Breaks and Book Hauls: A Month in Review

As I sat down to record this video, I couldn't help but think about how much my life had changed since the last time I'd sit down to talk about books. It's been a month, and it feels like an eternity since I've had some free time to myself. The usual routine of work and daily responsibilities has taken its toll, leaving me with barely any time to spare for anything else.

The only thing that's managed to break the monotony was my reading list. I'd picked up a few books from my favorite local book store, Book People in Austin, which I just love. They have an amazing selection of titles, and their staff is always so knowledgeable about the books they sell. The one book that caught my eye was "Dark Matter" by Blake Crouch. I've seen this book around and heard great things about it, but it's been on my radar for a while now. It follows a man who gets knocked out unconscious and wakes up to find his life is not what he thought it was. He's trying to figure out how to get his life back, but something has gone terribly wrong. I'm excited to dive into this sci-fi thriller, which sounds like a fast-paced story that will keep me on the edge of my seat.

As I scrolled through my Goodreads page, I noticed that I'd ordered books from Book Outlet for the month. Unfortunately, I made a mistake – I accidentally sent them to the wrong place. Luckily, a fellow book lover was gracious enough to send them back to me. Despite not having the physical books in front of me, I'm excited to share which titles I picked up and read this month. First on my list is "City on Fire" by Jenny Offill. This novel has been getting a lot of hype since its publication in 2015, but I let it slide due to the high praise from readers. The book takes place during the 1977 New York blackout and follows multiple characters, including two wealthy individuals, two teenagers who are part of the punk scene, and a detective trying to figure out how these characters are connected to a murder victim.

Next up is "Red Rising" by Pierce Brown. I've heard great things about this book, especially from fellow readers in my community. It's set on Mars and has been compared to The Hunger Games, but I'm not sure what that means for the story itself. I've always been drawn to science fiction, so when I saw this title popping up everywhere, I knew I had to give it a try. With its affordable price tag of $4, it's hard to resist, and I'm excited to see how it compares to other books in the genre.

Last but not least, I picked up "The Amber Chronicles", which consists of 10 books by an author whose name I'm afraid is escaping me (I'll just have to look that one up!). These books are highly acclaimed, with George R. Martin and other notable authors praising them as some of the most beloved fantasy stories of all time. The back cover doesn't give away much in terms of plot, but that's okay – sometimes I love discovering new worlds and characters without knowing what to expect. My friend has recently read this series and highly recommends it, so I'm eager to dive into the world of Amber.

That concludes my book haul for November. As you can see, it was a bit longer than I expected, but that's just how my reading journey tends to unfold. I hope you guys enjoyed watching me talk about these books, and I'd love to hear about your recent reads as well. Don't forget to check out the links below for more book-related content, and until next time, goodbye!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey guys it's rean and today I'm here to bring you my November book haul now for the month of November I'm actually like pretty proud of myself my book ha is probably the most reasonable it has ever been for the past few months which is not to say this isn't going to be a very exciting book haul cuz this this is full of a lot of books I have been meaning to buy and I'm really excited about reading but anyway without further Ado let's just go ahead and get started the first book I want to mention is the pr Topia book club of the month for the month of November and this month we are working with Simon and Schuster and that is the diabolic by SJ canc I've already read in reviewed this novel so I'll be sure to leave that linked down below but this is a young adult science fiction novel following our main character Nemesis who is a diabolic she has been literally crafted uh for the sole existence of living to protect another person but she finds out the best way to protect that person is to become that person and take their place at this Intergalactic Council this is a science fiction story full of a very interesting World complex main character discovering what it really means to be human and if they are human and battling with that and also just like some pretty great characters but again I have this review down below and yeah it's just a really really fun science fiction book so yes next up is a book I'm literally so excited for basically if you didn't know if you don't follow me on Twitter or Instagram which is fine I'll leave them linked down below but basically I like sped R illumin over uh like 2 days ago basically and I immediately ordered the sequel from Amazon and it just came today and I'm going to start reading it after this book haul because I'm obsessed but the sequel is Gemini by Amy Amy Kaufman and J Kristoff the second book to the luminan Chronicles holy crap I'm going to talk about more about this in my wrapup but this is a well-known and well-loved ya science fiction series to in a very interesting format it's through like websites and IM and at first I wasn't sold I was like whatever that sounds kitchy to me but then I read the first one and it was absolutely freaking amazing absolutely kept me on the edge of my seat it was such a cool science fiction world that it actually like had space in science in like science part of the science fiction which is something that I just have been missing in books anyway it was so good so I immediately went out and bought the sequel because the Cliffhanger at the end of the first was like crazy town that I just needed to continue reading this and so good I'm so happy to have this next up is a book sent to me by Scholastic so thanks Scholastic for sending this my way and that is the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them original screenplay I actually had no idea this is going to be a like hard cover book until it arrived at my door which was an exciting time obviously this is a beautiful book they did a fantastic job with the packaging of this I've seen the movie I liked the movie um it's always fun to be back in the Magical World of Harry Potter I love Harry Potter so I'm excited to have this on my like Harry Potter collection section of my bookshelf it's a nice little collectible piece especially because it's also so beautiful next up is a book I'm not totally sure if I hauled yet so I wanted to haul it just in case and that is hag seed by Margaret Atwood this is Margaret Atwood's uh Tempest uh by William Shakespeare retelling but it is actually set in a prison which sounds dark and mysterious personally The Tempest is one of my favorite um uh Shakespeare uh plays and I actually have never read anything by market Atwood so I'm excited to have something by her on my shelf to read and enjoy just saying the next book was most recently sent to me in my book subscription unboxing which I will leave that video linked down below but it is the mortifications by Derek pachio this is a story that follows a uh family as they basically like settle it's like a family Saga it follows them as they leave Cuba the father decides to stay behind and the family moves to Miami and then one of the sons actually moves from there to Connecticut and it's just kind of follows them throughout their lives I don't have a lot of Latin American literature on my shelf so I'm excited to have this added to my collection it's I personally really really love family sagas I found them to be very entertaining and Rich and Juicy and Delicious and also this cover is absolutely stunning so just it's just a nice edition if you will the next book I have to show you guys was sent to me for review by Blink and I working with them for this video and that is guilt Hollow by Lori Langdon this is a kind of classic addictive sounding bad boyes story that got me kind of roped in upon synopsis reading for me these are kind of some of my guilty pleasures but this follows our main character Willow whose best friend um was convicted of murder and now 4 years later she just kind of wants to disappear she she doesn't like the notoriety that comes with this and then when that friend gets released from juvie it seems like he's like hiding behind this mask looking for Revenge they kind of get sucked back into each other's lives again and kind of the consequences of this and she starts to question what is good and what is bad is she can help can she not help and things like that it sounds dramatic it sounds delicious and I am excited to have this because let's be real this sounds like a whole lot of fun you're going to notice I went a I bought books for myself this month I didn't get a lot of books to review this month but I did go out and buy myself books uh one of those being the age of myth by Michael J Sullivan this came out in July and I have been eyeing this since it's come out it's gotten great reviews and I've read a book by Michael J Elin in the past and I wasn't a huge fan but this this sounds more like something up my alley and this is the first book to his new five book series series and it is a story about Mankind magic and like the Power Balance basically at the beginning of the story like kind of the protector of humans is destroyed and now there are few standing in the way of the annihilation of the human race so it sounds kind of like a hero story kind of traditional classic fantasy which is something I really like maybe it has its FL I don't know I haven't read this yet but that Trope I just can't get tired of uh I just like it I always will it's just really fun so again it's gotten really good reviews so I'm excited to have this and hopefully read it this break would have break it so soon I would have so much free time to read the next book I picked up from my favorite local book store it's called book people if you're from Austin you've heard of it it's great we've all been there and that is dark matter by Blake Crouch I've seen this book around and again it's just another book that has been getting really really great reviews so it's been on my radar this follows a man who gets knocked out unconscious and then he wakes up and basically his life is not the life that he's lived if that makes sense his wife is not his wife his job is not his job he has no idea what's going on but something is has gone wrong and he's trying to figure out how he can get his life back this sounds like another like kind of sci-fi thriller fast-paced kind of story I personally have been really into sci-fi especially after I read illumin cuz I just really really liked it and it's kind of gotten me back back into the genre so I'm hoping this is just as exciting as I hear it is and also I love this color cover I think it's very impactful good job very eye-catching I like it and the last few books I got from Book Outlet as you guys know I have a book Outlet page which I will leave linked down below but this month I screwed up I accidentally ordered books and then sent them to the wrong place yes that balad is being gracious as always and her fixing in sending them to me but I don't have the physical books here to show you but I still want to tell you guys which books I actually picked out and got this month uh cuz I'm really excited about them the first one is City on fire this is one of those literary Fick novels that literally I feel like stormed through 2015 everyone was talking about it everyone was like this is the greatest book ever and so I kind of let the hype die down I saw it for a good price and I decided to pick it up this novel is set during the 1977 New York blackout and it follows a variety of characters one of which is named Reagan and spelled just like my name which I was like all right but basically it follows two characters who are very wealthy and come from like a trust fund two characters who love and care about these two wealthy characters and then two teenagers who are interested in the punk scene and finally a detective who's trying to figure out how these six people previously mentioned are related to or not related to someone who got shot during this blackout so it sounds like a really interesting multi-perspective mystery literary fiction type novel that sounds grandiose and a challenge but something that appeals to me and I'm excited to have it in my collection the next book I picked up was Red Rising by Pierce Brown this is a book well- loved and well seen on book and I finally decided to pick it up again mostly because I'm really getting into science fiction at the moment this is a story I believe set on Mars kind of has like this Hunger Game science fiction esess to it at least that's what I hear honestly I have heard lots of good things but nothing super specific and I honestly don't want to find out too much to as to spoil myself so I just was like to the heck with it it's like $4 let's try it out and the last book I got is the one I'm most excited for when I saw it cuz it was such a good price and that is the Amber Chronicles this is a h fantasy collection of some of the most highly acclaimed stories by this author whose name is escaping me but it is basically all 10 books in the Amber series bound together and it's just one of the most well-loved series I looked it up on Goodreads and I read the back of the book and it doesn't actually give a synopsis it just says like most well-loved fantasy stories of all time says George R Martin and other really famous people so I was like well if these people say so and they don't want to be very specific and I just assume it's like magic and politics and stuff well let's try it I have a good friend who also recently read it and highly recommended it to me so it just seemed like enough people liked it I guess I didn't really need to know the specific though can we make the back a little more uh like you know like clear about what it's about be helpful I still bought it but still just saying all righty guys those are all of the books in my November book haul it ended up being a little longer than I thought it was but alas isn't that what always happens I hope you guys enjoyed this video and I would love to hear any books you got recently and I will see you guys soon with another video soon goodbyehey guys it's rean and today I'm here to bring you my November book haul now for the month of November I'm actually like pretty proud of myself my book ha is probably the most reasonable it has ever been for the past few months which is not to say this isn't going to be a very exciting book haul cuz this this is full of a lot of books I have been meaning to buy and I'm really excited about reading but anyway without further Ado let's just go ahead and get started the first book I want to mention is the pr Topia book club of the month for the month of November and this month we are working with Simon and Schuster and that is the diabolic by SJ canc I've already read in reviewed this novel so I'll be sure to leave that linked down below but this is a young adult science fiction novel following our main character Nemesis who is a diabolic she has been literally crafted uh for the sole existence of living to protect another person but she finds out the best way to protect that person is to become that person and take their place at this Intergalactic Council this is a science fiction story full of a very interesting World complex main character discovering what it really means to be human and if they are human and battling with that and also just like some pretty great characters but again I have this review down below and yeah it's just a really really fun science fiction book so yes next up is a book I'm literally so excited for basically if you didn't know if you don't follow me on Twitter or Instagram which is fine I'll leave them linked down below but basically I like sped R illumin over uh like 2 days ago basically and I immediately ordered the sequel from Amazon and it just came today and I'm going to start reading it after this book haul because I'm obsessed but the sequel is Gemini by Amy Amy Kaufman and J Kristoff the second book to the luminan Chronicles holy crap I'm going to talk about more about this in my wrapup but this is a well-known and well-loved ya science fiction series to in a very interesting format it's through like websites and IM and at first I wasn't sold I was like whatever that sounds kitchy to me but then I read the first one and it was absolutely freaking amazing absolutely kept me on the edge of my seat it was such a cool science fiction world that it actually like had space in science in like science part of the science fiction which is something that I just have been missing in books anyway it was so good so I immediately went out and bought the sequel because the Cliffhanger at the end of the first was like crazy town that I just needed to continue reading this and so good I'm so happy to have this next up is a book sent to me by Scholastic so thanks Scholastic for sending this my way and that is the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them original screenplay I actually had no idea this is going to be a like hard cover book until it arrived at my door which was an exciting time obviously this is a beautiful book they did a fantastic job with the packaging of this I've seen the movie I liked the movie um it's always fun to be back in the Magical World of Harry Potter I love Harry Potter so I'm excited to have this on my like Harry Potter collection section of my bookshelf it's a nice little collectible piece especially because it's also so beautiful next up is a book I'm not totally sure if I hauled yet so I wanted to haul it just in case and that is hag seed by Margaret Atwood this is Margaret Atwood's uh Tempest uh by William Shakespeare retelling but it is actually set in a prison which sounds dark and mysterious personally The Tempest is one of my favorite um uh Shakespeare uh plays and I actually have never read anything by market Atwood so I'm excited to have something by her on my shelf to read and enjoy just saying the next book was most recently sent to me in my book subscription unboxing which I will leave that video linked down below but it is the mortifications by Derek pachio this is a story that follows a uh family as they basically like settle it's like a family Saga it follows them as they leave Cuba the father decides to stay behind and the family moves to Miami and then one of the sons actually moves from there to Connecticut and it's just kind of follows them throughout their lives I don't have a lot of Latin American literature on my shelf so I'm excited to have this added to my collection it's I personally really really love family sagas I found them to be very entertaining and Rich and Juicy and Delicious and also this cover is absolutely stunning so just it's just a nice edition if you will the next book I have to show you guys was sent to me for review by Blink and I working with them for this video and that is guilt Hollow by Lori Langdon this is a kind of classic addictive sounding bad boyes story that got me kind of roped in upon synopsis reading for me these are kind of some of my guilty pleasures but this follows our main character Willow whose best friend um was convicted of murder and now 4 years later she just kind of wants to disappear she she doesn't like the notoriety that comes with this and then when that friend gets released from juvie it seems like he's like hiding behind this mask looking for Revenge they kind of get sucked back into each other's lives again and kind of the consequences of this and she starts to question what is good and what is bad is she can help can she not help and things like that it sounds dramatic it sounds delicious and I am excited to have this because let's be real this sounds like a whole lot of fun you're going to notice I went a I bought books for myself this month I didn't get a lot of books to review this month but I did go out and buy myself books uh one of those being the age of myth by Michael J Sullivan this came out in July and I have been eyeing this since it's come out it's gotten great reviews and I've read a book by Michael J Elin in the past and I wasn't a huge fan but this this sounds more like something up my alley and this is the first book to his new five book series series and it is a story about Mankind magic and like the Power Balance basically at the beginning of the story like kind of the protector of humans is destroyed and now there are few standing in the way of the annihilation of the human race so it sounds kind of like a hero story kind of traditional classic fantasy which is something I really like maybe it has its FL I don't know I haven't read this yet but that Trope I just can't get tired of uh I just like it I always will it's just really fun so again it's gotten really good reviews so I'm excited to have this and hopefully read it this break would have break it so soon I would have so much free time to read the next book I picked up from my favorite local book store it's called book people if you're from Austin you've heard of it it's great we've all been there and that is dark matter by Blake Crouch I've seen this book around and again it's just another book that has been getting really really great reviews so it's been on my radar this follows a man who gets knocked out unconscious and then he wakes up and basically his life is not the life that he's lived if that makes sense his wife is not his wife his job is not his job he has no idea what's going on but something is has gone wrong and he's trying to figure out how he can get his life back this sounds like another like kind of sci-fi thriller fast-paced kind of story I personally have been really into sci-fi especially after I read illumin cuz I just really really liked it and it's kind of gotten me back back into the genre so I'm hoping this is just as exciting as I hear it is and also I love this color cover I think it's very impactful good job very eye-catching I like it and the last few books I got from Book Outlet as you guys know I have a book Outlet page which I will leave linked down below but this month I screwed up I accidentally ordered books and then sent them to the wrong place yes that balad is being gracious as always and her fixing in sending them to me but I don't have the physical books here to show you but I still want to tell you guys which books I actually picked out and got this month uh cuz I'm really excited about them the first one is City on fire this is one of those literary Fick novels that literally I feel like stormed through 2015 everyone was talking about it everyone was like this is the greatest book ever and so I kind of let the hype die down I saw it for a good price and I decided to pick it up this novel is set during the 1977 New York blackout and it follows a variety of characters one of which is named Reagan and spelled just like my name which I was like all right but basically it follows two characters who are very wealthy and come from like a trust fund two characters who love and care about these two wealthy characters and then two teenagers who are interested in the punk scene and finally a detective who's trying to figure out how these six people previously mentioned are related to or not related to someone who got shot during this blackout so it sounds like a really interesting multi-perspective mystery literary fiction type novel that sounds grandiose and a challenge but something that appeals to me and I'm excited to have it in my collection the next book I picked up was Red Rising by Pierce Brown this is a book well- loved and well seen on book and I finally decided to pick it up again mostly because I'm really getting into science fiction at the moment this is a story I believe set on Mars kind of has like this Hunger Game science fiction esess to it at least that's what I hear honestly I have heard lots of good things but nothing super specific and I honestly don't want to find out too much to as to spoil myself so I just was like to the heck with it it's like $4 let's try it out and the last book I got is the one I'm most excited for when I saw it cuz it was such a good price and that is the Amber Chronicles this is a h fantasy collection of some of the most highly acclaimed stories by this author whose name is escaping me but it is basically all 10 books in the Amber series bound together and it's just one of the most well-loved series I looked it up on Goodreads and I read the back of the book and it doesn't actually give a synopsis it just says like most well-loved fantasy stories of all time says George R Martin and other really famous people so I was like well if these people say so and they don't want to be very specific and I just assume it's like magic and politics and stuff well let's try it I have a good friend who also recently read it and highly recommended it to me so it just seemed like enough people liked it I guess I didn't really need to know the specific though can we make the back a little more uh like you know like clear about what it's about be helpful I still bought it but still just saying all righty guys those are all of the books in my November book haul it ended up being a little longer than I thought it was but alas isn't that what always happens I hope you guys enjoyed this video and I would love to hear any books you got recently and I will see you guys soon with another video soon goodbye\n"