October Wrap Up: Monthly Books and Blogging Chat Sesh

October Wrap Up: Books, Blogging, and Basic Life Updates

Hello, again! Welcome back to another edition of my Monthly Books and Blogging Chat Series, an October wrap up post.

I’ve been doing this series for the past few months and I feel like it’s a fun way to share more with my readers about my own life and my blogging experiences.

Typically, I also use this segment to give book reviews about what I read over the month, but October was a really slow reading month for me. So, I figured I’d also share some of my monthly favorites with you – just for fun!

Anyway, hopefully you all find this series enjoyable. Now, here’s my October wrap up for you.

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Let’s Chat! My October Wrap Up

The weather is definitely starting to get a bit chillier, always a bit of a bummer, but I do love the holiday season. October was a fairly busy month for me. Here’s an update on my personal life for ya.

One Year Strong

John and I celebrated our one year anniversary in October! I got him a pair of aviator sunglasses – he looks so good in aviators but hasn’t ever had a pair of really nice sunglasses. The ones I got him are made by Randolph, the company that real pilots wear! His gift to me was a black pearl necklace – it’s so chic and elegant. I love it!

After celebrating our anniversary, I can’t help but think about where I was in October 2020. I’d just gotten out of a relationship with Max, was utterly and completely heartbroken, and honestly wasn’t even sure I was ready for anything serious. I was actually fairly hesitant to agree to be exclusive with him, even though I wasn’t dating anyone else or even thinking about it.

But, John was incredibly understanding and patient. He also did something that more dating experts should advise (*makes mental note to write an article about this.*) We’d been dating for a little over a month when he brought up the idea of exclusivity. I was honest and told him I wasn’t sure. Instead of getting mad or anxious or upset, he calmly said, “That’s fine. When you’re ready, you just let me know.”

He was so confident in himself and in the connection we had – he didn’t worry about if I would eventually commit and that kind of self-assuredness was, honestly, a huge turn-on.

(And for those wondering, I was ready two weeks later.)

Halloween

I didn’t dress up this year, but I did get to go trick-or-treating with my little one. He’s a funny little bugger, too! When I initially asked him what he wanted to go as this year, he told me he would just go without a mask and tell people he was “pre-covid.”

(He did wear an actual costume, but I was very amused by his sense of humor.)

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Reading Wrap Up

This month was my slowest reading month to date. Every once in a while, that happens – I take a break from reading, or I just read less than normal. In October, I hadn’t planned on taking a break, I just didn’t have as much time to read as I usually do.

Which means I read ONE – just one book last month. The Turnout wasn’t my favorite read, but I will say that I’m still thinking about it, a week later. And that ending! If anyone else has read this book, let me know your thoughts on the end please!

You Might Also Like: Autumn Reading List: Best Books to Read This Fall

The Turnout • Megan Abbott

Genre: Psychological Thriller; Gothic Novel

Megan Abbott is a really eloquent writer and I’ve adored all of her past books. But, unfortunately, this one just didn’t grab me the same way.

It centers around two sisters who run a prestigious ballet school and, as always, Megan Abbott is able to fully capture the cutthroat nature of the competitive dance. At times, the descriptions are a bit overdrawn, but there’s no denying that you truly feel like you’re in the dance studio with them.

As for plot, it’s hard to describe here without giving anything away, so I’ll just say that it’s incredibly slow-moving… until it isn’t. About two-thirds of the way in, the book really picks up speed and for the last 20% or so, I couldn’t put it down.

All that said, unless you’re a huge fan of dark literary prose, I’d skip this one and instead read any of her past novels.

2.5

★★★★★

I actually loved every other book Megan Abbott wrote. Here are some I would highly recommend:

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Blogging Wrap Up

October was okay for me blogging wise. I’m still trying to figure out how to actively work on improving my Domain Authority and SEO practices, but it’s always so confusing to me! I read up on it and I just think, “Can’t I just write good articles and let that be enough!?”

Blog Growth

Still, I did see some good growth during the month of October. I don’t know why I haven’t done this sooner, but I just created an excel sheet so that every month I can track my growth based on numbers. So, next month, I’ll have more to share!

Resources Page

I’ve added a Resource Library to my blog, too! Here, you can find all the blogging tools I use along with my reading recommendations and favorite beauty and fashion finds.

New Shop

And probably my most exciting change this month was the addition of a new shop! I created both a Gumroad and a PayHip account to try and determine which platform I like best, so if you’re a blogger who uses one, please share your thoughts with me!

Right now, I’ve got several different Media Kit templates up for sale (all are $5) and soon I’ll be launching my first E-book!

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Monthly Faves

I thought it might be fun to start adding some of my monthly favorites to my wrap up posts. These are just some of my favorite items I bought or used this month.

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That’s a Wrap!

That’s all folks! As you can see, I had a pretty good October. I’d love to hear about yours too!

What did you do for Halloween? Do you use Gumroad or Payhip? Let me know in the comments below!

And, as always, thanks so much for reading.

xx
Katie