Hello friends, happy Friday! I hope you’re all doing well. This month actually looked up after the past 3 terrible months, so yay let’s get into what happened this month!

Currently Reading:

Danse Macabre by: Stephen King. I started my next King read mid-month. This is a non-fiction read on writing fiction. I’ve only read chapter 1 so I don’t have too much to say so far. I’m curious to read King’s thoughts on writing horror.

Geekerella by: Ashley Poston. I obviously knew this was a Cinderella retelling, but I didn’t know this was going to be Star Trek fan fiction basically. I’m really enjoying that aspect and the plot has been cute… I’m not really caring for the actual Cinderella plotline – it feels cringy.

What I’ve Read:

Goodbye, Vitamin by: Rachel Khong. This was fast-paced and I think I enjoyed it as much as I did (because I don’t usually like literary fiction) because of the fact that it was short. We jumped into the character’s life for a moment and then it was over and it didn’t drag.

From My Mother’s Back by: Njoki Wane. This book was long listed for Canada Reads 2022. This was a really nice memoir; I think I enjoyed it as much as I did because of the way Wane wrote. Her writing speaks to the reader and it’s so calming and lulling into her story.

Flame in the Mist by: Renée Ahdieh. I really liked this; the writing; the world building; the characters, they were all so good. I like the way everything came together and did I mention the gorgeous writing? Because it was so luscious!

Cujo by: Stephen King. After just over 3 months of reading this, I finally finished it and I really did enjoy it. I wasn’t disappointed by the ending, which I was worried I would be; I liked how slow the pace was because it built up the tension and really brought the creep factor in because of that. There were things I didn’t understand that were added to the plot, but overall, enjoyable!

Given to the Earth by: Mindy McGinnus. I did it; I read the second book even though I didn’t like book one. This one I like slightly a little more; the plots didn’t feel as harsh, but there was still too much happening and too many surprising plots added in for shock value.

Sons and Soldiers by: Bruce Henderson. This was a non-fiction read about a group of young men who were born in Germany, fled to the US, then later joined the US army. It was a part of WWII history I had no idea existed so it was interesting, but it also wasn’t my cup of tea.

Professional Troublemaker by: Luvvie Ajayi Jones. I enjoyed this and it’s a book that I can see myself re-reading at some point. This was a non-fiction, self-help book on just being a better human and learning to fight fear in small, manageable steps.

The Bear and the Nightingale by: Katherine Arden. This book was so beautifully written and the plot was so interesting; I loved the Russian folklore and the characters, especially the main one was my favourite character ever.

We Two Alone by: Jack Wang. This book was sad and full of melancholy but I still really enjoyed reading this collection of short stories. This was nominated for the Canada Reads longlist.

Words in Deep Blue by: Cath Crowley. This book was also sad. Woof, this hit me in the gut. Usually a 5 star read is something I want to re-read and I don’t think I’ll ever re-read this but this touched on grief so well that I was in awe of it. I also love that it took place in a bookshop and the friendship plot was A+++!

Smoke in the Sun by: Renée Ahdieh. This was the concluding novel in this duology and I loved it just as much as the first. So much happening, there were twists, deception, evil characters, good characters – it had it all and it ended in a sweet way.

Links to my my blog posts this past month:

Links to posts I enjoyed around the blogosphere:

Briana @Pages Unbound talked about her first impressions of the new Prime show, Rings of Power – I’ve been so curious about everyone’s thoughts because I haven’t deep dived into the show yet.

Kyrsta @Pages Unbound posted about false facts people have about the library – I enjoy all posts about the library, especially being an avid library patron.

Marie @Drizzle & Hurricane Books talked about the how and why engagement has changed on her blog – I felt very similar to a lot of points she talked about. She also gave us great book recommendation posts, my fave was 12 books to read based on your zodiac sign.

Stephanie @The Abundant Word gave steps on how to grow your bookish Instagram account – this was such a great list; I’m not really looking to grow my following, but if I was, these steps are steps I’d follow.

Kate @Your Tita Kate talked about how she unhauls books – sometimes you have to part ways with books your no longer are aligned with and Kate really gave us good ways to determine what to keep and what to get rid of.

The Orangutan Librarian gave a list of books set in bookshops – what’s better than that?! Great list!

After talking about my house being covid free last month… welp… I got covid round 2. That was not fun; it hit me worse the second time, go figure, but I recovered faster, so silver lining there. Here are the highlights:

Highlights of the month:

✨ Went to brunch with a co-worker and former co-worker which was really yummy! After we went to a Buddhist temple to see another former co-worker; it made for a really wonderful day!

✨ Met up with, my now ex, to get the closure I needed. It was bittersweet, but it was still nice to get out and walk around a really nice park.

✨ Had another backyard hangout at my friend’s place with my best friends, definitely needed it after the ‘highlight’ above 😅

✨ Went to my first concert since 2019! 😱 I saw My Chemical Romance with my brother, it was such a great night! 🎶

✨ After getting over covid, I hungout with my two friends – we went to a dessert place called Melt n Dip, which was SO good, so much melted chocolate. Ended the night hanging out in the backyard.

✨ Bought new fall boots – so excited to wear them; also bought new fall earrings!

✨ Started baking again (maybe? we’ll see) I made chocolate chip cookies!

✨ Went to a board game cafe with friends and it was a lot of fun! Something I’d do again!

What I’ve watched:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer; season 2. This season took a left turn that I wasn’t prepared for, but I did enjoy it… for the most part. Angel took a 180, he went from being so sweet to becoming a complete ass after the curse that was put on him was broken and he became his true form again. I didn’t like him being the bad guy because it doesn’t suit him like at all. Spike, it suits, he can pull of the sarcastic bad guy, where Angel cannot. I like the addition of Oz as Willow’s boyfriend, he’s cute; I knew that Xander and Cordelia were going to get together so that wasn’t a shock for me. I wasn’t prepared for everything that went down with Jenny… I thought we’d have more time with her… I feel SO bad for Giles. I like that we got to see more backstory from him, but I still find him a complete mystery. I can’t wait to see where season 3 is going to go.

Love on the Spectrum; season 1. So I was wrong when I wrote in my last wrap up that the original was from the UK… it’s actually from Australia. I don’t know what it was about this version, but I didn’t like it as much. Maybe it was because I feel like we saw less of the dating and more of them as people doing every day things that bored me a little. I still think it’s inspiring to watch. This also had couples, and we got to see them together and then move into the next stage of their lives, which was cute.

Star Trek: The Next Generation; season 2. I liked this season more so than the first and now that I’ve entered the third I feel like I’m finally finding my groove with this show. I love the introduction to Woopi Goldberg’s character, I wish we got to see her more (I believe she becomes a regular in later seasons, I just have to make my way there). She’s so wise and I love how she just listens to people without jumping on top of them with what she thinks they want to hear, it’s so good to see. Then I was sad to see Dr. Crusher wasn’t in this season, it took a while to get used to Dr. Pulanski. She intrigued me because she had this big reputation and everyone seemed to know who she was… including Riker’s dad. It was good to see more from characters parents, including Deanna… her mum makes me laugh. Overall, this was an entertaining season and I look forward to continuing… even if this season ended on a flashback episode – it felt super cheesy (yet on par for this show).

Superstore; season 5. After last season’s whole shock, out of nowhere plot with Mateo, that plot seemed to drop this season again. I like that Amy gave him an under the table job and she introduced him to his boyfriend (her brother 😂) it was nice to see. The whole union plot kinda fell as Amy became manager, but I liked seeing the growth of her character because she’s really come so far… especially in that finale where she’s offered a corporate job. But now her relationship with Jonah seems to be on shaky ground… yikes! I liked seeing Sandra get married… and randomly adopt a teen. Her plots are wild, but I like that about her character. I enjoyed this season like I have previous seasons; this show is entertaining in that love to hate kinda way.

I finally watched Trevor Noah: Afraid of the Dark one of his Netflix specials. I’ve seen his second special and so this one has been on my list for… a lot longer than I’d like to admit. It was hilarious as I expected it to be; what I didn’t expect was how relevant it would be to what’s happening on social media right now in terms of colonialism. He talked a lot about it, and really broke it down in his own funny way, I just thought what are the chances I decide now to watch this now, as I knew nothing about what he was going to talk about. Highly recommend.

I also watched The Blair Witch Project. So I think I’ve seen this before because parts felt familiar, but that aside, I enjoyed this, it was entertaining for what it was – the whole fighting got annoying fast, but it was still interesting.

What I’m watching:

Superstore; season 6. Last season here I come… and it’s super cringy. So, this takes place in 2020 so we’ve got everything that happened in 2020… it feels like watching a time capsule of the not so distant past. Like now that we’re starting to come out on the other side of this pandemic, it just feels so weird to watch. I have less than 10 episodes left so I’m going to continue, but man this season has been not great so far. Also! Amy left, which I was surprised by, like I figured she’d take the job… I just didn’t think she’d be gone from the show… and then her and Jonah’s relationship, woof that hurt and I felt that deeper than I thought I would.

Star Trek: The Next Generation; season 3. Again, I’m not very far into this season, but so far, from what I’ve seen I’ve liked. I enjoy that they take topics and really break them down, for example they didn’t want to be seen on a planet for fear of disrupting the way they live (they do end up being seen), but the lesson that was learned was really important – this colony had to learn to evolve in their own way and not be forced by Star Fleet to evolve too quickly. I’m glad that we get bigger epiosdes like this followed by sillier episodes.

Rings of Power; season 1. My brother and I started watching this in our covid quarantine. I love everything LoTR since watching the movies for the first time at the beginning of the year. I’m not a diehard fan so this has been an enjoyable watch. Both of us have been very into the show (even though I’m constantly asking who is who) it’s been good so far and I can’t wait to see where the show continues.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer; season 3. I’m halfway through this season and I haven’t been enjoying it as much as the first two seasons. Buffy comes back, and so does Angel… which I figured he would. I’m not feeling their connection though, yet. What was with the Xander/Willow plot… I hated that; did the show creators just want to create drama because that’s all that was. I hope they don’t become a couple because it’s too late for me. Also the new slayer, Faith is interesting, I don’t know if I really like her or not.

Instagram & YouTube videos from the month:

How was your September? Read, watch, do anything interesting? Let me know!