Wrapping Up September 2021

Is it really already the end of September? (I know, I’m turning into one of those bloggers – sorry!) The beginning of the month, and the books I read then, feel so far away. I looked at the title of the first book and thought “was that really this month?” It may have only been a few weeks, but there have been a lot of other books, articles, and assignments since then!

If you read my September Rambles post, then you already know that even though it’s only September, my homework load is already close to overwhelming. I like to think I’m pretty good with a planner, but even so I’m struggling to find time for everything that needs to get done. Struggling doesn’t mean failing, though! Everything that needs to happen so far is happening – it’s just not happening at a pace that I would prefer. It’s a lot all at once, but not bad.

Books Completed This Month

📚 Text, Lies and Cataloging: Ethical Treatment of Deceptive Works in the Library by Jana Brubaker; Nonfiction – Library Science ⭐⭐⭐.5

📚 Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina; Juvenile Contemporary Fiction ⭐⭐⭐

📚 A Shot in the Arm by Don Brown; Juvenile Nonfiction – Medical History ⭐⭐⭐.5

📚 Radiant Child: The Story of Jean-Michel Bisquait by Javaka Steptoe; Juvenile Nonfiction – Biography of an artist ⭐⭐⭐

📚 The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander; Picture book, poetry ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 Linked by Gordon Korman; Contemporary Middle-Grade Novel ⭐⭐⭐.5

📚 Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly; Juvenile Contemporary Fiction ⭐⭐

(NOTE: after this book, I decided to stop counting the children’s books that I read in a single setting in this list unless they are particularly impactful. See my Goodreads here for the full list of books read this month.)

📚 The Year of the Dog (Pacy Lin #1) by Grace Lin; Juvenile Fiction ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin; Juvenile/Middle-Grade Fantasy (with elements from Chinese legends/lore) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Average Rating: 3.5 ⭐s

Total Books Read in September (including the children’s books not listed above): 27 (seriously!)

Needless to say, I met my Goodreads goal for the year this month. I was right on track for it at the beginning of the month, and the widget now tells me I am 25 books ahead of schedule.

Books Read but Not Completed This Month

📚 Tables in the Wilderness by Preston Yancey; Nonfiction – Theological Memoir

📚 The Bookseller’s Secret by Michelle Gable; Dual Timeline Contemporary & Historical Fiction

Goals Recap

Originally posted here.

• Post at least twice a week ✔
• Change the displays I’m responsible for at work ✔
• Plan for the several birthdays I will celebrate in October ✔
• Check in with year-long reading goals and plan/adjust as necessary for the last quarter of the year ❌ – I need to do this soon
• Keep up with meal planning/prep so that I don’t eat out for lunch and only get coffee once a week ✔ – I only ate out for lunch twice and got coffee a handful of times, but I don’t think it was more than once a (work)week
• Complete first half of semester-long research project so that when my third class starts in October I’ll have some wiggle room in my homework schedule to adapt ❌ – hahaha that was a nice thought, but entirely unrealistic

Other September Highlights

Movies Watched: Like Cats & Dogs (2020) ⭐⭐.5 (the animals & setting were beautiful and fun, but the protagonists made terrible decisions and were disrespectful, and the overall plot was just lame)

Podcasts Enjoyed: ✨none✨

Music of the Month: I actually didn’t use Spotify much this month, so most of my music was instrumental study music. I did start this bilingual playlist for a Spanish & English storytime I planned for class. It needs to be a bit longer to be truly useful, but it’s a decent starting point.

Most Liked and Commented Blog Posts: Book Review: Fanny’s Hope Chest by Sarah Holman and Spell the Month in Books September Linkup

• My high school’s football team beat our biggest city rivals for the first time in about 20 years! 💙❤
  • Furthermore, the college I attended for my BA and the university I’m currently attending both won their season openers, and I think that all are so far undefeated! It may be early in the season, but this is unusual for these schools.
  • Update 3 weeks after making the initial note – my high school is now the city champs for the first time since I was in grade school!
• Completed multiple major projects for school. One of the more enjoyable ones was creating webpages/sites for two assigned children’s authors: Gordon Korman and Grace Lin
• Discovered the benefits of using Pomodoro-timed YouTube videos for studying and working on projects. I was unsure at first, but I really feel like I get more done with less mental drain by taking regular breaks. It also helps keep my breaks to a short time, so I don’t get sidetracked. My favorites at the moment are Chill with Taiki Live Pomodoro Timer (this is a 25/5 timer and breaks line up with the half hour) and The Sherry Formula Fall-Themed 3-hour Pomodoro (this one isn’t live and is a 50/10 split). The Sherry Formula might be turning into one of my favorite channels overall, alongside Lofi Girl (as far as I can tell Lofi Girl doesn’t have any Pomodoro timers though).
• Just a note that US competitors won both the women’s and men’s sides of the Nebelhorn Trophy (a major figure skating competition). Congrats to Alysa Liu and Vincent Zhou!
• My friend’s sister sells candles and one is a lovely bright-orange Pumpkin Soufflé
• Launched the second annual staff pumpkin decorating contest at work! I’m eager to see what everyone comes up with this year.
• I got out my crock pot for the first time in a while and made chili!

Did you read much in September? Anything particularly worth recommending? I think my favorite read this month is Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. It was unexpected, not what I usually read, and a nice reminder of the books I enjoyed in elementary school. It also reminded me a bit of Little Women, although I haven’t been able to nail down exactly why.

From October through December is my favorite time of year, so I’m really looking forward to it (even if it is likely that I will continue to be bogged down in homework). The Five Fall Favorites party, which is one of my favorite annual blogging events, is happening next week. Not sure if I’ll have time to keep up and enter the giveaway, but it’s nice to know it will be going on and hopefully see some of the posts. Also, I feel like my fashion sense is at its best when sweaters and boots are involved, so I’m looking forward to being able to wear some of my cozier clothes again.

What are you looking forward to in October?

Until the next chapter,

Jana