Friday, October 1, 2021

Month in Review: September 2021


Well, September was certainly a chaotic month–how was it for everyone else?? I can't believe it's already fall and am not sure how we all got here. 
September was, in all honestly, a pretty frustrating reading month for me. I still read a decent number of books, but I've just had such a mixture of no time to read and a bit of a reading slump that I didn't manage to get to nearly as many books as I'd hoped to, and I also didn't end up getting as many reviews up as I usually do each month. Hopefully I can get back on track in October. 

In personal news, my husband and I went on a short vacation at the beginning of the month, and then as soon as we got back we start prepping to move! We just moved into our new house this past Sunday and it's still so surreal that we are actually in a house now. We're still renting since the market was too crazy to consider buying this year, but nonetheless it feels great to have our own space and yard (even if the rent is... too high). This move was both exhausting and extremely simple: we scheduled the move for Saturday morning, but the movers called the day before and said they could only do 2-3PM because of a scheduling issue. Okay, we can make it work. Then they call and say 5-6PM because the previous move was taking longer than expected...then they finally called and said they couldn't make it that day, but could come Sunday at 12:30 instead. It was... a bit of a headache, especially since the house we are moving into is only a few miles away and we had already moved over a bunch of minor essentials and whatnot ourselves–and we'd already put the mattress cover on our mattress and box spring! So we went over to the house, got some supplies, came back to the apartment, unwrapped the bed, and then re-packed it all in the morning. All in all doable, but boy was it exhausting at the time! A fun story one day, though. :) We also found a mouse in the closet going to town on some food that was mistakenly put in there instead of the pantry (moving is hectic, okay?), and I've never had to deal with rodents before, so that was new! It was honestly adorable, but boy do I not want one in my house.
All in all... it's been a hectic week, and I'm glad it's finally Friday, haha. (If you've read all of that, I appreciate your dedication!)

In reading news, well, other than the reading slump I already discussed, I did still manage to read some great books! In the Camps was a sobering and horrifying read about the concentration camps and high-tech, pervasive surveillance that occurs in the Uyghur communities. I highly recommend this read, but just be forewarned that it is a difficult read and does discuss some cruel and inhumane treatment of people and is a difficult read. I also listened to the Scarlet Johansen-narrated version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which I was hesitant to do since it's a favorite book and I wasn't so sure of the choice, and I was pleasantly surprised! It was such a fun audiobook–if you're looking Alice as an audiobook, definitely check that one out on Audible if you can. 

But anyway...  how was your month? Have you read any new favorites books, or anything that just didn't work for you? Do let me know in the comments how things are, I love hearing from you all!


# books read: 10
   

The Gauntlet and the Fist BeneathIn the Camps: China's High-Tech Penal ColonyThe Apollo MurdersThe Dragon Reborn (Wheel of Time, #3)
The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath by Ian Green 
Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover

In the Camps: China's High-Tech Penal Colony by Darren Byler 
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield 
Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

The Dragon Reborn (Wheel of Time, #3) by Robert Jordan 
Source: Library | Format: Audiobook


Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Illustrated with Interactive Elements): Through the Looking-GlassThe Body ScoutAcross the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children, #6)Never Saw Me Coming
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (re-read)
Source: Owned | Format: Audiobook

The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel 
Source: Publisher (Orbit) | Format: Hardcover

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire 
Source: Library | Format: Hardcover

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian 
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

Her Last FlightStalking Shadows
Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams 
Source: Library | Format: Hardcover

Stalking Shadows by Cyla Panin 
Source: Publisher | Format: Hardcover


DNF/To-Be-Finished:
Summer SonsGreat CircleThe Last Days of the Incas
Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo
Oh boy, this was a hard book to put down! I love the concept, the setting, some general aspects of the plot and characters, but this book was just. so. slow. I don't mind slow burns, drawn out character development, etc., but it just felt like nothing was happening other than our main character doing drugs and racing cars. That's all well and good, but it gets a little old. Not to mention the "is-it-drugs-or-is-it-supernatural" trope at play that I'm not a fan of was pretty prominent. I do want to finish this, but maybe in October or November when I'm less slumpy.

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
I am 100% going to finish this book because I've been really enjoying it! I only put it down because I started reading it while we were moving and was just moving through it so slowly that it was becoming demoralizing, haha. I opted to put it down for now, but will absolutely be picking it back up to finish soon. 

The Last Days of the Incas by Kim MacQarrie
I started listening to this on audiobook and do plan to finish one day (maybe), but at the moment it wasn't grabbing me as I'd thought, and I honestly didn't find it as nuanced and thoughtful as I'd hoped it would be. I'll have to look into it a bit more, but in general I'm very interested in the subject!
 

The Inheritance of Orquídea DivinaNever Saw Me ComingThe City BeautifulUnder the Whispering DoorThe Body ScoutThe Last House on Needless StreetStalking Shadows


(other than reviews)

Top Five/Ten Tuesday:

Can't-Wait Wednesday:

The Friday Face-Off:

Have you read any of these? What books did you read this month? I hope you all had a great month-- comment below and let me know!

2 comments:

  1. Ugh, mice are the worst!!! Moving is always a pain; I remember we reserved a truck when we moved and when we called the night before to confirm, they said they didn't have anything available and we really had to scramble to find another one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrats on your house! It is stressful to move for sure. We've been in our house for 20 years now, hard to believe, so moving some day is going to be rough. And onto your books, I've been struggling with Summer Sons too. I'm going to push through and finish it this weekend but the writing style is tripping me up for some reason.

    ReplyDelete