READING
I read 9 books in September, which seems to be my sweet spot these days. I’m at 98 books read for the year, so I’ll hit 100 in early October. We’ll see if I can make it to 125 by the end of the year. It’s doable, especially since I have lots of time off coming up in November and December! My favorite book this month was Caste (and was my only 5-star book of the month!) and my least favorite was A Place for Us.
- One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (print, owned, Book of the Month) ★★★☆☆
- The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood (print, library) ★★★☆☆
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (print, owned, Book of the Month) ★★★★☆
- Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny (audiobook, library) ★★★★☆
- Hang the Moon by Alexandria Bellefleur (e-book, library) ★★★☆☆
- I’m Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal (audiobook, library) ★★★☆☆
- Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson (print, owned, Book of the Month) ★★★★★
- A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza (e-book, owned, Amazon) ★★★☆☆
- Rising Star by Susannah Nix (e-book, owned, Amazon) ★★★★☆
WATCHING
- Booksmart – I watched my first movie of the year this month! Ha. And it was a phenomenal one. I loved, loved, loved this movie and I have a hankering to rewatch it soon, which is something I never do with movies. It was hilarious and heartfelt and led by two amazing actresses.
- Nailed It – A new season of Nailed It landed on Netflix just when I needed something light-hearted to watch. Nicole Byer has my heart forever.
- Brooklyn 99 (season 1) – I started rewatching Brooklyn 99 this month because I needed something comforting to watch. Also, their final season just finished up and I want to rewatch the entire series before settling in for that.
LISTENING TO
- Strange Bedfellows – My beloved Jack and Tanner of The Baby-Sitter’s Club Club podcast have been, shall we say, floundering a bit since they finished reviewing the BSC books. One of the things they did during that floundering period was review the book The Governess Game by Tessa Dare, a historical romance. I was delighted by this episode and all I wanted them to do was continue to review romance novels in their typical hilarious way. And they read my mind! They started Strange Bedfellows, a podcast about two men reading and reviewing romance novels and it is everything I never knew I wanted. They are hilarious (especially the segments where they rewrite the sex scenes in the novels, hehe) and I’m so glad they’ve found a new niche! (I want to note, too, that they aren’t making fun of this genre or anything like that. They are kind and respectful while also being hilarious. The hilarity doesn’t come at the expense of the romance genre.)
- This Land – This podcast from Crooked Media is hosted by Rebecca Nagle, a citizen of Cherokee Nation. Season 1 was about a Supreme Court decision affecting the treaty rights of Native American tribes. In season 2, she discusses a law called the Indian Children Welfare Act (ICWA), which gives tribes rights over the government for Indian children in foster care, and specifically, how one couple is trying to dismantle ICWA. The podcast is incredible and definitely worth a listen.
BUYING
- A new living room rug – I am so happy that I bought this new rug! While it could be just a smidge bigger, it still works well for my living room. I love the pattern and the fact that the stripes match my couch perfectly (the pink stripes match my couch pillows, even!) The girls love it, too, and isn’t that the MOST important thing?
- A new TV – Another home upgrade that I’ve had my eye on for a long, long time. I’m so glad I got a bigger TV! It makes me really happy, especially with football season in high gear.
HIGHLIGHTS
nfl football • my first psl of the season • my return to peloton workouts • a coffee date with amber • celebrating my brother’s 35th birthday • celebrating my nephew’s 13th birthday • trampoline jumping • spending time with my sweet cousin and her equally sweet daughter • reconnecting with old friends • sundays at mom’s • having people to reach out to when life feels immeasurably hard
I know this was a tough month for you, but writing this recap was probably a good reminder of all the good things that happened in September, too!
September felt like a long month here. We were all sick with something – I had 2 different colds, Phil had pink eye and a minor cold, and both boys have had 2 different colds, I think? They are in different rooms at school so much be passing things back and forth to each other – and to mom. Yay. We also had a lot of tantrums to deal with during the month, which was really hard. It was helpful to talk to another mom at school whose son went through the same thing around 3.5 and especially after the transition to a new room in school. Tantrums and difficult behavior are topics people don’t really talk about so you can feel like the only couple dealing with it. But I felt very seen when we did an online course about dealing with tantrums – I said she wouldn’t develop this content and speak to things we are experiencing if they weren’t super common!
September is the absolute worst for me – my SAD really kicks in and it’s shocking how when the calendar flips to October, I feel like a new person. I hope you’re doing better now.
If you like the podcast This Land, I think you might also enjoy the podcast Offshore, which is about the relationship between Native Hawaiians and European settlers/entitled white people. I highly recommend the first two seasons. I sort of trickled off at the third season, but I’ve heard the recent seasons are also quite good.
I am so glad you have those people to reach out to!
And I am so excited for all the reading and free time you are going to have with your extra time off in Nov and Dec! Woot! I did take a day off just for me – two weeks from today. LOL.
I’m sorry that your September was, well, kind of sucky. But on the other hand, I’m glad that September showed you who will be there for you when you need them – it sounds like you have the best possible group of friends and family! I hope that now that we are nearly halfway through October that you are feeling a bit lighter and happier. (Although… since you’re a Dolphins fan… I’m sorry.)
Yay for free time! I am feeling rather desperate for some but… yeah. That does not happen during the semester. Looking forward to December here for completely different reasons! 🙂
Take care. And oh, remember, too, that even though we’re not there in person, we’re out here listening and remotely cheering for you. <3
I just finished Caste. A MUST-READ.
Sounds like you had a pretty good September.
Seems like you might be taking a well-deserved (and perhaps much-needed?) break from blogging. I realized I hadn’t seen a post from you in a while and wandered by to see if I’d missed something. Hope all is okay in your world.