November Wrap-Up // December TBR | 2015

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image source: here. edited by me.

Here we are at the last month of the year! November was really crazy for me (that's why this post is published a little bit later than usual); a lot of things happened—both good and bad—but I know God has a beautiful plan for my life. I resolved to read more books in November, however it turns out to be a failure because I didn't get to read all that much last month. I finished 5 (almost 6) books in November; not too bad, but I was actually hoping for a little bit more than that. I had a lot of plans as well in December, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to read much even though it's the holiday season. Not setting any goals because I actually reached my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal already. I'm just going to enjoy reading in a relaxed pace to finish off 2015 :) Here are the books I've read and reviewed last month, non-review posts in November and the books I'm planning to read in December!

Operation: Break the Casanova's Heart by Aly Almario

My first time ever reading a translated Philippine novel! It's a very light young-adult read and the plot is really cliche. But I found myself really enjoying it; the writing style, the translation, and the adorable love-and-hate relationship between the two main characters. This book deserves a 4/5 from me :))  ✮✮✮✮

The Unbroken Vow by Kezia Evi Wiadji

I fell in love with the beautiful and elegant cover; but unfortunately the story was lacking development for me personally. It's a story about marriage and the conflict surrounding it. The writing was pretty enjoyable but I wished the author digs deeper into the characters and the emotions. I gave this book a 3/5 because it's still a decent read. ✮✮✮

Last Forever by Windry Ramadhina

I'm always super excited whenever Windry Ramadhina announced her newest book because she's one of my favorite Indonesian authors. The thing that I love the most about this book is the fact that the two main characters are people who despise the idea of commitment. They have brilliant careers and bigger dreams to achieve. But the story throws them both into a situation that forced them to make a choice. As always, this book is beautifully written and definitely tugged at my heartstrings. 5/5! ✮✮✮✮✮

See Me by Nicholas Sparks

Another one of my favorite author, and I never missed out on his books as well. I went into this book without any expectation because I have no idea what its' going to be about. It turns out the story has a bit of mystery/thriller mixed into the romance story. I absolutely love the characters; but since the story felt kind of slow at some parts, I decided to give this book a 4.5/5. ✮✮✮✮½

At the Park by Kristi Jo

This is the second book I read by this author; and it's a light read about teenage romance. The interesting part about this book is the main characters' love for animals, especially dogs. The conflict is quite predictable and I ended up giving this book a 3/5. ✮✮✮

Perfect Scenario by Kezia Evi Wiadji

Another teenlit novel with a pretty generic plot that starts off with a love-and-hate relationship, and then for one reason the two decided to act as lovers. This one is pretty cute and deals with family issues as well. This one is also a light and quick read because the conflict wasn't very complicated. 3/5 for this book as well :)) ✮✮✮

Daily Life of Clumsy Tomoko by Suzuki Tomoko

And the last one is a very quick read because it's super thin. It's a comic book that depicts the life of Tomoko (the illustrator) who lives a life full of worry and clumsiness. I can relate to a lot of the situation that she faced, I actually think we're similar in a number of ways. It was a pretty entertaining read so I gave it a 4/5 :)) ✮✮✮✮

I also finished reading The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom at the beginning of December, and also read a few more books during the first week of December :) Reviews for these books will be up soon hopefully. It's a struggle trying to balance between reading and writing reviews. Even though I didn't read much in November, I'm still content with my reading progress. I'm also very happy because in November I got the chance to hold several giveaways sponsored by authors. More giveaways are coming up this month as well, so keep a lookout for that ;)

Non-Review Posts in November:

Over the Rain Giveaway: Winner Announcement  October Wrap-Up // November TBR | 2015 October 2015: Book Haul  Giveaway: Operation: Break the Casanova's Heart by Aly Almario  Top Ten Book To Movie Adaptations I Still Need To Watch   Welcome to Surabaya, Books & Beyond !   Operation: Break the Casanova's Heart Giveaway: Winner Announcement Movie Adaptation Review: The Scorch Trials  The Unbroken Vow Giveaway: Winner Announcement  A Monster Calls | Teaser Trailer  Top 5 Wednesday: Books You're Thankful For   Movie Adaptation Review: Mockingjay Part 2

December TBR:

Vampire Flower by Shin Ji Eun
Vampire Flower 2 by Shin Ji Eun
The Dragon Next Door by Cho (Jung Sol)  Dumplin' by Julie Murphy Love Theft #1 by Prisca Primasari See You Again by Arini Putri

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One of the best things that happened to me recently was the opportunity to write for a local national newspaper, Jawa Pos. Technically, it happened in early December; but I guess I'll just include it here since I'm so late in posting this already. I'd like to say thank you to my book-blogging friend, Ratri @ Awesome Nerd, for giving me this chance. Never in a million years would I imagine writing for a column in a newspaper. Seeing my face and name on the newspaper is such an unfamiliar feeling; but I'm truly grateful for the experience :')

On a different note, November has been a pretty gloomy time for the world since the Paris incident. It's always heartbreaking to see these kind of things happening in so many different places. It triggered a lot of questions in my head and made me feel concerned about the future. But then I came across this video on Facebook one day; and it made me cry at work. It's a video that restored my faith in humanity. This video made me realize that even though there are a lot of bad things in the world, let us not forget that there are a lot of goodness still left as well. Go watch the video below if you haven't seen it yet :))

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☆ Music / Movies / TV Shows ☆

These are some of my favorite songs this month, the first one being San E & Madclown - 못먹는 감(Sour Grape). It's a very upbeat rap song that's very catchy and fun. I love listening to this whenever I'm driving alone. Next one is a song by one of my favorite group, BTS. They released a new album but surprisingly I'm not really into their title track. My favorite song from the album is actually the intro titled Never Mind. I absolutely LOVE the lyrics because they're strong, honest, and heartfelt. You can check out the lyrics video above :D I was quite surprised by the fact that I'm loving iKon's new song, 지못미, because I never paid much attention to this group before. But I've been listening to this quite a lot these days. The last song that I'll include in my favorites last month will be the new live version of Hillsong's Even When It Hurts. It's a powerful praise song that touched my heart when I listened to it.

In November I watched Mockingjay Part 2, which was pretty satisfying for me even though I know there are a lot of mixed reviews about it. And I also get to watch a bit of The Little Prince in a flight, so I will have to finish watching it soon when I have the time. It's really beautiful and visually pleasing :) It makes me want to re-read The Little Prince again in English, because I read the translated version the first time around.

In terms of TV shows (or should I say Korean drama), I have two that I really want to catch up on. The first one is 오 마이 비너스 (Oh My Venus) starring 소지섭 (So Ji-sub) and 신민아 (Shin Min-ah). I've been seeing the GIFs for this drama on Tumblr and it looks fun. The other one is something that I've been highly anticipating! It's a drama called 상상 고양이 (Imaginary Cat). Not because I'm a cat lover, but because it's 유승호 (Yoo Seung-ho)'s comeback into the drama world after his military service! He's one of my favorite Korean actors because he's so adorable and always acted so well. He has another drama coming up as well and I can't be happier.

Alright, that's it for my November wrap-up! The idea of this being the last month of the year still kind of scares me. I can't believe we're only a few weeks away from 2016! I hope everyone had a good November and an even better time in December. I can't wait for Christmas because I'm going to treat myself with a lot of new books! :D Okay, bye now!

by.stefaniesugia♥ .