Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books on My Fall TBR

"Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly bookish shareable, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

Let's get two things straight, right off the top: I am three days deep into the flu, and I am a proud mood reader, who is absolutely terrible at following a TBR plan. 

If there's anything I can guarantee you right now, it's that 1. There is only a negligible chance that I will recall even a single selection that makes it onto this list by the time I emerge from my Robitussin haze come morning, and 2. There was only a snowball's chance in Florida that I will actually manage to follow this plan to begin with. 

That being said... isn't planning out a TBR kind of fun? 

It's the same reason I make huge To-Do Lists for the Fall season, or big ol' themed posters that hang up in our kitchen during Advent. Because sometimes, it's nice to daydream about all of the cute seasonal things you want to do, while you're trapped in the rushing torrent of a schedule that cares naught for your whims. By the time you actually manage to drag your flannel-bedecked compatriots to the pumpkin patch for an apple cider doughnut, or drop off that meticulously-wrapped package to the family Secret Santa gift exchange, you'll be glad you did it, of course... so much so that you're more than willing to overlook the eight or nine checkmarks on your list that didn't get completed in time. 

So to be honest, if I manage to finish even one title off of this list, I'll be pleased. Because it will mean I indulged in a read that makes best use of the advantages of the Fall season... and because it means I will not have died from the flu. 

(I'm not dying, I'm just very peeved. It's my personal guardian angel's way of striking me down after complaining so hard about the marathon traveling I was compelled to do for the past month or so. "Oh, multiple air plane flights, ferry trips, and numerous hours in a car have you feeling worn out? Then it's time to sleep, idiot."

Trust me, from the bottom of my soul, I'd rather be reading.) 

Fall Vibes

because some reads just conjure up those "I'm wearing a sweater, there's apple cider in the Crockpot, it smells like rain outside and it's getting dark at 5pm now" vibes

1. Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen

Listen, my college-aged younger brother inhales books like he's Kirby, which means he travels through his library holds at a blistering pace I simply cannot match... but because he tends towards reads by people like Brandon Sanderson, I don't take it too personally. 

Until, of course, he started coming for my English Major cred, and now I have to put up some stalwart defense to retain my title of Nerd Supreme of the family, by trying to read or reread at least one work of Classic fiction a quarter. Because otherwise it's hand to hand combat, and the kid is built like a truck. 

2. The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon

To be honest, I haven't read this book since my Freshman Year of college, and being that that was now eleven years ago (*insert gagging noise here*), I feel confident enough to say I remember almost nothing of the specifics, just that I really like it, and found it to be very atmospheric. 

However, I still possess its sequel, and I wouldn't be happy removing one from my shelves without at least consulting the other first. Besides, how many times do you think to yourself, "Man, I wish I could read this book for the first time again." Now, I pretty much can! 

3. The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin

Sometimes, we've just got to call a spade a spade: this book has leaves on the cover, and they're the same colors your kindergarten teacher would choose for Fall leaves, and sometimes, we just don't have to think that hard about things, okay? 

Besides, I feel like the vibe of "mysterious fortune teller informs a group of siblings of the ways they all eventually die" feels kind of October-y. 

Spooky Season

because my family goes all out for Halloween in the decor department, and heaven help me if I leave something out of theme on the coffee table

4. A Dowry of Blood, S. T. Gibson

This particular read gained some rave reviews on that bedeviled clock app last year, and the resulting hype spilled over to Instagram, including the posts of some people I really like and trust. So I took a gamble and picked up a copy for myself at the Barnes and Noble Hardcover Sale in late December last year, and it's been sitting on my shelves ever since, waiting for October reading. 

Because, vampires! Blood! Fangtastic fun! 

5. How to Sell a Haunted House, Grady Hendrix

So my family is obsessed with this kind of sleeper Syfy show Surreal Estate, which was somehow miraculously brought back from the dead (cancelled) to gain a second season, which will be premiering in a few weeks. It's about a real estate firm that specializes in the sale of haunted houses, and it's one of the best scripted shows on TV I've seen in recent memory. I have been informed that this book is literally nothing like the completely unrelated show, but the similarities are too fun not to mention, and I will do just about anything to make sure this show does not get cancelled again. 

But also, various members of my family are very into Grady Hendrix, and even though I'm not exactly a Thriller fan, I've been informed that this one is fun enough that I'm willing to take one for the team. I think it only took me two or three days to finish Final Girls Support Group, so at least it should be quick. 

6. Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3), Libba Bray

I am a Libba Bray fan - one of the many bookshelf holdovers from my adolescence - and I was actually on track with reading The Diviners series as they came out... until the third one. And then it just kind of sat on my shelf for a little bit. And then aforementioned brother asked if I had anything to read, and I recommended these, and he, again, blew through them like a wolf and a house made of dandelion fuzz, and finished the whole series without me while I wasn't paying attention. 

And yes, it's been three years since that last one in the series was published. I'm still trying to knock out that third. But being that these books really ARE that spooky, I'm going to need all the lights in the house on when I do it. 

Just for Me, Just Because

sometimes, you've got to just do some things not because they're aesthetic, or because they're on-theme, but because your brother will yell at you if you don't

7. The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (Alanna #3), Tamora Pierce

Okay, sorry to bring up my brother again - actually, you know, by this time, you should be used to it - but when the then-teenaged kid came to me when Covid locked down the libraries and asked if I had anything new for him to read, I handed him my stacks of Tamora Pierce with a nonchalant "Meh, I don't know if these are really your speed." Smash cut to him outpacing me in pretty much every kind of trivia, having read each of the Tortall series multiple times. 

You can imagine how much it smarted when he then turned to me, and asked if I really hadn't read any of the Alanna books before. (To be fair, my Tortallan introduction was completed somewhat laughably out of order). So I'm trying to get through the Alanna books - in a boxed set he bought me - by the end of the year, so I can finally stop feeling the eyes of my little brother boring into the back of my head. 

8. Fugitive Telemetry (Murderbot #6), Martha Wells

Your honor, I would like the record to show that I read them first. Me! Not my brother, not my Dad. I was the one who brought Murderbot into this family, but it's not my fault my family members have the laser focus of machinery themselves. Some of us like to read from multiple genres and not simply blast our way through an entire series, mind you. 

So yes, it's taken me some time, but I'm very much still on track. And at least this one is another novella; that novel of #5 was good, but Science Fiction can really burn you out in large quantities. So I'm taking my time. 

9. The Art of Eating In, Cathy Erway

Okay, so this is really a kind of placeholder for any number of Food Writing selections I might whimsically whisk off of my shelves come November. 

Preparation for Thanksgiving in this household starts in early October, and is treated like a one-day event in the same way that the Olympics are just like Field Day at the local elementary school. I like leafing though a Cookbook or an engrossing Culinary Memoir when all of the couches are haphazardly Jenga-stacked next to the TV, to make way for the three long serving tables we use in the Family Room. And of course, I need something cool to fill in the commercial gaps when we're watching the Parade. 

10. Rule of Wolves (King of Scars #2), Leigh Bardugo

So, Netflix's Shadow and Bone Season Two came out in mid-March, right? And I pretty much immediately read a spoiler that said you really should have read all the way through Rule of Wolves before attempting the new season. But my schedule was full-out blockaded until the first week of May was over, and I only had a few weeks to read before Summer Reading Book Bingoes started up on June 1st, and my attentions were required elsewhere through the end of August....

Now we're finally into September, and during a chance conversation with my brother (I know, I know) he revealed that he hasn't watched any part of Season Two, either... because he's been waiting for me. 

Buddy, I promise, we're making it through Season Two before December. 

Just... give me a little time, okay? I might still be in bed, recovering from this damn flu. 

What's in YOUR Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Fall 2022 TBR

"Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly bookish meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

Look at me, teasing you with a singular post in my promised Summer Wrap Up, and then immediately turning around and compiling a list of the books I'm actually looking forward to reading this Fall. To be fair, I'm going to be very much grappling with the resolving of my feelings for the season past, at a minimum, until October 1st - what did I even do for the last three months, other than hide from the roofers for a week, venture off to Oregon twice, and do my best to get out of every camping trip I could? - so those other two promised posts are still forthcoming. However, "Top Ten Tuesday" waits for no emotionally-beleaguered late-twenty-something, so it's about time to get with the times! 

Before I begin this post, I would also like to state, I almost never actually manage to follow through on my TBRs: for starters, I am a notoriously fickle mood reader - which is something that drives my reads-one-Brandon-Sanderson-book-after-the-other brother absolutely batty - and furthermore, I seem to constantly assess my personal reading levels at a rate that is much more consistent than how I was ten years ago than I am now. 

For instance, take everything I say I'm going to read in November with a significant sprinkle of salt: as much as I'd like to pretend that NaNoWriMo isn't so much a compulsion as a particularly gratifying and personally challenging pastime, I'm not exactly known for the idea that "I can stop any time that I want," either. In fact, I'm more of a "If I write 1,000 more words in the next hour, I can get well on my way for hitting tomorrow's chapter goal, and also maybe make it to bed at 1am" kind of gal. I will always be a high-strung straight-A kid at heart; meeting my daily word count is the only thing that brings the emotional high of nailing school projects in my English classes back into tangible reach again. Unsurprisingly, I read almost nothing during November. 

But enough about all of these back-to-school-themed feelings. Let's take a look at some of these seriously aspirational TBR reads: 

september: sewing up summer mid-finishes

using the remainder of the month to complete the remaining pages 

of some of Summer's halfway-theres

1. The Blacktongue Thief, Christopher Beuhlman

A man is compelled by his debts within the Taker's Guild to follow along with a mysterious fighter on a mission, combating strange enemies far from the land he knows, tangling with magic and beasts he has only heard of in legend. 

I got about halfway into this fun, creative Fantasy during the summer, mostly while stuck on a camping trip. Even though I was absolutely loving what I was reading - the majority of the main cast beyond our protagonist is female, for instance, and there are lots of made-up Fantasy swear words, which I love just as much as regular swearing - and while I fully intended to finish the novel, I just got caught up in other things, and never quite made it to the end. However, my resolve is still firmly in completing this novel before the end of the year.

2. Tempests and Slaughter (The Numair Chronicles #1), Tamora Pierce 

Long ago, the boy who would become mythical Tortallan mage Numair Salmalin was simply Arram Draper, a promising student within the Imperial University of Carthak. There, he befriends Ozorne, powerful burgeoning heir to the throne, and Varice, a social butterfly with more cleverness than meets the eye. 

This was technically my final read of the Summer, if we're playing by Summer Book Bingo rules, but I never actually managed to make it across the finish line of the last page. Again, I'm stuck somewhere around halfway through, where it just felt like things might have been lagging a bit. However, this is another that I am bound and determined to see to its completion, so it's only a matter of time. 

3. The Best Cook in the World: Tales from my Momma's Table, Rick Bragg

From stolen ham hocks to backyard squirrel meat and seriously just so many biscuits, Bragg's heartfelt and enthralling narrative of his family's cooking journey is told through humorous anecdotes about rural living and how a sparse kitchen can still make a feast. 

Despite the fact that this book lived on my coffee table with the rest of my TBR all through Summer, I never actually got around to finishing this cooking-and-family inspired memoir, which is absolutely wild, because Cooking Memoirs are one of my absolute favorite things to read. Again, I had really been loving the whole thing, but got stuck somewhere around the middle, due to various environmental factors and a general lack of reading motivation (I had a massive Slump this Spring, remember?). I know it's good, which is why I'll get back to it eventually... hopefully sooner rather than later. 

october: creepin' it real

embracing the spooky season by getting in tune 

with some atmospheric and bone-chilling reads

 

4. finishing Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice 

The iconic and enthralling adventures of Louis, a recently turned vampire, and Lestat, the mysterious and enrapturing vamp who turned him, told better than any '90s Brad Pitt movie. 

You'll maybe have noticed a bit of a trend with me by now, but you'll never guess where my bookmark is still stuck in this particular paperback. That's right, the middle! I had been really enjoying this particular spooky read this past year, when the clock ran out on the end of October without me having reached the end. I ended up getting subsumed with thoughts of NaNo, and it accidentally dropped out of my hands until I had time again in December... which is no time to be reading about vampires. I've been "saving" it - mentally, at least - until we came around to October again this year! (And just in time, too, as the trailer for the new television series just dropped!) 

5. Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

A heartfelt plea from a newlywed family member sends a young woman to the Mexican countryside, where an imposing old house's even older lineage promises darker mysteries than she had bargained for. 

This has been a much-hyped title since its initial release in June 2020, and quickly thereafter found its way as an impulse purchase onto my Kindle after its price temporarily dipped below two dollars last year. I feel like the fervor has subsided enough that I can actually try my hand at reading it myself, without anyone else's opinion getting mixed up into it. 

6. Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3), Libba Bray

The Diviners face new enemies and old evils in a battle for not just the soul of New York City, but an America on the brink of change, while exploring the secrets of an asylum that houses more than just patients... 

I think this was the original series that taught my brother the lesson "When Savannah says 'soon,' she doesn't mean 'within three to five business days,' but really, 'eventually, hopefully before the sun burns out." He's been well and truly done with this series since the final installment - King of Crows (#4) - was released two years ago, and has since managed to even finish the Great and Terrible Beauty series beyond that, but I've been taking my sweet time enjoying these spooky installments. Besides, some of this stuff gets heavy, for YA. I'm just enjoying the ride. 

7. If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio

A passel of Shakespearean students find their off-stage dramatics overtaking their on-stage personas, in a play that leads to death. Ten years later, one of them is released from prison, serving time for a murder they may not have committed. 

I was recommended this novel by a fellow Shakespeare nerd back when it was released in 2017, and picked up a hardcover within the year. And then... promptly relegated it to the back of my shelf. I don't know if its the imposingness of its hardcover status or size or genre (I'm not a big fan of thrillers), or if its just its collegiate setting, but something about it has always felt easy to put off 'til the following Fall. Maybe I can break the cycle, and just tackle it this year? 

november: getting cozy with lit

a warm fireplace, hot chocolate, and throw blankets make 

for the ideal environment on a blustery November day

8. The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin

Four siblings seek out a woman in their neighborhood who is rumored to predict when you will die, and over the next five decades, navigate their ways around fate and family while seeking their own fortunes. 

I picked this book up two years ago after hearing its praise on more than a few of my favorite bookstagram accounts, but still haven't managed to find a good time for it. Maybe it's the theme of family, or the Thanksgiving-welcome shades of brown on the cover, but this might be a really good one to get to this Fall. 

9. The Coward (Quest for Heroes #1), Stephen Aryan

Ten years after his heroic actions saved the land, a young hero is tired of hearing his name proclaimed in song. Even more unwelcome, however, is the new evil threatening the kingdom again, especially when it prompts the calls for him to return to the fray... and because he knows he only got lucky the first time. 

I picked this title up on a Barnes and Noble run with my brother over the Summer, and we were both drawn to the plot immediately for its sideways sort of description for its hero. I called dibs first, though, which means he's relegated to waiting for me to finish - the age-old story - before he can pick it up for himself. Or he'll just check out the audiobook from the library... that's a pretty common occurrence, too. 

10. Gingerbread, Helen Oyeyemi

A young woman struggles to untangle the mysteries of her gingerbread-loving mother - like her strange country of origin, and her enigmatic best friend - neither of which show any sign of existing any longer. 

I'm a huge fan of Oyeyemi's magical realism, especially books like Boy, Snow, Bird that serve the elements of adaptations from some of those folklore and fairy tale inspirations that still have a grip on our public consciousness. I've had this hardcover on my shelf for a while, which not only makes it a welcome cozy read, but a great way to get another book off of my TBR shelves.

What's in YOUR Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Fall 2021 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

Boy, this is just the latest-in-the-day "Top Ten Tuesday" ever, huh?

I think it's a pretty good representation of my attitude about the onset of Fall as a whole. While I'm amped for the oncoming cozy season - leaves have already started to turn around here, and so has my wardrobe to chunky sweaters and my pantry to apple cider and pumpkin flavors - I'm stymied by a bit of celebration that has yet to occur: a great friend from college is getting married in Palm Springs in less than two weeks, and I'm making the trip down to Cali to not only ring in the new ring in style, but also check in on my sister and her girlfriend, who both moved down to LA in the middle of August.

So don't get me wrong: Trader Joes Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese is absolutely in my fridge, and one of my younger siblings has already broken out a spiderweb-print tablecloth currently covering our kitchen table. But am I exactly mentally prepared for Autumn, when I'm still responsible for sweating my butt off in the desert of California in a week and a half? 

So, the "Top Ten Tuesday" comes a little later, as my mind tries to grapple between the seasonality outside my window with dreams of California. At least I can try and instate a little structure into the TBR I will inevitably blow off for whatever I feel like reading!

Here's what I'm planning on tackling this Fall: 

end of September: easing back into regular reading

1. Alex Trebek's The Answer Is...

I can't have been the only one who choked up hearing Alex's voice playing during the "In Memorium" segment of last weekend's Emmys. Our family is made up of voracious Jeopardy! players, complete with carefully-adhered-to house rules on how we play, and losing his voice on our television screens every night was a massive blow. It would be nice to revisit his sense of humor and easy presence through his autobiography.

2. Jia Tolentino's Trick Mirror

This was a major player on my stack for the summer, but I never got around to this critically-lauded memoir... maybe because the colors of the cover are just so much more Fall to me? Regardless, I'm looking forward to reading. 

October: spooky time and what pairs well with tea?

3. Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire 

I got halfway through this atmospheric modern gothic last year, before the calendar switched over to November and NaNo started and it no longer felt as seasonal to be spending so much time with angst-ridden vamps. I'm glad I saved the rest for this year so I can enjoy it with an appropriate accompanying environment!

4. Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle

This has turned into somewhat of a repeat read for me. So spooky and off-putting, so wonderfully right for the Halloween season, especially if you're somewhat of a coward like me... not only is this a great read for October, but it's one I frequently recommend. 

5. Libba Bray's Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3)

The only thing scarier than the Halloween season, is having a younger brother who gladly takes your book recommendations, and then quickly outruns you in completing an entire series. As someone who likes taking their time working through a collection - matched with someone who has steam-rolled his way through multiple titles in the Wheel of Time series, one after the other, in a row, without breaks - I've been known to enjoy drawing out a series far after it ends. As The Diviners is one of my favorite YA series, I've never gotten around to the third installment... until now! (Hopefully.)

6. Stuart Turton's The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

I know, I know... if I had a dollar for every time I listed this book on one of my TBRs, speed-dating rounds, etc., I would still have less than ten, but more than a comfortable amount of dollars, about it. I'm willing to blame it on the fact that my copy has some of the most aggressive deckled edges I've ever encountered... but maybe if I try it on Kindle, it will go better?

7. Grady Hendrix's The Final Girl Support Group

A recommendation from my younger sister (the one I'm visiting in California), I've been given strict instructions to pass this title along to my other family members once I'm finished. I've been pretty reticent to pick it up, mainly because I read Riley Sager's Final Girls a couple of years ago, and not only completely hated it, but immediately felt pretty damn broadsided by the fact that so many others I knew enjoyed it. It's a book I finished and immediately thought, "I could probably have written that better"... but now there's a relatively similar concept with a (hopefully) better ending, maybe it will be okay?

November: the bridge between holidays, managed by extra-toasty tomes

8. Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy

I've had so many people in my various social feeds losing themselves over Lawson's latest memoir, Broken, that I was fully stoked to find a relatively un-marred hardback copy of this earlier title while perusing a Goodwill this Summer. What I've heard about her is that she's deeply funny while still maintaining a lot of candor, and I can't wait to get around to reading it. 

9. Michelle Zauner's Crying in H Mart

Purchased from a favorite independent bookstore this past August, technically this copy has already been read: my mom, who didn't come equipped for vacation with an appropriate amount of reading material, was clamoring for something to look at poolside, so I handed her mine. Not only did she love it, but she's been anxiously waiting for me to "catch up" and read it, too. This is exactly why I can't buddy read anything, people! 

10. Christopher Buelman's The Blacktongue Thief

Technically, I bought this, and gave it to my brother as a birthday present this past August. But the little tornado ripped through his stacks of vacation reads faster than you could say "library ebook checkout," and we only made it a few days into vacation before he propped it up on the chair in my room and told me I needed to pick it up, too. 

11. Tamar Adler's An Everlasting Meal

A favorite of mine, and one that represents a genre I haven't given a lot of thought this year: for some reason, Culinary Memoirs - aka, one of my favorite niche subgenres - haven't been prompting me to pick them up as frequently as I've been doing for the past couple of years. I think it's well due time for a revisit, especially because this book is such a comfort fave for me. Plus, it would give me a great reason to finally get to reading one of her other titles in my collection, too! Nothing's more appropriate for the turkey season, than a book about food. 

and all of the rest

I've got only a couple of months left in the year, and quite a few books still left in my Big Box of Romance Novels that I need to tackle before the year is out. So, I'll be making those a priority in the coming months... and hopefully catching up on all of the blogging that I haven't been doing about it this summer, too! 

Is this all more than 10 reads? Technically yes. Also, technically, this list doesn't even encompass all of the titles I've still got stacked and ready to access on the coffee table next to my bed, which numbers into the twenties. Am I planning on jamming my Fall to the brim with an afternoon pot of tea, a warm blanket by the fireplace, and minimal interruptions from family members? Yes. Am I also currently multiple titles behind my pace to complete my 2021 Goodreads Challenge? Also yes. 

Am I going to actually get around to reading literally any of these titles? Good gracious, I hope so. 

Then again, I am going to California in two weeks. Who knows how I'll feel then? 

What's in your Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!

Top Ten (Well, Technically Fifteen) Tuesday: Books on my Autumn 2020 TBR

 

"Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

I think we can all agree that Summer 2020 has been, holistically, a bit of a bummer. 

Covid-19 is still raging across the country, family vacations were constrained by restrictions and safety nets, the West Coast was choked by smoke for weeks on end, and while my Sungold cherry tomatoes gave off enough good fruit to be turned into a champagne vinegar- and brown sugar-based jam this afternoon, my Pineapple Beefsteak Heirlooms never even managed to fully ripen before a major rainstorm swept through and split all of their skins. 

Really, I think, we've all been waiting for Fall. Cozy sweaters, festive candles, the shaky, hap-hazard return of cable reality television programming! And, of course, plenty of time to sit back on a drizzly, grey afternoon, and read a good book. 

Full disclosure: due to a mix of a busy summer schedule and depression, I've not finished anything in three weeks, and fell seriously short of my goals for Summer (but more on that in a future post). So, are the fifteen books on this list born from a surge of hope towards a healthier, more mentally-balanced Autumn? Or is my brain just unconsciously trying to make up the deficit for the eight books behind I am on my Goodreads Challenge? 

All I know, is that I'm a girl who's only a mug of hot chocolate, slice of pumpkin loaf, and a sub-60-degree afternoon away from a good reading time. And as of today, Fall is officially here! 

SEPTEMBER

Back to school time! While we are rapidly approaching the end of September, I'm hoping to pack in at a few titles into my reading schedule before we shift over to the requisite creep-tastic vibes of October. 

1. Paperback Crush: the Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction, Gabrielle Moss

Nothing feels more appropriate for back-to-school season than this pick, a bright, retro coffee-table-style paperback about the advent of the YA publishing category. (Originally, this book came based on a recommendation for those who enjoy the SSR  - Sh*t She Read - Podcast, which throws back to some of the books that dominated the youth of current Millenials.) Most excited for the chapter on R. L. Stine's Fear Street, honestly. 

2. Born for This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do, Chris Guillebeau

Like many young people (and old people, and middle-aged people) in the United States right now, I am currently unemployed. It's a huge bummer, and it's doing a really effective hit job on my sense of purpose and identity. To combat this, I challenged myself to a bit of a "Self Help September," and have been trying to pick up a few titles that really instill a bit of hope and positve habits into my brain. 

3. The Well of Lost Plots (Thursday Next #3), Jasper Fforde

When in doubt, go back to old favorites! I had a great time rereading the first two installments in this fun, unexpected series earlier this Spring when things began to shut down, and I'd love to spend more time with Thursday this Fall, too. 

4. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Flavia de Luce #1), Alan Bradley

I started this one earlier this summer, but only made my way about 50 pages into it before I had to put it down for something else. I'd love to go back and finish it, as a mystery starring a plucky eleven-year-old actually totally fits the mood right now. 

5. The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1), Carlos Ruiz Zafon

A modern standard for those book lovers who love reading books about loving books and reading them, I haven't picked this one up since my Freshman year of college. However, I had more than one friend unexpectedly love it just this past Fall, and have been feeling a hankering to reread ever since. 

OCTOBER

It's time to get spooky-ooky-ooky! But in between runs to the grocery store for more canned pumpkin and red food coloring, or bouts of watching old Goosebumps episodes on Netflix, I've got to have something to read... 

6. Our Dark Duet (Savage Song #2), Victoria Schwab

I keep trying to recommend V. E. Schwab books to my brother, before I'm forced to confront a painful fact: while I own all of the books in the Darker Shade of Magic series, the Monsters of Verity duology, and both Vicious and Vengeful, technically speaking, I have only read the first book of each series. (I know, I'm a monster.) So I figure I have to actually get around to reading them all at some point, if only to pass my little bro some good reading material. 

7. You Should Have Left, Daniel Kehlman

Impulsively, I tacked this book onto a major Book Outlet order this past January, after I read a one-sentence review that simply said "Like Danielewski's House of Leaves, but much, much shorter." If it manages to cram even a fraction of HoL's unsettling eerieness into this pint-sized novella, I'll be impressed, and suitably creeped out for October. (Also, it's translated from German!) 

8. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, Stuart Turton

I gave this book to my bestie for Christmas, in the hopes that we'd be able to read it together as a kind of book club. Unfortunately, such is the life of a mood reader: while Elise devoured it on vacation in Hawaii earlier this year, I've been incapable of touching it until the world turns a lot gloomier. 

9. We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson

A spooky reread, in honor of the fact that my younger sister Delaney - who loves scary movies - was absolutely obsessed with the Haunting of Hill House series from Netflix that came out last year. Now, apparently, there's a movie adaptation of this book, too, and she's insisting we watch it. Not sure how that's going to play out - I'm a notorious chicken - but at least I can read it! 

10. Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3), Libba Bray

Remember how I said I love my little brother, who also loves the same books I do, who I love to loan books to and share series with? Yeah, he's been real patient with me in terms of the Diviners series. I literally got this for my birthday - what, three years ago? - when it first came out, and while he waited for me to read it first, I never got around to it. So he jumped ahead in line and has been sticking around ever since, waiting for me to catch up. Maybe this year's the year? 

11. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice 

Full disclosure: I'm actually not a huge fan of the movie. For the kind of reason my Dad hates, in fact, because that decision is formed entirely on the basis that I'm really not a fan of either Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. But I picked this title up off of a $2 table at a thrift store last year, and I'm thinking that maybe the book will shake out differently? If not, I can always rewatch The Lost Boys as a palate cleanser. (In fact, I'll probably be doing that anyways.) 

NOVEMBER

Out of all of the montly TBRs I'm putting in this post, November is, by far, the one most open to variables, mainly due to the importance of NaNoWriMo in all of my end-of-the-year plans. When it comes down to it, I love reading during November, but I just have to make sure the material doesn't clash with - or worse, is too similar to - what I'm writing. Still, these books have a comfortable kind of Fall feeling to them that merit a place on this list! 

12. In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children #4), Seanan McGuire

If you haven't noticed, Seanan McGuire has been busy writing what I personally believe is one of the world's greatest Fantasy series, in novella form, for the past handful of years. I love them all so much, I actually have to ration out how fast I read them. Otherwise, I'll catch up to her publishing schedule, and then what will I do? (Also, those covers are just so beautiful!) 

13. A Book of One's Own: People and Their Diaries, Thomas Mallon

Every once in a while, it's fun to walk away from a secondhand book store with an old, antiquated title that no one's ever heard of before, that seems tailor-made just for you. This nonfiction exploration of the art and practice of journal keeping, inspired by the lives of journal-keepers throughout histories, only has 215 ratings on Goodreads, and I am so excited to read it. 

14. If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio

I feel like this has become a bit of a sleeper hit in the Dark Academia category since it came out three years ago, as more and more of those TikTok kiddos who love floaty white button-downs, jet black ink, and antique busts venture out beyond the realm of Donna Tartt. But to be clear: anyone who knows me, knows that "Shakespeare-obsessed drama students attend elite college, and someone gets murdered" absolutely fits my vibe. 

15. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith 

Honestly, I tried to get around to reading this one last year - when I feel like everyone else I knew was reading it, too - but kept getting distracted by other titles, instead. I would love to be able to commit to and read through a classic title this Fall, and this coming-of-age story might just be a great fit! 

What's in YOUR Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!

Coming Attractions: October

{A festively Fall calendar for October, straight from Oana Befort!}

Bow down to Washington! I am back in the full swing of things up here in Seattle, and it is feeling good to have a schedule again. Being in a sorority and school is always busy, and yet, with the new year, I find new energy, and am on the lookout for a new internship or job I can fill the rest of my time with... when I'm not working on updating this blog, of course! 

Can you tell that I'm raring to go this month? It's going to be a good one; I can feel it. It's my birth month - I'm turning 21 on the 15th! - and the leaves are turning, and the weather is starting to fade to that cool chill and brisk sunshine I love so much. Not to mention there's just 30 more days 'til Halloween! Yup, life is good. 

SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

{#tbt to Disneyland, we left you too soon!; Sigma Kappa walking to End Alzheimer's; and my sister, The Cheerleader, participating in her first philanthropy with Alpha Chi Omega!} 

• My College Fashion Link Up posts from this month: The Maze Runner 
• My favorite post to write from this month: Savannah's Side: Sorority Recruitment
• Your favorite post to read from this month: Review: Still Alice (and a Little Bit about Philanthropy) 
• The post I put the most thought into this month: Review: It's Kind of a Funny Story (exploring YA novels and narratives involving teen depression and suicide) 

these are a few of my favorite links...

1. If you're like me, and have had Lena Dunham's new book, Not That Kind of Girl, pre-ordered since July, then you've probably heard about her funny and (and often poignant) "Ask Lena" web series!

2. Taking a short story-oriented English class this Quarter has already got me feeling some kind of way about small-length literary content, which is what makes this Flavorwire collection of "50 Essays Guaranteed to Make You a Better Person" so appealling!  

3. Did you know that The New Yorker hosts a free podcast, with fiction editor Deborah Treisman, discussing a monthly-chosen short story? Now you do!

4. Banned Books Week has already passed, but some schools celebrated it the worst way possible: by banning MORE books from notable authors like Sherman Alexie and John Green. Annie Julia Wyman writes for The New Yorker about how it felt when her high school started changing up their curriculum for the worse.

5. And just the title of this post from Hello Giggles should be enough to get you pumped: How to Host a Jane Austen Girl's Night In! 

quote of the month

{courtesy of Verily Mag!}