I know I say this, but November definitely crept up on me. After a wildly successful reading month in August I fell into a reading drought. I just honestly did not feel like reading at all, hence no post last month and the fact that I’m posting about September and October together. Sorry about that, but reading is like that for me. When I was posting more regularly I always used to try and have enough posts to give myself 3 to 4 weeks wriggle room in case I just did not feel like reading. I know from when I was younger that forcing myself to read when I don’t want to just means that the slump lasts longer. I hope you had a more successful time reading in September and October than I did.

Whilst I might not have got any reading done in September, I did visit a couple of bookshops whilst I was down in Cornwall. If you’re visiting Falmouth or St Ives you should stop off at the bookstore there (if you make it to Truro, the Waterstones there is good too). They’re both relatively small stores, but they can contain some real gems – I’m not sure about the St Ives Bookseller, but the Falmouth Bookseller also does some author events.

I’m a huge fan of Bernadette Banner on YouTube. She’s made some fantastic garments and her videos are always entertaining. I’ve had a quick flip through her book, and honestly I don’t think this is one book I will read in a single sitting. What I have seen looks really helpful and super informative.

Honestly, October saw more of the same on the reading front at least to begin with. I was starting to think it would be three months without me reading and decreasing the size of my tbr. Mid October saw me getting my boosters for the flu and Covid – honestly, although I had it pretty mildly I do not want to get it again. The likelihood of me getting any reading in this month was getting smaller, but then October 30th came and I was hit with the desire to read.

In September and October I managed to read 1 book and clear 0 from my tbr pile. Honestly this feels like a failure. It’s not. I know that reading for me comes in waves. I know I read a LOT of books back in August. But yeah. It’s especially disheartening seeing so many people on booktube and bookinsta reading dozens of books a month. I have to remind myself that I don’t want this to be a chore. I want it to be fun to share my thoughts and feelings with you about the books I read. Here’s hoping November will be better.

In October I read Storm Echo by Nalini Singh which is the sixth book in her Psy-Changeling Trinity series. If you’ve enjoyed this series (and the previous one) then you will love this one too. I enjoyed seeing more of the Mercant family, with this book focusing on Ivan. I really enjoyed his relationship with his grandmother. Soleil was very mysterious and I enjoyed learning more about her. In a lot of ways for me the romance wasn’t the most interesting part of the book though it was well done. It was interesting finally seeing a bit more of how some of the Psys dealt with Silence, that it wasn’t quite as neat as it had seemed in the earlier books which has been hinted at but I think this is the first book where we actually see anything. There are definitely a few secrets revealed in this book. The ending has me curious about the next book. Sorry that’s a bit of a tease, but I don’t want to spoil anyone.

Thank you for sticking with me so far, I hope to see you next month.

B.