September Wrap Up & October TBR 2022 // I saw Seventeen 😭💗

September have really flew by and we’re officially in the last quarter of 2022! The month really flew by for me, especially since work has been really busy and I had exciting things to look forward to at the end of the month. Overall it’s been a great month, albeit a mentally exhausting one.

THE KINGDOM by Jesse Rothernberg // 🌟🌟🌟🌟
IT’S NOT SUMMER WITHOUT YOU by Jenny Han // 🌟🌟🌟🌟
MORTAL HEART by Robin LaFevers // 🌟🌟🌟🌟
WELL, THAT WAS UNEXPECTED by Jesse Q Sutanto {eARC} // 🌟🌟🌟🌟

It’s been a great reading month for me! I’ve picked up THE KINGDOM, which has been on my TBR for a while due to its gorgeous cover and unique concept. The execution didn’t disappoint though; despite being a bit predictable, I love reading about The Kingdom and how eerie it is compared to Disneyworld! Then I continued with Summers series, and I gotta say, surprisingly I enjoyed this 2nd book better! I feel like we got more character depth outside of their romance. Makes me want to read the 3rd book tbh 🙈 I also finished His Fair Assassins series by picking up MORTAL HEART and it’s really a great conclusion for the whole trilogy! And finally, I picked up WELL, THAT WAS UNEXPECTED and it really got me smiling and craving some iced coffee!

PRETTY DEAD QUEENS by Alexa Donne {eARC}
EMPTY SMILES by Katherine Arden
THE SACRIFICE by Rin Chupeco {eARC}
THE LAST TALONS by Sophie Kim {eARC}
GHOST EATERS by Clay McLeod Chapman {eARC}
TRIPPING ARCADIA by Kit Mayquist
NOTHING BUT BLACKENED TEETH by Cassandra Khaw
THE KISS CURSE by Erin Sterling 🎧

Am I overreaching? Definitely, but it’s spooky season so I’m adding as many spooky books as possible to my TBR this year!

Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books explains how and why her blog engagement changed
Not a September post, but I just found out about the book blogger stat surveys conducted by Pages Unbound and the result for 2022 is out! This is very interesting to read.
Sage @ Sage’s Shelves recommended 6 books with fat main characters and mini-reviewed some books she liked that she hasn’t talked about
Fanna @ Fanna for Books recommended 21 books set during the British colonization of India and also had a guest post from Mihir @ Fantasy Book Critic which recommended 6 Indian fantasy books inspired by mythology and lore
Simone @ Simone and Her Books reviewed Dead Flip by Sara Farizan
Jordyn @ Birdie’s Book Nook reviewed one of my most anticipated fall books, The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling

As I’m typing this, I just got back from a 1 week leave to went back to my hometown to watch Seventeen. I’d love to talk more about other things that happened but lemme wrote about the concert experience first because it’s really everything I can think of 😂 Feel free to skip the following section if you’re not interested!

Okay so in case you’re not aware, Seventeen is currently in their Asian leg for their Be The Sun tour and Jakarta was their first stop! We got 2 days concert on 24-25 September and I went on the second date. I’m really excited because this is my first ever k-pop concert and I’ve seen how good they are in terms of performance and audience interactions so to be able to secure a ticket was such an !!!! moment for me. Plus! My sister also watched the concert with me so we booked a hotel and my parents ended up joining us for a staycation so it became a family trip for us.

Anyways, it went better than I expected and not just the performance. First of all, before the concert started at 6.30 PM, a lot of carats (the fandom name) already milling about on the concert venue getting to know each other, even preparing freebies for concert attendees (even those they don’t know). I got soo many freebies that my bag was really full. Other than the kindness of carats, it’s also really heartwarming to witness so many meetings/reunions from soooo many online carats friends, whether those who met for the first time or reunited after so many years due to the pandemic 😥🥺 Then when we got into the concert venue 1 hour before the concert started, the organizer played SVT MV so we just had a karaoke session with the fanchant and all. The atmosphere was just amazing!!!

Then there’s the concert itself. It was a 3 hour concert, I was in the standing section and yet I didn’t feel it at all! Like I was singing, screaming, dancing, jamming along with everyone and everything I can’t believe I did that for 3 hours 😂 And guys… Seventeen is as good as they are on screens. Their voice? Absolutely the same. Their performance? Absolutely legendary synchronizations and energy. Their interactions? The connection with carats are insane. I don’t have any bias so I really enjoyed all of their performance, but I gotta say S.Coups and Wonwoo aura are really different on stage 🔥 There are so many little moments I love, but I absolutely love how loud INA carats’ cheers were, how we all follow Hoshi’s tiger agenda and personal favorite, the loud and long cheers we gave to Seungkwan before his opening ment that he couldn’t help but laughs shyly 🥺

And can I say how proud I am as an Indonesian carat??? Like everyone is so respectful! I am 5’2 and at the standing section, yet everyone only put their phone and caratbong no higher than their own heads so I can see the stages/screens clearly. The queue was orderly, and no one brought another groups lightstick. Like carats are known for being peaceful and respectful but being part of them and seeing how we constantly remind each other to enjoy the concert together was just 🥺🥺💎

Leaving the venue was really hard, because I can’t believe the concert had ended 😥 We had to though eventually, because I think the venue had another event so they started dismantling the stage and even the photobooth area (while a lot of us were queuing for that) 😒 This is my first k-pop concert (not my first concert in general though) and I think I left a piece of me back at the concert 😥 I posted some snaps on instagram after the concert, but couldn’t bring myself to look at the fancams or clean up the stuff I got (and empty my bag) until 1 week after, when I had to pack to went back to my place 😭

Which is why I don’t have any pics to share with you guys yet. Maybe I’ll write a post about SVT and include it there, or maybe I’ll do it on my next wrap up. But right now for sure my soul is still in the concert hall 😅

The rest of the month was spent at work. The good news is that my team is slowly growing. The bad news is that it’s not fast enough, and with both HR quitting I can’t see who will take over the recruitment process 😬 I almost did not renew my contract but at the end of the day, management aside, I can’t deny that I LOVE what I’m doing.

During my leave I also caught up with a lot of my friends from high school, uni, and even my old job. And omg, I can’t believe I’m at that age where I am receiving wedding invitations left and right?? Or at that age where people introduced their SO to me and ask “what do you think of (SO name)“. I am in true disbelief and honestly, still reeling at how fast time flies 🙈 The earliest wedding is happening in November, for which I am also flying back home. So yeah. It’s SOON 😂

I watched a couple things in September, including the Sandman and a c-drama called Princess Silver. While I enjoyed the storyline, I’d say it got a bit convoluted and too slow burn for my taste in the middle part of the story 😬 In terms of music, surprisingly there’s not much Seventeen lol 😂 I’d say the music I listened to in September is quite spread out!

I’ll end this section by saying how CRAZY the concert scene in Indonesia has been. Like that weekend where Seventeen had their concert, we also had Westlife concert and 2 music festival (Pesta Pora & We The Fest). Then the following week have the Script. And THEN the promotor announced NCT 127 The Link on Nov 5. I didn’t get to secure my tickets since the sale was insane, it was so bad that the promotor added another date on Nov 4th. While I was contemplating whether I should get the ticket or not, the promoter announced that Stray Kids will come to Jakarta for their Maniac Tour.

This Is Happening GIFs | Tenor — Me at Maniac announcement

Obviously I chose Stray Kids because they’re my ultimate, but it hurts to let NCT 127 go since it’s enlistment era starting next year with Taeil 😥 I can’t watch both groups though and it just shows how insane the concert scene in Indonesia is this year after 2 years of no activities 🤯