Hello, October! September was a busy month for me with the Jewish holidays, which required a lot of prep work. Luckily, I managed to get it all done with Mom’s help, and the holidays were really nice. My sister even flew in to be with us, and to spend Mom’s birthday with her. 

Even with everything going on all month long, I had a fantastic reading month. It’s become clearer than ever that I read as an escape from stressors, but at least it isn’t an unhealthy habit. I read some really great books in September, and read some that I didn’t click with as much, but overall I think it was a good month. There was only one DNF, and I got my NG ARCs under control, with only 14 left and none overdue! Now to stay on top of that, while also catching up on my physical ARCs. But slow progress is still better than no progress in my book.

Here’s some of my September highlights:

• My reading for the month took me to New Jersey, Washington DC, New Zealand, Auschwitz in Poland, Vermont, Nova Scotia, New York, the Negev Desert in Israel, West Virginia, Yemen, Antarctica, the Highlands of Scotland, and Reykjavic, Iceland. Quite a trip around the world this month!

Here’s my breakdown of monthly totals for September: 

September Totals:

• Books read: 22
• Books DNF’d: 1

Genres Read in September:

• Contemporary: 2
• Cozy Mystery: 1
• Fantasy: 8
• History: 3
• Horror: 3
• Memoir: 1
• Mystery: 2
• Religion and Spirituality: 1
• Romance: 1

Backlist vs. New Releases:

• Backlist books: 7
• 2025 releases: 15

Fiction Vs. Nonfiction:

• Fiction: 18
• Nonfiction: 4

Format Read:

• Print: 4
• Digital: 2
• Audio: 16

Age Range:

• Adult: 22
• YA: 0
• MG: 0 

My favorite book of the month was Savage Blooms by S.T. Gibson.

Here’s what I read in September:

1. The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam by Megan Bannen (Hart & Mercy #3) (Publisher ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
2. The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts (The Lost Bride Trilogy #3) (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
3. What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher (Sworn Soldier #3) (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
4. I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali and Delphine Minoui | Goodreads | Amazon
5. Savage Blooms by S.T. Gibson (Unearthly Delights #1) (Publisher ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon

1. As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us by Sarah Hurwitz (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon 
2. The Vanishing Place by Zoë Rankin (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
3. The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz by Anne Sebba (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
4. The Irish Goodbye by Heather Aimee O’Neill (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
5. A Land So Wide by Erin A. Craig (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
6. Where Love Lies by Raz Tal Schenirer (Author ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon 
7. Edam and Weep by Linda Reilly (Grilled Cheese Mysteries #6) (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
8. A Tangle of Time by Josiah Bancroft (The Hexologists #2) (Publisher ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon

1. The Witch of Willow Sound by Vanessa F. Penney (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon

1. Cammy Sitting Shiva by Cary Gitter (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
2. The Faerie Morgana by Louisa Morgan (Publisher ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
3. Alone on the Ice by David Roberts | Goodreads | Amazon
4. Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurdardottir (Þóra Guðmundsdóttir, #1) | Goodreads | Amazon
5. Stories I Told My Dead Lover by Jo Paquette (Libro ALC) | Goodreads | Amazon

1. The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft (The Hexologists #1) — reread
2. The Darkness Before Them by Matthew Ward (The Soulfire Saga #1) — reread
3. The Fire Within Them by Matthew Ward (The Soulfire Saga #2) — reread

1. Rabbis of the Garden State by Daniel Meltz (Author ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon

I hope you all had a fabulous September. What are you reading?