Jaymi @TheOCBookGirl

October Wrap Up #monthinreview #minireview #orangecountyreads

What’s Up Bookworms?!

How was your reading month? October was a slow reading month, but the books I did read were excellent.
I had one author event and a book swap that was so much fun. I also streamlined and revised the events calendar.  Check it out here.
I’m looking forward to my favorite time of year, hopefully cooler weather, baking for friends and family and just in general, enjoying a slower pace. What are you looking forward to?

Books Read (6) 

6 ⬇ 1 from September

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger – I got to listen to the author speak and hear about his writing career, which has been long and successful.  I enjoyed the writing style of This Tender Land, and am interested in reading his previous novel, Ordinary Grace.

Dominicana by Angie Cruz – This was a NetGalley read and it was shocking and gritty and impossible to put down. Ana’s story was sad and unfortunately so true to the time period and the culture.

Still Me by Jojo Moyes – It was nice to revisit the same characters. The last 1/3 was so compelling and emotional. I was curious to see what would happen but it took a long time to get around to the Louisa I recognized from the first book.

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert – Set in the 1940s, City of Girls is the story of Vivian, a college dropout. Vivian is sent to live with her aunt and help with her struggling theater. Once in New York, Vivian discovers an entirely different life than she was expecting.

Twice In a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren – Charming. Heartwarming. Sexy. The chemistry between Sam and Tate in the past and in the present was well done. This is a story of your first real love and the feelings of betrayal, broken hearts, tender memories, and regrets.

The Night Fire by Michael Connelly – A solid Ballard / Bosch book.  I enjoy Renee and she and Harry have a good banter/trust going. This book also brings Mickey Haller into the story with Harry working a case with him.  Even though there are a lot of separate storylines, MC manages to pull it all together and the last 50 pages – WOW!

Reviews Posted (4)

The Source | How Fires End | This Tender Land | Everything You Are

Blog Updates | Milestones

After posting 28/30 days last month, this month’s post count was 18/31. This cut my views to my lowest numbers since April. No real surprise there.

Thanks to a fun giveaway with my friend Laurie, I reached 2,500 followers on Instagram! 

I’m currently at 95/100 books for the Goodreads challenge! I’m hoping to get to 125 for the year! 🎉

Nonfiction November

I’ll be posting weekly posts where we join a bunch of other fun bloggers and discuss our Year in Nonfiction.  On Tuesday, I’ll be posting my “Nonfiction / Fiction Book Pairing” which is always fun.  It’s not too late to join, get the details here.

So… What are you reading? Do you love it? Let’s chat in the comments!

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive compensation if you make a purchase using this link. Thank you for supporting this blog and the books I recommend! I may have received a book for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

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16 comments

  1. I think 18 posts is a lot Jaymi! I think I hit around 18 for October and I felt pushed to the max! It would be interesting to stretch for more though! When I first started, I thought one a week was hard! I’m curious how many views you aim for in a month.

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      • Last month I set a new record of 6,000 …. I feel like I’m operating in a vacuum though and have no idea if that’s good or not! I’d love to meet you sometime to just talk blog stats! When I decided to stretch from my one post a week 😂 to 2-3 posts, I really saw a significant increase of views per month. This last week, I published 4 posts and I felt like I had a job again! I’d love to find someone to partner with who could commit to doing one day a week and maybe focus on a different genre. Maybe someone younger who doesn’t want to commit to blogging full time but is curious about it enough to want to see what it’s like and learn the ropes!

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      • For me, it’s a combo of writing the posts but then spending time to promote those posts. You shine on Instagram! I get very little traction there because I don’t feel comfortable doing cute videos…..and I don’t have physical books to make pretty stacks….so I feel very lame at bookstagram! 3200 is great Jaymi! I think more views begets more views or something like that! 😂 What did you do differently in December??

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      • Thanks! …I have a degree in graphic design and worked in the field for years! So that’s my comfort zone! Let me work with layout and design…not photo props! Although…I did have a brief stint as a freelance photographer…..one wedding was all it took to discourage me in that career!

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      • Well….I wrote a long reply and whoosh! It disappeared. So….if this is a duplicate just delete!
        My views are fairly consistent and I have experienced a satisfactory but slow upward trajectory over time. I set a new record for views last month of 6,000 which was a total surprise (as it jumped a 1,000 in one month) ….the only thing I can attribute that is to posting more times per week (aiming for 3). I’d love to find a person interested in learning about blogging who would partner with me and post one time per week…focusing on a genre that I don’t read. I’d love to sit and chat with you sometime about blogging stats and strategies! I’m in awe of your 28/30 days Jaymi!!!

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      • Well….I wrote a long reply and whoosh! It disappeared. So….if this is a duplicate just delete!
        My views are fairly consistent and I have experienced a satisfactory but slow upward trajectory over time. I set a new record for views last month of 6,000 which was a total surprise (as it jumped a 1,000 in one month) ….the only thing I can attribute that is to posting more times per week (aiming for 3). I’d love to find a person interested in learning about blogging who would partner with me and post one time per week…focusing on a genre that I don’t read. I’d love to sit and chat with you sometime about blogging stats and strategies! I’m in awe of your 28/30 posts Jaymi!

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  2. I started Oprah’s pick, but I was sidelined with work and other reading commitments.

    I read Dare to See, Before and After, four Christmas romances, and I’m currently reading The Wife Finder.

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