How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe

Happy Thursday, bibliophiles!

September started out a little stressful, but now I feel like I’m in a better place than I’ve been for most of this year. I can neither confirm nor deny that this is because it’s finally fall and it’s cold enough for me to wear my favorite jackets.

Let’s begin, shall we?

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

September has been my first full month back in school; it started out more than a little stressful, thanks to getting my college applications all sorted out, but now that I’m (somewhat) over that hump, I’m feeling a lot better. I’ve managed to keep my grades in a good place, so I’m happy about that!

I also managed to finish draft 2 of my sci-fi WIP!! I’m super proud of myself for that one–I cut down a whole lot of filler, and I feel a lot better about it as a whole. I’m going to let it sit for a few months before I go back and edit it, but I feel great about it. In the meantime, I’ve been poring through a draft I abandoned in 2019 that was…surprisingly good, given that it was written almost two and a half years ago. I’ve been outlining on and off, but I’m going to try and actually get this writing business back in motion soon.

As for the rest of the month, it’s been peaceful. We got the book club back up and running at my high school, I spent the weekend in Vail, and I went to two fantastic concerts–Spoon and St. Vincent! They were both great, but the latter will always have a special place in my heart. St. Vincent was a major hero of mine in middle school, and she’s still a hero now, and seeing her live made all my dreams come true.

And now it’s almost October! I’m so excited–Halloween season, loads of good movies coming out (The French Dispatch, Dune, etc.), fall in general…good times.

Wes Aderson's new film is very popular in Cannes, the director of "Virgo" is back - iNEWS

READING AND BLOGGING:

I read 21 books this month! More than I expected, given that I haven’t had as much time to read this month, but I did read a lot of shortish books, so…

2 – 2.75 stars:

Namesake (Fable, #2) by Adrienne Young — *Namesake (Fable, #2)*

The Taking of Jake Livingston – Ryan Douglass (⭐️⭐️)
Utopia – Thomas More (for school) (⭐️⭐️)
The Unbinding of Mary Reade – Miriam McNamara (⭐️⭐️.5)
What Big Teeth – Rose Szabo (⭐️⭐️.5)
Namesake (Fable, #2) – Adrienne Young (⭐️⭐️.5)

3 – 3.75 stars:

Amazon.com: Our Bloody Pearl (These Treacherous Tides): 9781721833412: Bryn, D. N.: Books — *Our Bloody Pearl*

The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre – Robin Talley (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Prime Meridian – Silvia Moreno-Garcia (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Final Draft – Riley Redgate (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Witches of Ash and Ruin – E. Latimer (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe – Raquel Vasquez Gilliland (⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)
Broken Web (Shamanborn, #2) – Lori M. Lee (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
Come On In: 15 Stories about Immigration and Finding Home – Adi Alsaid et. al. (anthology) (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
Our Bloody Pearl – D.N. Bryn (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

4 – 4.75 stars:

Amazon.com: The Mirror Season: 9781250624123: McLemore, Anna-Marie: Books — *The Mirror Season*

Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts – Rebecca Hall, Hugo Martinez (illustrator) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Tell the Machine Goodnight – Katie Williams (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Harley in the Sky – Akemi Dawn Bowman (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Lagoon – Nnedi Okorafor (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Kindred – Octavia Butler (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Curses – Lish McBride (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)
The Mirror Season – Anna-Marie McLemore (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)
The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea – Maggie Tokuda-Hall (re-read FOR BOOK CLUB SHHH) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH (NOT COUNTING RE-READS): Curses – 4.25 stars

SOME POSTS I’M PROUD OF:

September encompasses Latinx Heritage Month and Bisexual Visibility Week, so I listed some book recommendations for both!
I had a lot of fun reviewing Curses, Tell the Machine Goodnight, Harley in the Sky, and Final Draft!
yeah uh I really didn’t post much other than reviews and Goodreads Mondays this month oops 😵‍💫

POSTS I ENJOYED FROM OTHER WONDERFUL PEOPLE:

SONGS/ALBUMS I’VE ENJOYED:

I just LOVE the first 8 seconds of this song (and the whole thing, for that matter) for no particular reason

ridiculously catchy

okay I really need to listen to this whole album

can confirm now that I’ve seen these guys live twice that they are SPECTACULAR in concert

SHE’S BACK

seeing her live was simply magic

note to self: listen to more Andrew Bird

DID I FOLLOW THROUGH WITH MY SEPTEMBER GOALS?

bradpittstain | Damon albarn, Blur band, Britpop

Read at least 20 books: 21!
Don’t stress too much about college stuff oof: yep! Now that I know how things work, I feel a lot better.
Take care of yourself: well, I listened to “Girls & Boys” on repeat on Bisexual Visibility Day, so I’ll count that as self-care.

GOALS FOR OCTOBER:

Read at least 20 books
Post more than just Goodreads Mondays/Book Review Tuesdays (schoolwork permitting, of course, schoolwork first)
Celebrate SPOOKY SEASON accordingly

Today’s song:

That’s it for this month in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has treated you well.

I’ve been having a bit of a mediocre streak with my reading after my Mermaid re-read…I haven’t had as much time to read this week, and everything I’ve read has been in the 3-2 star range. The latest book I read picked up a bit, but otherwise, it’s been a bit of a slump. But I got a preorder in the mail, plus a few new library books, so I think this week will be better.

Other than that, I’d say it’s been a good week! I’ve been outlining for an unfinished draft that I’m looking to complete, and that’s been a lot of fun, though it was a rocky start. School’s been getting a little busier, but I’m glad I’m doing well in most of my classes. I finished up the new season of Sex Education (FANTASTIC), caught up on What If, watched The Nowhere Inn, and I’ve steadily been doodling more aliens. I also spent the weekend in Vail, and the autumn leaves were beautiful.