Return Home
My five weeks in Europe came to a conclusion at the beginning of October. I think the amount of time away was exactly right. It would’ve been nice to travel more but I had seen and done enough to feel like I was ready to get back. While I didn’t miss the heat, I did miss sleeping in my own bed. The time spent travelling offered much respite and solitude, so I returned home refreshed and with more positivity.
Oh, and I learnt that travelling west doesn’t cause as much of a jet lag as travelling east. Mostly because flying east results in the loss of a night. When I landed at 7 a.m., my body clock just struck midnight.
What Else Happened
Despite returning home, I was cut off from local civilisation for an additional week. That’s what happens when you send your phone for servicing and your back-up phone is too ancient to read your SIM card. I also dedicated more time again to baking, which has been fun.
Besides that, a close friend of mine got married. My friends and I lost our way to the wedding reception and ended up walking quite a detour in the scorching noon sun. No mean feat in 4.5-inch heels. The things we endure for our friends. Hah. But it was worth it to see the glowing happiness on the couple’s faces.
Books Read
Sorted by date read:
Statistics
Amount Read
Altogether I finished reading 8 books. I listened 20 hours and 27 minutes and read 1700 pages. If I convert the listening hours to pages, then I would’ve read a total of 2468 pages. This slow-down compared to the previous few months can be attributed to reading Winter. It was such a highly anticipated book of mine that I wanted to savour every moment of the 824 pages.
The books I read had an average of 284 pages and the audiobooks I listened to were on average 10 hours and 14 minutes long. Despite the very thick 824-page book in my pile, the average was dragged down by the graphic novels and even shorter recipe book. Since I was taking my time with Winter, I didn’t listen much to audiobooks this month.
Formats
Format-wise, I read 2 paperbacks, 3 ebooks, 2 audiobooks and 1 hardcover. That was some appreciation for every format. Substance over matter, aye.
Targets and Genres
I read, 1 non-fiction book, 4 YA fiction books and 3 graphic novels. The genres were 3 fantasy, 1 mystery, 1 contemporary, 1 historical fiction and 1 dystopian. The non-fiction book was a recipe book.
Sources
The sources of these books were:
- Accessed 2 on Scribd
- Borrowed 2 through Overdrive
- Borrowed 1 from the library
- Acquired 1 from FBM
- Bought 1 from Kinokuniya
- Bought 1 from Audible
Acquisitions
Sorted by author:
Reading Challenges
Goodreads
Tally: 108/100
Compared to 2014, I’ve been reading a little less this year. Looking at the progress bars though, my reading rate has been fairly consistent, indicating no major slumps. Either way, what matters is that I set myself a goal and stuck to it.
Non-Fiction
Tally: 8/20
I am failing ever so miserably at this, in part because the non-fiction books I am stuck on are a slight bit more challenging than I expected them to be. Perhaps I’ll manage to finish at least another one or two before the end of the year.
Adult Fiction
Tally: 18/12
If I include plays and poetry, then the tally is 20.
Classics
Tally: 3/6
German Books
Tally: 4/12
Popsugar Reading Challenge
Tally: 37/50
I’m very impressed by your ability to walk in 4.5-inch heels! I tried on my friend’s 5-inch heels at a wedding one time, and I thought I was going to kill myself. I lasted 10 minutes, haha.
I really like the German Kerstin Gier covers. I’ve heard mixed reviews of the series (and also that the English translation isn’t great), but I’d like to read it. I’ll be looking out for your thoughts after you read the German editions.
You’ve acquired a bunch of beautiful books! I love looking at that photo and seeing some of my favorites ;) I’m also really curious about The Dark Days Club. Can’t wait to hear what you think of it!