Month in Review: September 2013

Wow, September came and went real fast. Fall is finally upon us, which means the weather is cooling down and it’s not still sunlight when the kids go to bed. (For reals, it drove my kids nuts that there were going to bed when the sun was shining.) My reading slump extended into September so I didn’t read much of anything. Hopefully I’ll get my reading mojo back in this month.

TOP PICKS for September: Both top picks this month are J9’s (since I didn’t review any books and she had two 4 ½ frog reads). Her first top pick is Second Chances by T.A. Webb, which she gave 4 ½ frogs. Her second top pick is Sinner’s Gin by Rhys Ford, which she also gave 4 ½ frogs.

One reason I didn’t read much in September was because I was glomming Sons of Anarchy. And when I say glomming, I basically watched seasons 1-5 (and the first 3 episodes that have aired in season 6 so far) in less than a week. Talk about addicting. Every free moment I had, I was watching SOA. This is why I don’t watch much TV; it’s a freakin’ time suck!! And now my mom is trying to get me to watch Breaking Bad.

So Goodreads made an announcement about a week ago. I’m still conflicted on what I’m going to do. I am already on LibraryThing (I have a Lifetime membership, so I don’t have to worry about any limits) but the user interface is seriously lacking. I imported my books from Goodreads to both BookLikes and Libib. It took BookLikes EIGHT days to complete the import (and no, I am not exaggerating) and there are 200 books missing. Libib took like 15 minutes (no lie) but half of my library (some 700+ books) was missing. I think I’m going to stick with Goodreads but remove my reviews from the site. I mainly use Goodreads to track my reading and to catalog my books; I’m not on there to socialize. (That’s what Twitter is for. *wink*) I don’t have any shelves or reviews that violate Goodreads’ policy (old or new) but it really rubs me the wrong way that they just up and deleted users’ content without any prior warning. And where will Goodreads draw the line when it comes to what violates their policy and what doesn’t?

I will continue to accept applications for Guest Reviewers through the end of October. I’m looking for a few, so if you enjoy reading and talking about books but don’t want to start/run your own blog, you should definitely apply.

 

Books Reviewed on TBV:

1. Where He Ends and I Begin by Cardeno C. – 4 frogs
2. Dark Lycan by Christine Feehan – 4 frogs
3. The Governess Club: Claire by Ellie Macdonald – 3 ½ frogs
4. Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela by Felicia Watson – 4 frogs
5. Hunter’s Heart by J.D. Tyler – 2 ½ frogs
6. Catch a Ghost by S.E. Jakes – 3 frogs
7. The Untamed Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley – 3 ½ frogs
8. Love Comes Silently by Andrew Grey – 2 frogs
9. Second Chances by T.A. Webb – 4 ½ frogs
10. This is Love by Remmy Duchene & Allison Cassatta – 4 frogs
11. The “L” Bomb by Phoenix Emrys – 2 frogs
12. The Governess Club: Bonnie by Ellie Macdonald – 3 frogs
13. The One Who Saves Me by Cardeno C. – 3 ½ frogs
14. Master’s Blood by M.D. Grimm – 3 frogs
15. Homespun by Layla M. Wier – 4 frogs
16. The Corrupt Comte by Edie Harris – 4 frogs
17. Come Unto These Yellow Sands by Josh Lanyon – 4 frogs
18. Bound by Honor by S.E. Jakes – 2 frogs
19. Homespun by Layla M. Wier – 4 frogs
20. The Corrupt Comte by Edie Harris – 4 frogs
21. Come Unto These Yellow by Josh Lanyon – 4 frogs
22. Bound by Honor by S.E. Jakes – 2 frogs
23. Sinner’s Gin by Rhys Ford – 4 ½ frogs
24. Illumination by Rowan Speedwell – 3 ½ frogs

Posts:

• Author Lindsey Loucks shared an excerpt from The Grave Winner.
• J9 and I interviewed author and audio book narrator Charlie David.
• IMP: Interview with a drag queen, the cup song, 3D book covers, and much more.
• My latest Bookish Wants & Gots.
• I talked about what Oyster, the latest ebook subscription service, has to offer romance readers.
• Author Megan Hart stopped by and shared an exclusive excerpt from her latest release, Tear You Apart.
• Reasons to read the Cut & Run series by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux.
• Things I’ve learned about Twitter.
• I did a tutorial on IFTTT and using it to automate your online activities.
• My Bloggiesta to-do list.
• My Bloggiesta finish line.
• Books I have no desire to read.
• IMP: Misheard lyrics, Sons of Anarchy, wrong number texts, and so much more.

2013 Reading Challenges/Goals Status Report:

• Outdo Yourself – 63/100
• Men in Uniform – 5/5 – COMPLETED
• Nicholas Sparks – 0/4
• Romantic Suspense – 6/13
• Contemporary Romance – 10/10 – COMPLETED
• Read 100 books – 63/100
• Read 24 books from TBR Pile – 5/24
• Read 12 Freebies from TBR Pile – 3/12

How was your September? If you are on Goodreads, are you going to stay there? Are you looking for an alternative site?