September:
Books Read: 10
Pages Read: 2798
Hours Listened To: 9
October:
Books Read: 2
Pages Read: 461
Hours Listened To: 0
Books read:
- Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip – Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by Steve Dublanica
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
- Zarhar the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu
- Ender’s Game by Scott Orson Card
- In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
- Wild Seed by Octavia Butler
- The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N K Jemisin
- The Survival League by Gordan Nuhanovic
- Hijas Americanas: Beauty, Body Image, and Growing up Latina by Rosie Molinary
- Live Through This: On Creativity and Self-Desctruction
- Swoon by Caledonia Curry (Swoon)
- Judging a Book by Its Lover: A Field Guide to the Hearts and Minds of Readers Everywhere by Lauren Leto
Bloggers (and other online friends) visited: Rhiannon, Carin, Eva, Colleen, Kelly, Cait
Places visited through reading: USA, Nigeria, Croatia, Dominican Republic
Places visited irl: Toronto, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, California (Sacramento, Lake Tahoe), and Albuquerque, NM
Book Purchases: I refuse to admit anything 
In September I made a purchase from the Book Depository for some really great books, as well as picking up a few sequels to titles I had read earlier in the month (Octavia Butler and NK Jemisin). I also bought some great titles on Amazon when I found them on sale (This Bridge Called my Back, for example). In all, too many to list, and slightly embarrassing given that I hardly read for half of the period we’re discussing.
Carin, Kelly and I at the Chile Festival in Los Lunas.
Thoughts and ramblings: This has been an incredibly busy and roller-coaster fall for me. As you can see from my reading, things have changed quite a bit in my life. To begin with, September was a month of travel. If you recall, I ended August with a mini-cross-Canada road trip to a wedding in New Brunswick. I began September with the long drive back home to Toronto, only to fly out the very next morning for work. Between the two busy weeks of work, I was incredibly lucky to fit in the highlight of my month: finally meeting Carin in person! We did a chile festival, ate great food, and did some hiking in the mountains.
After the work trip, I flew back to visit my parents in PEI. Here I foolishly agreed to do some biking with my mother and aunt… and biked halfway across the island before my knees gave out. I then travelled with Colleen to Halifax for their first book launch with Fierce Ink Press, which was a fun party. I spent a few days there and then it was back to Toronto again.
Part of the trail Carin and I hiked.
Back in Toronto… I crashed. It’s hard for me to admit how much being back in PEI is still a struggle for me, but it just drains me completely and leaves me nervous, terrified, and hyper-vigilant. I came back home to stress around work and not knowing if my new position was going to start in less than a week or not, and that combined with the fact that I was already drained meant a couple of weeks of basic survival until I got myself back to normal (well, close enough, still working on that). I am very thankful that I don’t need to go back any time soon, as my parents have agreed to visit me for the Christmas holidays, saving me a trip there.
The first of October for me meant the start of a new position at work. I was really excited for this as it is allowing me to try out a few new skills and utilize the ones I’ve already learned in my time with my company. Unfortunately it also means a daily commute of anywhere between one to one and a half hours, and work days stretching to ten or twelve hours. This fully explains the fact that in October I managed to read only two books – my lowest since university when I was reading only textbooks.
My Aunt and I at the Potato Museum.
October was a great month still though, for two reasons. The first was that I got to cat sit for Rhiannon. You may remember her cats from her Feline Friday posts, and now you can be jealous that I got to hang out with them for a few days. They are the cutest cats, and if I could, I’d have tried to sneak them out to keep them. The second great event of the months was a visit from Eva! It is always so great meeting online friends in person, and I was extra excited to finally being the one hosting.
So that has been my past couple of months. I am on vacation now, which is why I’m finding time to write this post. I am hoping, though, that work will settle down, giving me more time to read and to review. I hope that everyone else is enjoying their fall, and that everyone has had a great Thanksgiving. I miss you all!
