Raw Data:
Books – 7
Pages – 3070
Average Rating – 4.14
The Mediocre:
Last of the Plainsmen – 2 1/2 Stars
The Good:
Movie:
Superman III was campy and yet still quite enjoyable. Reeve did an excellent acting job and made the movie work despite itself. I’ve been warned that Superman IV is pretty bad though, so we’ll see how that turns out for December.
Miscellaneous And Personal:
This month has held a lot for me. I’ve been a full month, full time, at my new job and I must say, I don’t enjoy it. However, they are giving me what I asked for in terms of people and office training. I just have to hold on until the training/learning curve evens out a bit and I’ve got to learn to deal with different personalities in the office. THAT is probably my biggest issue. Which is why I’ve always stayed out in the field until now. People suck.
I’ve “graduated” to Progressive lenses in my glasses, so the end of the month was me getting used to using those instead of the single vision lenses that I’ve had ever since 5th grade. I didn’t have the motion sickness as bad as some people I know but it was still there and did affect me for a day or three.
Here is the list of some non-review posts for the month:
- Quote – Very Good, Jeeves
- Survival Saturday – The Gingie Edition
- Quote – Last of the Plainsmen
- Book Catch – The Burning White
- #6 Degrees – Alice in Wonderland to…
In regards to the book side of things, even though I only read 7 books, my page numbers were up almost 900 pages (thank you Bleakhouse!) and my rating skyrocketed to over 4. To put that in perspective, last month I was under 3. I didn’t have a bad book this month and I had several 5 stars. That is how it is supposed to be, even while rarely turning out that way. It made me happy and it is yet another reason to do these Roundup posts. Looking at the month as a whole gives me a different perspective than just the day in and day out view that I normally live in.
December is looking busy with me diving into the Burning White. I’ve got a few other books already read to schedule reviews for, but I suspect I’ll be padding things out with some manga. I’m going to try another series I own and hope like crazy it turns out better than Oh My Goddess! did. I’ve chosen Kare Kano, known as His and Her Circumstances, in English. Highschool drama, so wish me luck.
Book Give-Away:
This month I am giving away Mercede Lackey’s Dragon Jousters tetralogy in hardcover. We have an interesting situation already. Ichabod made a very public claim in the comments section and Lashaan followed that up asking if he could bribe me to let Icky win. The thing is, several other people have entered as well and to complicate it even further, I know one of them in real life and he’s a very good friend. I might end up letting Mrs B roll the die to determine the winner so I don’t have to 😀
Of course, no where in the rules does it say that if you win that I have to send it to you. Just saying…
Cover Love:
With a McKillip book, do you even need to ask?
I might have missed some posts of yours… Will be a series of incomming likes shortly. People do suck most times, but its always daunting to make new aquintances.. Hope work will hold up for you man. Hope December is gonna be kind to you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Dave. I sure December is going to go well, too. I could use it 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
There’s no better feeling for a reader to have a great reading month after a less than enjoyable one.
I remember having two 1 stars in a row several months back and it severely put me off reading. Thankfully, audio books picked up the slack during that time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh man, I sympathize. I’ve been there too 😦
Thank goodness every month isn’t low. It’s funny but this reduced reading time is actually forcing me to pick my reading choices a bit more wisely and that in turn is leading to better reads. I guess being picky has its benefits! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think the same thing has happened to me since getting busy at work. Let the good times roll on.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Even though you felt seven books wasn’t as many books as usual, all I feel is admiration because I’ve barely been able to read this month. I hope things get better with your job and glasses. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, hows Uni working out for you? Sounds like you’re busy as can be!
And thanks. I sure hope it gets better too 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Uni is HARD. It’s revision time now so I’ve been procrastinating a lot by just reading a lot. I’m going to try and get a review up this weekend. Fingers crossed! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree with you-people suck! I try to avoid dealing with them unless I really have to! I hope that things get better at work for you once things settle down a bit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. I really hope it all settles down too.
Doesn’t help that we’re about to get hit with a big snowstorm this weekend (possibly up to 60cm of snow), so next week might be a short week!
LikeLike
I’m sorry that the new job has had some difficulties, although I’m glad they’re at least keeping their promise on the training. I hope it gets better with more time!
And I’m very glad you had such a good reading month!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Best month for reading in I don’t know how long. It was great! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Having to deal with people is the hardest job of all, sometimes…
Thankfully book lovers always have places where they can find solace!
LikeLiked by 1 person
One month is all it is taking me to re-evaluate what I want from life in another 20 years. Who knew?!? 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah yes, dealing with people. Especially those with personalities that should be banished from Earth-0! I do hope things will get better for you and that you find strategies to avoid/deal with them.
Hahahah who would’ve thought that the latest giveaway would turn out so complicated. 😛 May the luckiest person win! 😀
Hope December will prove to be an awesome month for you, sir.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m actually talking with a guy at church who is anxiety prone and he’s been giving me some tips on simple things like breathing exercises. I’m hoping to start them this week to see if they work for me.
I have to admit, I didn’t think things would go this way for the book giveaway. I figured I’d be lucky to get one entry each month. I’ve been surprised at the turn out, especially considering the books I’ve been offering 🙂
Thank you. We’re about to get hit with a snowstorm tonight and into tomorrow, so December is coming in with a bang!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks like a very good month! New job will take some time to get used to, it always does, but that’s life… A few years back I changed mine, from one when I had to deal with people all the time, but on a more impersonal level, to working in a team most of the day, and as an extremal introvert I did not find it easy… but I learned some personalities were ok 😉
Obviously, great choice for the cover of the month 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. Trying to “hang in” until I’m adjusted is just a lot harder than I was expecting. Probably good for me to find this out now instead of in another 10 years when it would be even harder 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your “People suck” comment puts in my mind a similar comment by my friend, who keeps saying “I just don’t like people!” 😉 I’ll keep my fingers crossed that your new job pans out for you and that hopefully sooner than later you’ll find a good equilibrium.
I do enjoy your roundup posts, it’s a great way to see what people’ve been up to 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. I started doing a monthly roundup when I was on Booklikes (can’t remember if it was just to pad the post count at that point or not) and it was a natural carry over when I moed to WP. Plus, like I’ve stated before, going over the month as a whole gives me a much better perspective 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, that’s a gorgeous cover! I’d put that on the wall somewhere^^
Hope your new job will grow on you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve often wondered about trying to track down some of these cover arts as large prints. I’d really like to see them as a wall scroll (poster size but cloth instead of cheap paper like a poster).
Thanks. I’m hoping the same thing 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I did that with a special edition of ‘Gardens of the Moon’! The one that had Anomander Rake on it, but I don’t think it was available at the time or I would have bought it
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, was that the Subterranean Press cover? That one was gorgeous!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pretty sure that was it! I hunt it down again 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is really such a lovely cover. 🙂 I love months when the average rating is high like that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Makes up for all those stinky months where I was in the 2’s 😀
LikeLike
I guess both are normal, though, even if the 4’s make me happier. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sadly, there is good reason why I don’t get 4star months all the time 😀
What tends to be an average month for you?
LikeLike
I don’t usually track my monthly average, but my current yearly average is 3.8. It feels about right for what I’ve read this year, so I guess I’ll go with that. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is nice. I’d kill for a yearly average like that 😀
Well, there is always 2020!
LikeLike
I did a pretty good job so far this year of picking books to read that I knew I would enjoy. It’s not always like that, I promise. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I made the switch to Transitions this year, ugh. What a pain — but worth it (or so I’m told. I actually can’t stick with them — they’re sitting next to me so I can see the screen to type, but that seems to be an idiosyncrasy with my eyes)
Good page count and great average outweighs number of books completed — good month!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thankfully, they seem to be working for me. I was afraid of getting in a situation like yours
Thank goodness for page numbers 😀
LikeLike
Good luck with the job! ❤
I did notice similar tendencies in my office… everything is fine, and then you throw some people in and it's all downhill from there
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know, right? Sometimes I just imagine what the world would be like if there was nobody but me around. I’d be ok with that for a couple of months anyway 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love that McKillip cover! Glad to hear you had a better reading month. Hope your December is going well and your new job is getting easier!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reading wise, December is going fantastic!
LikeLiked by 1 person