Weekly Mews: Reading Less but Still Reading, Book Clubs, & Time for My October TBR List Poll (Please Vote!)

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz  where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

I am linking up Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.  

I am not ready for October, but here it is. The end of September was a difficult one, marking a year since my father-in-law's passing. Work continues to be emotionally exhausting. Gracie gave us a scare for a couple of days. We think now she pulled a muscle in one of her back legs as she was limping badly, was extra quiet, and found a quiet place to hide for much of the time. Just when we decided it was time to call the vet, she was feeling better and is now back to her normal self. In fact, she and Nina were chasing each other all over the house half an hour ago.

October will be a busy month. Mouse has lots of band activities to attend (and I still need to buy tickets to the football game and the Band Extravaganza events. Don't let me forget!). She has her well check up with the doctor and I have a dentist appointment coming up in the next couple weeks. Neither of which are exciting, but things that must be done. 

Recommendation Request: Mouse's interest in mythology (especially Greek, Roman, and Norse) has amped up in recent weeks. If you can think of any books that might interest a 13 year old, fiction and nonfiction, she is open to recommendations. She just asks for nothing with romance (or very little, if any) and not Percy Jackson-like. 

What have you been up to?

Books Read in September

I kicked my September off with an entertaining mystery by Elise Bryant, It's Elementary. It was a funny light mystery with a hint of romance that went in a direction I did not anticipate. Next up was The Golden Enclaves, the third book in Naomi Novik's YA fantasy Scholomance trilogy. While perhaps not my favorite in the series, I found myself quickly immersed in El's world again. I am a huge fan of El, which I know she would not at all be happy to hear.

I took the plunge and took part in a book club hosted by my local independent book store. They have quite a few book clubs (19 adult clubs and 5 youth/children's clubs) and, being the eclectic reader that I am, I find myself drawn to more than I can realistically attend. I decided to start with the Historical Book Club. Amy Harmon's A Girl Called Samson was September's pick and a book I had wanted to read for awhile now. I haven't read too many books set during the American Revolution but I found the story of Deborah Samson, a woman who disguised herself as a soldier to fight in the war, fascinating--even more so because the character is based on the real like Deborah Sam[p]son. My book club had a good discussion about the book and we all agreed we liked the book. I plan to participate in this month's historical book club too where we will be discussing The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas.

Because I got it into my head that I needed to earn ALL the Kindle achievement bookmarks for the summer, I took a chance on a Kindle Vella novel (where authors are given the opportunity to self-publish a novel an episode at a time), choosing to read a paranormal romance called Enchanting the Alpha by Abby Ryan. I do not read a lot of self-published work, admittedly, but I do read (and have enjoyed) some, just not usually unpolished work like this. The premise was good and I liked Skye and Kieren, but I didn't love it. 

My September TBR List Winner, Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca, was just what I hoped it would be. It made for a great romance and the ghostly mystery was an added bonus. I ended the month with the graphic novel, Banned Book Club Kim Hyun Sook, Ryan Estrada, & Ko Hyung-Ju, set in 1983 South Korea, when students were protesting the totalitarian regime of that time. I may not have read a banned book for National Banned Book Week, but Banned Book Club fit the theme. I know so little about South Korea modern history and found the book eye-opening. 

It's Elementary by Elise Bryant

The Golden Enclaves (Scholomance #3) by Naomi Novik

A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon

Enchanting the Alpha by Abby Ryan

Haunted Ever After (Boneyard Key #1) by Jen DeLuca

Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook, Ryan Estrada, & Ko Hyung-Ju

My September 2024 Reading Moods (according to Storygraph)

What was your favorite book read in September? Did you have a good reading month?

I began reading James by Percival Everett last month in hopes of attending the Black Lit Book Club at the local independent bookstore, but it wasn't meant to be. My reading slowed down considerably last month and hasn't picked up much since. It isn't for lack of enjoyment of what I am reading. It's more a matter of other things getting in the way. I did squeeze in the graphic novel Everything Is OK by Debbie Tung the first day of October. I kept telling my husband, "She totally gets me," and "This is me; she's describing me," just about every page.  

I recently started Weyard by Emilia Hart and am already invested in each of the stories of the three main characters across the different timelines. I have been wanting to read this one since it first came out and was excited to see it would be the Cellar Door Book Club pick this month (yet another book club--yes, I've gone book club crazy). 

What are you reading right now?

My TBR List is hosted by Michelle at Because Reading. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books from my TBR pile I am considering reading and let you vote for my next read during that month. My review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise).  

Please help me select my next read! My current reads seem a bit on the more serious side and so I thought I would lighten the mood with one of these three. And they fit with the spirit of the season! Which of these three books do you think I should read? 

An Intrigue of Witches (Secret Society Mystery #1) by Esme Addison

Introducing the Secret Society mystery series, and kick-ass red-headed heroine Sidney, a Black historian poised on the brink of discovering her true past . . . and her hidden witchy powers!

Thirty-year-old Black woman Sidney Taylor is a talented early American historian, working in fast-paced Washington DC, with her eyes on promotion. She’s also currently persona non grata. Who knew that making an inconvenient historical discovery would see her stuck at her desk, shuffling paper?

So when she receives an anonymous and very cryptic invitation to visit historic small-town Robbinsville, North Carolina and hunt for a missing archaeological treasure – with a million-dollar pay out at stake – it’s one she can’t refuse. Besides, her beloved grandmother lives in Robbinsville, and it’s been too long since she’s paid her a visit.

Soon, Sidney's on an exciting treasure hunt, following two-hundred-year-old clues that lead her ever closer to the artefact she’s searching for. But what is the artefact? And why is Sidney starting to feel like she’s at the heart of a terrifying conspiracy she doesn’t understand?

The answer blows Sidney’s world apart, plunging her into a dark, glittering world of secret societies, ancient bloodlines, witches and magic, linked to an ages-old conspiracy that could destroy the very principles upon which America was founded.

This delicious genre-blend of cozy thriller, contemporary fantasy and mystery is National Treasure meets the supernatural treasure hunts of Indiana Jones, with a dash of A Discovery of Witches. [Goodreads Summary]

A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer (SCYTHE Mystery #1) by Maxie Dara

Sometimes it takes working with the dead to start living.

Kathy Valence is forty-two, mid-divorce, and pregnant with her ex's baby. She's also a modern-day grim reaper employed by S.C.Y.T.H.E. (Secure Collection, Yielding, and Transportation of Human Essences), but frankly that's the easiest part of her life right now. Or at least it was, until her latest client's soul goes missing.

When she finally tracks down seventeen-year-old Conner Ortiz, he angrily denies he died of natural causes, despite what his file says. He insists that someone at S.C.Y.T.H.E. murdered him, and he demands Kathy find out who and why.

Kathy has only forty-five days to figure out what happened to Conner and help him move on before the boy's soul is doomed to roam the Earth as a ghost forever. She’s forced to rely on the help of her retired mentor, her almost ex-husband—and some sneaky moves by Conner himself. This is the wildest case of her career. . .and one wrong move could cost Kathy her job, not to mention her life. [Goodreads Summary]

The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society by C.M. Waggoner

A librarian with a knack for solving murders realizes there is something decidedly supernatural afoot in her little town in this cozy fantasy mystery.

Librarian Sherry Pinkwhistle keeps finding bodies—and solving murders. But she's concerned by just how many killers she's had to track down in her quaint village. None of her neighbors seem surprised by the rising body count...but Sherry is becoming convinced that whatever has been causing these deaths is unnatural. But when someone close to Sherry ends up dead, and her cat, Lord Thomas Crowell, becomes possessed by what seems to be an ancient demon, Sherry begins to think she’s going to need to become an exorcist as well as an amateur sleuth. With the help of her town's new priest, and an assortment of friends who dub themselves the "Demon-Hunting Society," Sherry will have to solve the murder and get rid of a demon. This riotous mix of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Murder, She Wrote is a lesson for demons and murderers. 

Never mess with a librarian. [Goodreads Summary]

Thank you for voting! 

New to my shelves:

Upcoming (over the next couple or so months) book club books:

Kindred (graphic novel) by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings

The Fall of Whit Rivera by Crystal Maldonado

Temple Folk by Aaliyah Bilal

The Temple of Fortuna (Wolf Den Trilogy #3) by Elodie Harper

E-Books:

Fourteen Days edited by Margaret Atwood & Douglas Preston

The House with the Golden Door (Wolf Den Trilogy #2) by Elodie Harper

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy

Mouse's recent additions (which I may be borrowing when she's done): 

I Cross-Dressed for the IRL Meetup, Vol. 1-2 by Kurano

Medea by Eilish Quin

The Iliad by Homer, translated by Emily Watson

Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think? 

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!

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