September: The Most Bookish of Months. Book events were attended, long-awaited books were released, and award long-lists were revealed. Let’s get to it!

Book Events:
I attended four book events this month, including one on my husband’s birthday, in case you were curious about my priorities in life.

• The Dilettantes was up first, and it was like my Twitter stream had come to life, complete with awkward “do I know you” moments. The Edmonton Book Bloggers were there in full force. Author Michael Hingston read his book and it was even funnier read aloud. Maybe do an audio version?
• Diana Davidson‘s launch for Pilgrimage drew a similar crowd and I hear her book sold out. My review is coming soon.
• You can read about Jennifer Quist‘s tour of Alberta for Love Letters of the Angels of Death here. Her event at drew a smaller crowd, but it made for an intimate reading – kind of appropriate for the subject matter. You should also know that Jennifer and I are on a hugging basis now.
• Todd Babiak‘s event for Come Barbarians was weird. No reading, and a much different crowd than the first three: older and better dressed. Kristilyn and I felt a little awkward. But Todd is a great speaker, and he knew who I was AND he told me that book bloggers will take over the world. Total fangirl moment – I guess I better read one of his books now! Oh and you NEED to watch his book trailer. Even if you aren’t from Edmonton and have no idea who he is. Just do it.

• The bookish events keep coming! Shout out to Yegwrites for keeping Edmonton’s literary calendar up to date. In October I’ll be attending LitFest, including an event with Jessica Kluthe and Lawrence Hill, and hope to get more books signed on Oct. 9th with Meredith Quartermain and Fran Kimmel.

Blog News:

• The Agnes Grey read-along has finished. This was a pretty low key read-along, where participants just comment on one master post, rather than create their own weekly posts. Gotta say, I prefer doing weekly posts. There’s more to comment on and to be honest, a bit of a competitive aspect – can I make my post funnier/weirder/more insightful/more laden with gifs than the other read-alongers? (No, I probably can’t, but it’s fun to try.)
• Speaking of weird and read-alongs: The Dragon Bound Read-along begins. I have read the first section and I’m enjoying it, though I keep having Feminist Moral Dilemmas but that’s true of almost everything I read, not just romances.
• I upped my reading goal from 25 to 50 books. No pressure.

Books Read:
With one-word reviews to hold you over till I get around to reviewing them.

• Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood: Smart.
• Among the Janeites by Deborah Yaffe: Meh.
• The Insistent Garden by Rosie Chard: Magic.
• Pilgrimage by Diana Davidson: Tragic.
• Hellgoing: Stories by Lynn Coady: Tough.
• Anges Grey by Anne Bronte: Bratty.
• Stoner by John Edward Williams: Devastating.

Books I Want to Read:
I added too many books to my TBR list this month so I’ll just give you the jist:

• Award Long-Listers: The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin, The Luminaries by Elenor Catton, The Son of a Certain Woman by Wayne Johnston, The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Books I was Publically Shamed into Reading: The Book of Negros by Lawrence Hill
• Every Blogger is Talking About: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
• For Ladies, By Ladies: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, The Delta of Venus by Anais Nin

On the Blog This Month:

Reviews:

• Rosina, The Midwife by Jessica Kluthe
• The Insistent Garden by Rosie Chard
• The Dilettantes by Michael Hingston
• Rupert’s Land by Meredith Quartermain

Discussions, Read-Alongs, Etc.:

• Readalong: Dragon Bound (Introduction)
• When Books Hit Home: I’ve been trying to write this for months. Thanks for the great discussion.
• Where Do You Sit on the Shelf? I had a lot of fun with this one!
• The Storytellers Book Club: NO ONE wants to do this one with me? Fine, guys. Fine.

Save a Book, Read a Blog Post:
Some notable blog posts I read this month. Read, share, comment.

• Why TBR Lists Fail: The perennial problem of book bloggers. (So Many Books)
• Jane Eyre: A Soundtrack. I love music and book combos! (Fourth Street Review)
• The Moonstone Read-a-Long starts in November. I’m in! (Lit Nerd)
• Ten Things Every Book Blog Needs: Inspired be to FINALLY start a review index. (Books Speak Volumes)
• The Rage of Jonathan Franzen: Yeah I know we’re all sick of him but LOL (The Toast)
• Why I Spoil Books: It’s tempting! (The Bookshelf of Emily J)

Whew! Now to catch up reviews… how did your Most Bookish of Months go?