This month felt like nothing in a lot of ways. It went by so fast; I keep questioning that it even happened. Honestly, I’m writing this post two hours into November, since Halloween does fall higher on the priority list. That’s okay. I’m learning to allow myself leniency while focusing on priorities. So, alongside doing a wrap-up for October, I want to talk about balancing a workload.
I added to my list of “jobs” this month and that’s been a pleasant, but strange adjustment. The strange part is that I must open my computer every day (which should be amazingly handy during NaNoWriMo in November). The job itself is pleasant. I’m working with the Ormsby Review on their social media. It’s small, but necessary and I enjoy learning more about British Columbian authors and history daily (check them out at www.ormsbyreview.com if that sounds interesting!). On top of that, I also have four other “jobs”: reading and writing for Lit&Leta, writing my novel and other stories, my secret project with my best friend, and chores and other homemaking things.
So, how do I balance? First, I have a planner and I colour code each of those five things so that I can instantly know what I need to do that day. This month has been a true test of the work ethic I was so proud of in school. For most of October, this worked very well. I was able to get up, check my planner and boot up my laptop, and get it all done. This last week of October went a bit downhill, but not as far as I thought it would. I kept up on the dishes and laundry and that saved me like it does every time. I also try to plan around all the Canucks games, which is a lot of effort, and you’d think they’d make it worth my time and win a game every once in a while (a joke! But please).
I also allow myself to move things to tomorrow if today is going sideways. For this to work, I get done everything necessary done in the morning. I try to plan out my day from there based on how much work I must do on my laptop, spreading it out through the day so I’m not staring at a screen for hours all at once. The one thing I’m struggling to book into each day is reading. That’s one of my goals for November.
Now for October’s wrap-up! I read eleven and a half books this month:
– A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer
– The Day She Died by S.M. Freedman
– Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer
– Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite edited by Natalie C. Parker and Zoraida Córdova
– What Once Was Mine by Liz Braswell
– The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
– Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
– Stolen by Elizabeth Gilpin
– Murder Book: A Graphic Memoir of a True Crime Obsession by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell
– Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things by Amanda Lovelace
– Tides: Paj and Auster by Adrienne Young
Currently Reading: Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (45%)
Tied for my favourite of the month are Defy the Night and Crooked Kingdom. I LOVED them. I would give my life for a Defy the Night sequel. The characters! The plot! The tension! Everything about it was amazing. Crooked Kingdom made me ugly cry and then sob, and then cry again. I hated finishing this one, since I knew that the adventure wouldn’t continue like this again. I’m itching to get my own copies of King of Scars and Rule of Wolves. I want more GrishaVerse (never thought I’d say that…) and if I can’t find the next duology somewhere, I might just rewatch the Netflix series forever.
I didn’t have a least favourite this month. I could talk about The Day She Died because it was weird, but I enjoyed the weirdness immensely. I’ll link my review of it on Ormsby when it’s published.
As for writing things, I finished prepping my novel, A Wizard’s Guide to Gardening, for NaNoWriMo. I’m still working on writing out character profiles, but I can do that as I go for most of the characters. I kept up on blog posts as well, which means it shouldn’t take much to catch up and get ahead in November.
That’s everything for October. Thanks for reading and have a great November!
Lit&Leta 
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