September Wrap Up
September has gone by really fast. For most, it is the start of school and university for them! However, I've been at home working on this blog and trying to up my Instagram game. On the other hand, I also got into a really bad rut this month. I was dormant for about a week and a half. I couldn't be bothered to do anything with my online life and my personal life. Getting out of bed was a struggle but I still managed to do it but working out was even worse. I honestly didn't feel like moving my body AT ALL!
So, how did I get out of it? Well I let it control me for a few days because I needed the rest and relaxation but then I got really frustrated after that so I decided to change some things.
1} I ate a little better.
I've been eating healthy for the past 2 months now, but I decided to kick it up a notch and eat more vegetables and more carbs to get my energy going. I admit, I felt so much better but then again who doesn't after eating food! I also increased the amount of times I ate a day. So instead of having the 4 meals that I have a day, I decided to increase it to 6 small meals. Now, I know people say its cliche to try to eat healthy when you don't feel well, but you guys really should. It boosts your energy and makes you feel so much better.
2} I slept a lot more.
I've never had a sleeping schedule! Surprising right? I sort of just sleep when I'm tired and then wake up naturally. So this means I could go to bed at 10 and wake up at 8... or I could go to bed at 1AM and wake up at 12PM. I figured having a bad sleeping schedule is also partly why I was feeling the way I was. I decided that at the start of September I would go to bed at 8/9PM and wake up at 8AM. I used the silent alarms on my Fitbit to remind me to get to bed or to wake me up! It was hard at first. but then I got into the routine and I felt a lot better waking up at 8AM then I did at 12PM after a late night.
3} I stayed away from social media.
My Instagram went funky and it would let me log in. When I did manage to log in, none of my #bookstagram photos were there, so I thought they were all gone. I spent the first few days panicking but then I decided that I should probably stay away from social media because it takes up 65% of my day just scrolling through Instagram/Facebook etc.... {My Instagram is up and running now}
I did give myself a few minutes to scroll through Facebook before I got to bed but then after a few days I didn't feel the need to check it, so I stopped. It did feel good not worrying about checking my Instagram and if people are interacting with my post. On the other hand, I did miss talking to some of my friends on Instagram.
Staying away from social media helped my mental health a lot over the course of the week.
I don't want to spend hours talking about this during my monthly wrap up, so I decided that I will do a separate post about how I got out of my rut in more detail.
I would say that September has been an okay month in terms of reading. I definitely started with a big goal but after looking at it a second time I decided to change my September TBR up!
So to start us off, what book did I end up buying this month?
Books I bought:
Hardcover:
Nothing.. I didn't buy any hardcover books because I'm trying to save money!
E-Book/Kindle:
The Kings Men - Nora Sakavic
The Raven King - Nora Sakavic
The Rose and The Dagger - Renée Andieh
I tried limiting the amount of books I got this month because I went on a book buying spree last month. Oppsy.
ARCs:
I recieved a lot fo ARCs this month but I will be doing a separate post about it all.
Book's I read in September:
The Wrath and the Dawn {The Wrath and the Dawn #1} - Renée Andieh
The Rose and the Dagger {The Wrath and the Dawn #2} - Renée Andieh
Iluminae {The Illuminae Files #1} - Jay Kristoff and Ammie Kaufman
Reach for the Stars - Colleen Coleman
I haven't read that much this month because 1} I've been busy 2} I just haven't been in a reading mood 3} My Instagram wasn't working so my motivation to read and share it with everyone sort of went down.
Hopefully I will read a lot more books in October!
I forced myself to write some reviews this month because I wouldn't be a book blogger without writing book review right? So I decided to lift my spirits up I've decided to do some 5-star book reviews. The full review of the book will have their separate post so if you want to read them then scroll down to the recommended and they should be there. If not then check out the "books" tab! Happy reading.
The Wrath and the Dawn - Renée Andieh {The Wrath and the Dawn #1}
Wow, let me start of by saying that I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK AND SERIES! aajbdikufgkancbi I don't think you understand that the story behind this was terrific! This book had so much hype behind it that I was scared it would disappoint me.. but BOI I WAS SO WRONG! Everything about this book lived up to my expectations and know I know why the hype was real! ahahaha, enough fangirling for now. :D
Okay, so lets talk about the beauty of this book and why it was pretty much goals in every aspect. The Wrath and the Dawn is a retelling of Shadow Spinner. I personally didn't read it when I was a child so I went into it blind, however a lot of people told me that its amazing and I should give it go!
The Wrath and the Dawn has a lot of Persian culture with a sprinkle of magic. Now coming from a middle eastern background this was an amazing change. I loved seeing words I knew and could visually in my head due to real life experience. Not only that, but visualizing the whole story was one heck of an experience that just made me love the book even more. The descriptions of the food, the clothes and the rooms were gorgeous.
Reach For the Stars - Colleen Coleman
First of all, thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest book review.
Let me start off by saying that I love Colleen Coleman! In all seriousness her book "Don't Stop Me Now" provided me with a whole new outlook on life's problems and how to get by them. Not only that but it was just so damn motivational! I felt like I needed to change the world and my life after reading the book. So as soon as I found out that she was releasing a new book I jumped up with excitement! I knew it was going to be as good as "Don't Stop Me Now" and it was! I love relatable books and this one definitely one of them that shall forever remain on my favourites list.
Just like the book before this one, the cover caught my attention. Seriously, whoever designs these covers is amazing and I would like to personally thank them for creating such simply and outstanding book covers. Again, the colours and the name stood out and get your attention! I knew that as soon as I requested it, it would change my life once again! ahahaha, book covers are my downfall.
This book starts out with Evelyn and her husband James. However, after 7 years of marriage and now divorced she needs a breath of fresh air. I can relate to Evelyn here with her 5-year plan. Even though I'm 18, I like to believe that I plan ahead and have my life sorted out. I like the comfort of my home and I don't really like travelling to places outside my comfort zone! I have my uni life planned out, a possible job after I finish that and even my weekly tasks planned out before the day even arrives. When my schedule messes up I feel lost and I automatically need to get it back on schedule. Basically, I like being deadly organised with my time and I can relate to Evelyn in a sense. So, when she decides to ignore everyone's advice and jump onto a train to Dublin, I felt inspired to change my habits just like she did. Even though she heads over to start afresh, she quickly runs to apply for a teaching job for some security in this big new city! However, little does she know that will end up tending a rundown pub!
Illuminae - Jay Kristoff and Ammie Kaufman {The Illuminae Files #1}
I LOVE THIS BOOK! UGH, ITS SO AMAZING! The format of the book is different, unique and stands out so MUCH! I've only read a few books that have a few illustrations in them but this book blew them out of the water. There were labelled diagrams of spaceships and drawings of space, stars and SO MUCH MORE! It was beautiful! It was one heavy book but oh boy it was so worth it. I had to let my arms rest while I was reading this book... that's never happened before! AHAHAHA
Okay, the fangirling at the start of my book reviews need to be a little bit more controlled. I shall start talking about the book now.
At the start of this book I was a tad bit confused because of the layout. However, the whole interview thing with Kady and Ezra at the beginning played out like a movie and it was so beautifully written. You know when two different interrogations intertwine and the movie jump cuts between them.. yeah that's what happened and it was lit {do people even still use that word anymore} Even with the awesomeness of the start of the book and the character interactions.. it was still pretty difficult to understand. I had no idea why they were being attacked and I need things like that clarified to fully understand. It did take a couple hundred pages to finally get with it and start to officially love the story, but apart from that it was all good.
And this is where we talk about my healthy lifestyle and what I've been doing in terms of workouts. Well, just like last month its been random videos workout videos on Youtube. I've found some really good ones that I will share with you in my upcoming favourites blog post.
On the other hand, I've been using my Fitbit for the past month and it is the best money I have ever spent. It's so useful and definitely motivating. Seeing that I have to walk another 2,000 steps in order to reach my goals literally motivates me to get my butt in gear and get walking.
The above photo is the best part about getting a fitbit {ahaha not literally} However, I do strive to do the best during the week so that my weekly progress report looks amazing! ahaha I strive for perfection. However, as you can tell.. I did let Monday and Friday slip a little but everyone is allowed to rest every now and then, right?
Anyway, I also just love being able to check my heart rate and calorie burn during the day. Again, it's motivating. So, having a fitbit has definitely spiked my motivation but even now there are still days where I can't be bothered to exercise!
Have you ever felt so sore that you just couldn't move? Yeah, that was me this month. I have been working my butt off {literally} to the point where I just got really sore. After a tiring workout I jumped into a bath to soak and relax a little bit and then I was straight off to bed. {I workout around 6-8PM because that's the only available time} So I decided to stay of the really tiring exercises and just do some cardio for the majority of the last week. However, that didn't really workout because I ended up having 4 rest days at the start of October..... I've decided to use those rest days to recover and relax so that I can come back even more motivated and stronger than before.
On the other hand, I feel like I have changed quite a lot in the first month and a half of working out and eating healthy. I haven't taken any picture for this wrap up.. but everyone is saying that I look better and truth be told.. I feel so much better than I did 2 months ago!
That's all I have for you this month! Onto October.. Spooky scary skeletons! OoOoOoOoOo.....
Till next time!
