September 2021
What a month, my friends. What a month. If I thought most of this year has been a roller coaster, it doesn’t have ANYTHING on September 2021. Sure, I’ve missed my Monthly Wraps for a few months now, but since I’m finally sitting down to write one again, I’m realizing just how bonkers it’s really been! 😵
Life Beyond the Blog
If I were to attempt a timeline of the month, it would probably look like the Jeremy Bearimy scene from The Good Place. And yes, we’re hanging out somewhere in the dot of the I. Not sure exactly where, to be honest with you, but somewhere in there.
I thought September 2021 was off to a good start, with things staying incredibly even keel. What could go wrong? (Hint: So many things can go wrong; stop asking that question.)
Fast-forward, though, to 9/9. BAM. A depression spiral slide tackles me out of nowhere. My sister gets COVID. We might be adopting a new bunny! The bunny adoption falls through because someone else beat us to it. Mom gets COVID. My sister gets worse. My mom gets worse. Then my sister gets better, my mom takes a couple trips to the ER before coming home and getting a little better, and I contemplate my own mortality and the mortality of my pets to the point of panic. And all the while, even though I’m vaxxed, since my mom and sister have been symptomatic and my workplace has quite a few immunocompromised folks and it’s difficult to socially distance by nature of the job, I haven’t been to work in almost three weeks!
I need a paycheck, a hug, and a really good milkshake, not necessarily in that order. Though maybe that order is ideal.
Thankfully, as I write this wrap, we are through the storm. My sister is no longer symptomatic, and my mom is improving daily after a scary period of no change/worsening symptoms. In fact, she’s back to work as of yesterday! Plus, I kicked my depression spiral to the curb, and my tiniest bunny starting giving kisses on cue for the first time! The world is on fire, sure, but maybe it’s not completely on fire.
Still marking September 2021 as one of the worst months ever, though. It earned it, fair and square.
Books Read and Reviewed
One of the few perks of quarantining at home has been the books. I finished eight for September, my best of the year! Even better, almost all of them were 4 stars or above when I finally assigned ratings. Not bad, right?
I read Cazadora, The Girls I’ve Been, Bloodwitch, Witchshadow, Iron Widow, She Who Rides the Storm, Lakesedge, and Sisters of Shadow!
October’s Reads
With any luck, I want to duplicate September’s reading performance this month. It’ll be incredibly helpful to November Me, who’s going to be up to their eyeballs in NaNoWriMo and not have time for reading and reviews!
That said, we all know how planning ahead seems to go for me, so we’ll just start with my October reads. If all goes to plan, I’ll read Crossbones by Kimberly Vale, Lore by Alexandra Bracken, The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters, and The Bone Wars by Erin Evan.
(In a perfect world, I’ll tackle November’s reads too. Those include Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall, A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee, They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman, I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick, and We Were Restless Things by Cole Nagamatsu!)
My Top Three Posts
I have to admit I’m proud of these posts. Part of me feels silly for it, since I had so much more time to work on them. Not being able to go to work left me a whole lot of free time. But you know what? It was time well spent, because these turned out pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.
(Also, we passed 700 published posts in September! Wow!)
Favorites From Around the Blogging World
I keep meaning to blog hop, I swear. I mean to do it, and then I keep getting sidetracked, and then my computer yells at me to install updates, which turns into hours of the blue wheel taunting me at 47% complete. You know, just little technology things.
Which means for nearly a year now, I’ve been so bad at actually blog hopping. It’s my hope to really properly sit down and hop some time in October, but I am begging your mercy if I don’t. Everything is a hot mess, folks, and I’m lucky I’m finding time for the things I’m still finding time for.
(Maybe this is the push I need to jump to Feedly, to be honest. I keep procrastinating on that, too. Oh dear. )
September 2021 was more of a clown show than your average circus, at least for me, but I sure hope it was kind to you. Let’s catch up, reconnect! Let me know how your September has been, what you’re looking forward to in October, and anything else you might want to share! 💛
I’m so sorry September was so awful!! I’m glad to hear your family’s on the mend and I hope October is kinder to you ♥
So far, October really has been far kinder. Thanks, Destiny! 💕
Ha, I also keep procrastinating the jump to feedly. I just need to … jump in?! Hoping Oct is a better months (yes, despite being almost done). 💕
But jumping in is SCARY. 😤 Ugh, we just gotta do it. And so far, October is far better, thank you!