Well hello October. Excuse me while I glare at you over a mug of tea. You aren’t supposed to be here yet. I swear August was just yesterday. And don’t try to bribe me with pretty fall colors and brisk mornings. I won’t fall for it this time. I refuse.
Somehow, autumn is in full swing, and I am scrambling around trying to get everything done before the holidays hit and I have even less time than I have now. Also, does anyone know a magic password that will give me more time to read? Or a pill I can take that will make me able to live on five hours of sleep? (you can keep your caffeine, it makes me jittery) I want to read, but school is glaring at me, and unfortunately to pay for the books I have to go to work. Sigh.
Life Things
‘Tis the season of the weddings. Lovely, outdoor weddings that have fantastic pictures and swoony brides in pretty white dresses. I have been to two already this summer, and I could have gone to more. That doesn’t even count the ones I heard about and/or saw pictures of this summer. All my friends are getting hitched. Thanks guys, I feel left behind now. Could you at least cut out all the romantic staring into each others eyes? I mean, gag.
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In other news, I have a new classroom! The daycare center I work at recently moved locations, and now I have a lovely new classroom with lovely new craft supplies! Yes, I am excited over construction paper and crayons, and no, I don’t care what you think about it. (much) I love my new classroom, it has big windows that let in the cheerful autumn sunshine. As well as lots of cabinets where I can hide things like extra toys and surprises. The kids love it, I love it, and I am excited to work in it in the months to come.
Music to Obsess Over
I found another melancholy artist. Hello Alec Benjamin. His songs paint stories in the air and in my head. Stories of love found and lost, neighbors, and growing up. I basically listen to him every single day. The two songs stuck in my head the most often are If I Killed Someone for You
and Must Have Been the Wind.
You’re welcome.
Lovely Stories
This was a weird reading month for me. I didn’t get much finished, though I did read quite a bit. That might be because of a certain monster book though…
‘The Icarus Aftermath’ by Arielle M. Bailey. Yes to all the feels! Basically, I picked this book up because it was sad. The character the book is named after dies in the first chapter, and the rest of the chapters are about the other characters dealing with it. That part, I thoroughly enjoyed. Every character dealt with losing a loved one in a different way. The different ways grief was handled and looked at was well done, and yes, my favorite parts were the ones that ached with sadness. I kind of got lost in the politics of the world, and there were too many characters for me to keep straight. However, the ones that I did remember kept me glued to the page. All the POV characters were very interesting, and I even liked the stabby heroine. Which is a first for me.
‘Dune’ by Frank Herbert. Known hereafter as monster book. It isn’t even the longest book I have ever had the pleasure of reading. But it definitely felt like it. I read this one as a buddy read with a group of ladies on instagram, and because I wanted to read it before the movie comes out this month. While I am glad I read it, I am doubly glad to be done with it. The author is very, very good at world building, and at explaining everything so that I am not lost. However, I never felt like I connected with Paul, the main character. He was just, too powerful I guess? He could do everything, make people do what he wanted, and you knew he was just going to get stronger. Even in his grief and loss there was nothing I could connect with. I felt very disconnected with most of the characters. Except for Duke Leto, who is prophesied to die in the first few chapters and lives with that hanging over his head. The fatalism in the book almost killed me, nothing was ever free, and victories were always tempered with a vision death of all coming closer and closer every day. Ugh. I think I need to go read something stupidly happy now.
‘The Burning Sky’ by Sherry Thomas. My full thoughts on this fantastic book can be found here. There really isn’t much to say other than that. Besides that this is my favorite book of the whole month, and the only one I would unabashedly recommend to anyone and everyone. ‘Nuff said.
So Tell Me…
What is on your tbr list this month? Got any great recommendations? I am always looking for more great books!
Shaina Merrick
The Beauty of a Story 