing one (It's very adorable. And also squishy.)

On the Halloween Side, I dressed up...

...as Cameron Anne Morgan! In case you do not know who she is (see my book review), she is a super awesome spy-in-training from the Gallagher Academy For Exceptional Young Women. For this costume, I decided to wear a casual blazer, white shirt, stockings, and a black and white skirt. I really wanted a pin on my shirt to explicitly state that I was from the Gallagher Academy, but the only pin I had was for Disney Princesses, which I decided to avoid for the time being.

On the reading side, I read about five books!

*Sigh*

Hopefully, November will be a better month. Though I'm not sure, because NaNoWriMo is here and I don't have an idea yet...

So what have you been up to this month? What did you dress up as for Halloween? Have you read as much as you've liked? Has October been busy or relaxing? Tell me below!

The Silver Mask Book Review (Majorly Excited!!!)

Cover Courtesy of Goodreads

The Silver Mask by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Goodreads Synopsis: A generation ago, Constantine Madden came close to achieving what no magician had ever achieved: the ability to bring back the dead. He didn't succeed . . . but he did find a way to keep himself alive, inside a young child named Callum Hunt. Now Call is one of the most feared and reviled students in the history of the Magisterium, thought to be responsible for a devastating death and an ever-present threat of war. As a result, Call has been imprisoned and interrogated. Everyone wants to know what Constantine was up to-and how he lives on. But Call has no idea. It is only when he's broken out of prison that the full potential of Constantine's plan is suddenly in his hands . . . and he must decide what to do with his power. In this spellbinding fourth book of Magisterium, bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare take us beyond the realm of the living and into the dangers of the dead.

My Review: After a year of waiting, I can finally express my views on this book. Which, if I'm being completely honest, weren't that the book was perfect.

The story was very fast-paced. The authors crammed a lot into a short book, and I really would have appreciated a proper timeline, even if the book ended up being longer. Everything was also not very believable. Call managed to do something in one night that he'd been trying to practice for much longer (and failing). It just wasn't logical, and that has nothing to do with magic. The character's views towards one another were also confusing. I can't reveal anything else about this, but I didn't understand how and why a lot of things had changed since the end of the events of The Bronze Key (like Alex). Finally, the writing style seemed different, and there seemed to be a few grammatical errors (though I'd have to check on that again). Nothing majorly wrong, though, but a few errors irked me. I also thought that the some slang ruined the scenes a bit. I suppose that's why authors don't use those types of phrases that often.

However, though I didn't like it that much after finishing it, it left a hangover on me. I think overall it was a pretty good almost-end (although I'm not sure how the authors will finish off the series, because it seemed a bit like this should be the conclusion without the cliffhangers at the end). I did like some of the character development, that Call gets a bit more confident in himself, and how important friendship is in this story. There were some annoying scenes, but it wasn't half bad. I'd say I liked it almost least of the whole series, but I'd still give it 4 stars. Now is just the wait for the rest of the year for the conclusion...

Book Updates (The Best Kind)

Today's post is short. It will also probably sound like some sort of advertisement, but I'm not being paid for this.

Spy School Secret Service and The Silver Mask both came out on October 10th!

Courtesy of Giphy
On the outside...

Courtesy of Giphy
Except I'm not horrified, I'm delighted :) :) :)

Courtesy of Giphy
My reaction on the inside in one picture.

I want to at least buy The Silver Mask for myself. I need it on my shelf next to the first two books (I didn't buy The Bronze Key).

Do you know any books that came out/are coming out soon on your TBR list? Have you read any of the Spy School books or Magisterium series? Tell me below!

Food to Eat When Reading

We all like to read (of course) and we all like to eat. However, there are some snacks that can totally damage a book's papers and some that spread oil everywhere. So here are some DO and DON'T foods to eat while lounging with your favorite paperback (or hardcover...or audio book...or ebook).

DON'Ts

Don't eat these foods when reading!

Popcorn puts so many stains on the pages, but you can eat it if you leave one hand free to turn them.

Dressing spills, okay? Unless you're one of those people who can eat a salad without dressing, then don't even bother.

I know how tempting it is to break out the M&Ms while reading about candy in books, but just skip out on this one. Most candy is sticky or it leaves stains on your hands. You could try a chocolate bar, though.

Soup can also spill if you're not careful (which you most likely won't be when paying attention to the book).

I'm not really sure how you'd read in the first place while trying to balance your cookies and milk while reading, but even if you could, don't. If this spills, you're in trouble! Also, I think this snack requires your full attention so your cookies don't drown in the milk while you're not looking.

DO's

You can eat these instead!

Pretzels, Various Nuts aren't super greasy, so they'll most likely leave your book intact.

If Rice and Chicken/Vegetables/etc. (basically any meal you don't need hands to eat) is your dinner, then you're probably safe reading while eating it. There isn't too much liquid in this, and you don't need to look back and forth between your plate and your book.

A Granola Bar is one of the best options, if you can read one-handed while holding the granola bar in your other hand. It most likely won't break and fall off, and even if it does, it won't make a big a mess as say, candy.

Cake (with a fork) would probably be okay to eat while reading because it doesn't take too long to cut a piece of cake and eat it, and you wouldn't lose your concentration on the story. Also, cake is yummy!

Do you eat while reading? What snacks do you like to munch on? Tell me below!

P.S. Do you like the blockquotes? I'm thinking of using them in book reviews, which is what my surprise was going to be (I know they're not the most fun surprise, but I really like them :)).

A Tip for Staying Warmer

I haven't posted in almost two weeks, so here's a quickie before I schedule some posts soon.

DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT OKAY?!! I'LL GET IT TOGETHER SOON. Because I was totally on task this summer and scheduled 5,000+ posts like I had planned.

Anyways, since it's been getting colder lately, here's a tip for staying warm.

1. Go to Costco. If you don't know where that is (because, I know, I'm an international sensation and have many followers who just don't want to click the button on the right, though I'm not sure why...), it's this big store that gives out yummy samples if you're lucky.

2. Step into the Costco section where they keep all of the vegetables, etc. In other words, it's that FREEZING COLD ROOM that will keep you SHIVERING but you should be fine if you're only in there for 30 seconds.

3. Step out. You will feel a blast of warm air, which is really just the rest of Costco. This isn't even an exaggeration!

I hope you don't take this too seriously, just for your own health. Alternatively, you could do this with any other store with a frrrreeeezzzing area, but Costco's usually the coldest, as far as I can tell.

Do you have any "tips" for staying warm? Or any stories about trying to keep warm (but miserably failing)? Share in the comments!