Happy halloween! Just wanted to leave a little treat in your inboxes and say hello.
It’s been another slow month of reading for me. I feel like a stalkoblin constantly chasing my bony lil’ limbs around, trying to keep myself together despite the chaos of life. I attended the Brooklyn Book Festival, where I chatted with fellow book lovers and ogled gorgeous titles from small publishers; spent a rainy weekend by Candlewood Lake celebrating a family wedding; had an absolutely bonkers time at work; meandered through my neighborhood’s decadent Halloween decorations; spotted particularly hungry koi in the Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix, Arizona; officiated a friend’s wedding on an idyllic farm; posed among the butterflies and cacti at the picturesque Desert Botanic Garden; saw Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) in theaters and Coraline (2009) at home; and more, if you can believe it.
My only reading update to relay is that I finally finished Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, and I will not be reading the sequel. Had I read this when it came out in 2018, I might have enjoyed it more. But I couldn’t get past some of its weak points—the trope-laden romance, predictable odyssey of a “chosen one,” and uneven pacing—to fully engage with the series. I’m still working on the same stuff as last time, plus a few other wild card contenders.
This time last year, I was obsessed with Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb series. In 2021, I was shocked and overjoyed by the insanity of Rachel Yoder’s Nightbitch. Both remain inimitable autumn reads, if you’re looking for that kind of thing this evening.
That’s it! Go eat a candy bar and read a book. TTYL babes!