September was a difficult month for me. My anxiety and depression have been much worse than usual due to a lot of financial and life-related stress. My boyfriend and I just found out that we have to move to a new unit in our apartment complex at the end of September due to renovations, which we were completely unaware of. Also, my real job is starting to make me so stressed that I become physically ill when I’m there, or, more recently, when I even think about the place. I’m planning on getting started with freelance writing 3 days a week starting in November, so hopefully, that’ll go well. My goal is to work from home doing freelancing and blogging full-time.
In music news, I’ve been listening to the Twin Peaks soundtrack on repeat. I loved the TV show (still haven’t seen the new series though) and I love the weird, lightly jazzy, dark music that accompanied it. I’ve also discovered Viking/Norse-inspired music and have become pretty obsessed with that.
I’m excited that it’s finally autumn, but here in the mid-Atlantic, if doesn’t feel like it quite yet. It’s been in the 90s this week, but hopefully, it’ll cool down soon so I can start wearing sweaters again.
Finally, onto the books! In September, I reviewed 11 books. 3 of them were 4 stars or above. So, not the best reading month.
Here’s what I read:
5 Stars
- Wolverine: Old Man Logan by Mark Millar – If you’re a Marvel or Wolverine fan, you absolutely need to read this collection! It’s fucking perfect!
4 Stars
- The Editor by Steven Rowley – I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this novel when I started it, but it really surprised me. This book is about a writer resolving things with his family while working with a very renowned editor – Jackie Kennedy Onassis.
- The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins – While this book was definitely hard to read at times due to the subject matter, it was absolutely worth it. I also can’t believe this is Sara Collins’ debut – it reads like something put out by a very seasoned writer!
3 Stars
- The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking – This short book was cute, but I didn’t learn anything new from it. Basically, it’s a book about people enjoying being cozy and lighting candles.
- The Wellness Project: A Hedonist’s Guide to Making Healthier Choices by Phoebe Lapine – This non-fiction memoir about the author taking on a different wellness challenge each month was really interesting.
- Let’s Call it a Doomsday by Katie Henry – I went into this book expecting something apocalyptic. It wasn’t. This is one of those books were the synopses put out by the publisher misleads the reader.
- Are u ok?: A Guide to Caring for Your Mental Health by Kati Morton – This book would be perfect for people that have never been to therapy because it goes into a great deal of detail on information like how to find a therapist, different treatments, etc., but for people familiar with the mental health field, you can safely skip it.
- Dead Man Logan, Vol. 1: Sins of the Father by Ed Brisson – This relatively new collection was incredibly predictable and it was frustrating how much of a douchebag they made Hawkeye into, but I guess it wasn’t terrible.
2 Stars
- Deadpool vs Carnage by Cullen Bunn – I seem to have the absolute worse luck finding Deadpool comics that I actually enjoy. The writing of this collection was what turned me off.
- Storm by Eric Jerome Dickey – I rated this two stars, but I sort of wish I’d given it 1.5. However, I don’t change the ratings on reviews after the fact. Storm is one of the X-Men’s most popular characters, but this collection is godawful. Please don’t read it.
- Again, but Better by Christine Riccio – While I’ll admit that I enjoyed this book in a guilty pleasure sort of way, it wasn’t good. Most of Riccio’s debut novel was cringy, and it’s obvious that she based the main character on herself.
1 Star
- NONE! Thank goodness!
I didn’t write as many articles or reading recommendations posts as I would have liked, but here’s what went up on the blog in September.
- The Best Books I’ve Read in One Year of Book Blogging – At the beginning of September, Read Yourself Happy officially turned one! This is the list of all the best books I read in the blog’s first year. And, don’t worry. I also wrote about the worst.
- Interview with Vicky from What Vicky Read – Friday Favorites – It was so much fun to interview Vicky, one of the first book bloggers I discovered!
- Children’s Books I Grew Up On – Reviews & Reflections – I’m really happy about this article, where I talk about some of my favorite books from my childhood.
- Contemporary-a-thon TBR, Round 5 – Where I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to be successful at a readathon for once. For the results, see below.
- Everything You Need to Know About Seasonal Affective Disorder – As we get closer to winter, some people are going to start to feel the effects of SAD. Here’s everything you need to know about this form of depression.
- The Bookish Bucket List Tag – This book tag was so much fun, and the questions are for both readers and writers!
- Contemporary-a-thon Wrap-Up – A readathon that I completely failed and only managed to read one book for because I got pulled into Joe Hill’s The Fireman.
I also had a couple of updates for the America…in Books feature, including books set in Florida and Georgia.
I also had the opportunity to share a guest post from author D. Ellis Overttun, author of the Terra Nova series. I always love working with other bloggers and authors, so if you’re interested in doing a guest post or an interview for the blog’s Friday Favorites feature, send me a message!
Read Yourself Happy 