Hello ladies & gentlemen,
The month has come to an end and it’s time to do a quick wrap-up of what has been done.
Reading Breakdown.
Novels read: 3 (↓3).
Comic books read: 19 (↓9).
Manga volumes read: 5 (↓3).
BOOK REVIEWS.
The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski.
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark.
The Invention of Sound by Chuck Palahniuk.
COMIC BOOK REVIEWS.
Digital Mini Reviews | The X-Men Takeover.
Blade of the Immortal (Vol. 1) by Hiroaki Samura.
My Broken Mariko by Waka Hirako.
Batman (Vol. 1): Their Dark Designs by James Tynion IV.
Batman: Three Jokers by Geoff Johns.
Digital Mini Review | The Women of Marvel.
The Sandman Omnibus (Vol. 1) by Neil Gaiman.
MISCELLANEOUS POSTS.
The Greatness of Video Games Part II.
TOP BOOK.
By far one of the best novellas in the market right now! Discovering this author through this story was just the perfect entry point for me.
Check out my review for more on my thoughts!
LEAST FAVOURITE BOOK.
For a graphic novel to dare explore or reiterate a superhero’s origin story so poorly is saddening. For that alone, this deserves a special mention in my least favourite book of the month!
TOP MOVIE.
I’m surprised that it took me so long to finally watch this masterpiece.
It is a flawless masterpiece depicting the descent into madness of two aficionados of the craft of music; whilst one rots with envy and cowers from an inferiority complex, the other is subject to unjust scrutiny and suffers from unrecognition due to his tendency to break free from conventionality.
The score speaks for itself, masterfully harmonized to the enthralling, humorous, and heart-breaking narrative.
CURRENTLY READING.
With its sequel, The Fires of Vengeance, now out, I can’t wait to finish The Rage of Dragons! I’ve been slowly reading my way through this giant epic fantasy debut novel and it is absolutely enthralling! More about this soon!
PERSONAL LIFE.
Unlike the exceptionally productive month of October, life had a lot of expected events in store for me, thus completely destroying the meticulous plans I had for it. It’s not that it didn’t allow me to stay productive, it’s just that my reading and blogging took a hit and I had to assume it with my chest pump out. If anything, it’s one of those moments throughout a blogging year where you have to suddenly hit the breaks and follow the flow of the traffic if you don’t want to get into an accident.
While I was a bit sad that I couldn’t get through more books, I managed to squeeze in just enough to feel like I hit that average mark and had enough time in my hands to reevaluate how I can do better for the last month of the year (yep… we’re already there!). November really felt like one of those months where I began to realize how much got done, how much still needs to be done, how much I won’t get done, and how much I can get done before the end of 2020. While I’m very happy about myself, there’s always those little niggles that pop up and remind you to do better. 😛
Early in the month, as of November 12th, is when the PS5 console came out and my plans really crumbled, on top of a sudden change in my work schedule forcing me to commute for two weeks. While I don’t regret anything in particular, not at all, I am reminded that time is not something you can mess with. It doesn’t bend to your will and when you need some, it won’t give anything at all! Now that’s something I’ve always known, but it never ceases to hit you where you least expect it to!
I still plan to look at November 2020 as the month of various changes, a month of realization that prioritizing is an art that we must learn to master quickly if we are to make the most of our lives! 😀
Thank you all for checking out my monthly wrap-up and don’t forget to check out any posts that might interest you or that you might have missed out on!
Stay tuned for my Monthly Anticipation post coming out soon. 😉
So what’s going on with y’all? What have you discovered this month? What are your thoughts on the books/TV series/movies I’ve checked out?
Yours truly,
Roars and Echoes 
I am bad at time management but I have reached that point where I would like to do what I want to even if I am not using time productively. As long as I am with my family. This year has been too tough on me. Came close to losing it all. But sanity preserved. Hopefully, next year would be healthier. I am sure you would know how to manage everything, you are quite clever. Till then, we are right here in the virtual world
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I’m sorry to hear how horrible the year has been for you, Shalini but I applaud your ability to overcome obstacles, to stay positive, to read books, and share your passion for them on your blog! Stay strong and do exactly that, do things you love whenever you want!
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Exactly, life is too short to do otherwise. Hence I went down on my blog tours. I just want to be me
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Time is such a pain sometimes! So glad you enjoyed Amadeus. It’s quite an old film now isn’t it? As a family we finished watching the first series of Strangers Things and really enjoyed it. We’re also watching Connected another Netflix series which is factual and so interesting and the presenter is great fun.
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I wish it could be kind to us here and then! Yes, it was released back in 1984! The director’s cut (3h long) was worth eeeeeevery second and is now among my favourite movies of all time! I’m so glad to hear that you got around to watching the first season of Stranger Things, Nicki!!! It was the best one for me, not to say that the next ones are bad, they’re fun in their own way, following these kids in their journey while they grow up along the way! Connected sounds interesting though. I don’t think I’ve heard of it before! 😮
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Well, you know, commuting can be good for reading 🙂 depending on how you commute, in the distant pre-covid era I used to spend a lot of time in trams, and significant part of my reading had been done there… but I have to admit I was happy to switch to home office. Even after the pandemic, they promised us we’ll get 3-4 days of HO per week.
Glad you enjoyed Amadeus, it is a great movie, one of many I need to re-watch 😉
Yes, time… the single most important resource…
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I’m completely with you there! I read ALL the time during my commute (an hour to get there and get back), even if it’s not as smooth as reading at home comfortably hahaha We’ve also discussed what the future of HO for us would be and it sounds similar to what you were told. Guess the future is going to be pretty different from what some might have imagined it hahah
Indeed! It’s now among my favourites all-time and one that I already can’t wait to rewatch! Classic! 😀
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Indeed time and its sibling free time (the most elusive of the two) are very difficult beasts to tame, and it looks as if you had your work cut out for you this month… Let’s hope that December will be both more relaxed and more… productive in the field you care about 🙂
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Absolutely! Time and Free Time sure don’t like to be tamed at all. I sometimes wonder if being their master is an impossible task too. 😛 Hope December proves to be a fantastic month for you too, Maddalena! 😀
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Great to hear you watched and enjoyed Amadeus. I remember how excited I was about that movie when it came out, but I don’t remember the last time I saw it. Perhaps a rewatch is in order. Yeah, time is a funny thing. For many of us we do, actually, have more of it than we think because we’re so bad at prioritizing and lose so much time on things we might not enjoy nearly as much as what we miss out on, if only we had more time! And yet, there’s only so much you can prioritize, eventually you will hit your limit and run out of time. But it’s good you don’t beat yourself up over it. Things happen, and we move on the best we can, trying to squeeze as much enjoyment and meaning out of what we have as we can. Here’s to a great December!
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I can only highly recommend it. I heard the theatrical edition had 20 minutes cut off. If it’s what you saw, I can whole-heartedly recommend the 3-hour long director’s cut! It’s a phenomenal movie.
I can agree with you there, Todd. It’s important that we just continue to do our best and not lose our motivation to do the many things we want to accomplish within a day. There are just too many things to do to dwell in sadness at some of our failures. Learn and thrive, I say! 😀
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Last month, if I remember correctly, you had a lot of green (more things read), so I felt the need for a bit more balance in November.
I noticed your blogging presence wasn’t at it’s usual, but I’m glad to hear that you are alright for the most part.
Looking forward to the upcoming in December post!
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I also knew I was never going to top what I achieved in October. It was way too good of a reading month to repeat hahah
Yep, I even had the chance to explore double posting within the same day back then but I don’t think it’s something I can do anymore right now. 😛
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First saying “it’s one of those moments throughout a blogging year where you have to suddenly hit the breaks and follow the flow of the traffic if you don’t want to get into an accident.” is BRILLIANT! I think I’ll reuse something similar sometimes because that’s exactly what happened to me for months now. And I just can go with the flow.
Second Amadeus is indeed a masterpiece!
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Hahahaha I was incredibly surprised when I wrote it too! I’ll probably have to note it down somewhere for countless future uses! 😛 I’m glad to hear that you’re also a fan of Amadeus!!!! What a movie! ❤
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I couldn’t tell if you were blogging, etc less or not. Sometimes I think we bloggers are a bit self-absorbed and possibly narcissistic 😉
Sorry to hear that work “things” changed. I am beginning to hate change more and more. I just want things to stay comfortable. Obviously this has not been my favorite year in that regards, hahahaha.
Looking forward to your plans for December.
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Hahahah then I’m glad if it wasn’t too noticed. 😛
Agreed. Although there were some long periods of no-change during the first quarantine, all other changes were often so huge.
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I love Amadeus! One of my faves! 😀
Ah, November seems like a snaggy month for you – hopefully December will be better. I share that hope, my November was nothing to write home about either 😉
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YAY! Glad to hear we’re on the same page there. Absolutely fantastic movie and hopefully they won’t dare give it a reboot. Hope December will prove to be a calmer month for the both of us then (probably unlikely huh) haha 😀
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I agree, Ring Shout was amazing, and it will be in my top books of the year post😁
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Absolutely! What a little gem it was! 😀
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I am terrible at time management, especially when there are lots to do and you don’t know where to start so you just end up drifting. You still managed to get quite a lot of reading in, which is more than I can say for myself. I’ve still been riding the Haikyuu wave. I was surprised by how invested I’d be in a story about volleyball. Here’s to a merry December.
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That’s true! I usually just go with the extra easy stuff first just to give myself the impression that I don’t have as much to do hahaha Glad to hear Haikyuu is still treating you well though! That sounds promising! Have an excellent December, Lois! 😀
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I dipped out in November. Now it’s a race to catch up on everything in December and then to wrap up the year.
Hoping you have a better month and are able to enjoy the Christmas holiday.
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Calling it a race is true. I fear the month is going to fly by faster than any other month we’ve seen before with how busy we are going to be for various reasons… Stay safe and enjoy the last of 2020 as much as possible! 😀
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Yay, I loved Amadeus as well! I’ve also seen it as a theatre play, which was – if possible – even better! Sometimes life has to take priority from blogging or even reading and that is as it should be. My November was also hectic and now with my extended Christmas holiday coming up, I need to finalise a gazillion things next week. But who cares, when I soon have 3 weeks off work! Hope December will give you the opportunity for loads of reading and blogging. 😀
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I discovered that the movie was in fact based on a play on Mozart and Salieri, so your news about the play being actually superior makes me even more happy and excited to one day give it a try! I’ll research it for sure now. But man… The movie was really a masterpiece, in my books!
So glad to hear about those 3 weeks off! I think it’s something everyone deserves and should always look forward to, even if going away on vacation is not much of an option nowadays hahah Hope you have a fantastic time in December and make the most of it! Stay safe! 😀
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I wish time could bend according to how much I need (which is always “more” for some reason 😆)! And if you had a new routine and new things scheduled in your days, it is only normal that you had to slow down on some things. Hopefully you’ll be able to get everything that you want to get done in December, and I hope it’s filled with exciting books and festivities too 😊
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Absolutely right. I’m sure it’s near inhuman to adapt on the fly and always be ready for change. Otherwise, humans wouldn’t be so wary of change in general! 😛 Thanks for reading, Juliette! 😀
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I have not seem Amadeus!!! *boohooo* But oh well, what can I say, I have not seen much movies for that matter lately, old and new! LOL Challenging year for me too, my friend! But I have to remind myself to be thankful for what I have as compared to many others. Also, to remind myself to enjoy the process of blogging and reading and not having to pressure myself to do it (it happens too often for me most of the time 😦 especially when you know you have those NG reviews waiting! LOL Hence I have to remind myself NOT TO CHECK NETGALLEY! rofl) Anw, awesome post, my friend! SOrry have been quiet lately, I’m usually busier this time of the year 🙂
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Haha! That is understandable, but if you do have time for one, I’d recommend Amadeus! It’s a cinematic gem! 😍 And that pressure to read and review is definitely not easy to handle but you just have to know your limits and to remind yourself that you’re doing all this out of a love for it! 😂 I do hope December will be a fun and calm month for you, Jee! Stay safe!! 😁
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Thank you, my friend! Right back atcha!
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