As I mentioned in my last post, I’m in a very slow reading season. Life has been super chaotic lately, and I’m lucky to get in ten pages a day most of the time.

That said, while my reading slowed way down, that didn’t mean the quality of my reads also went off a cliff. In fact, between August and September, I actually read a new all-time favourite book, so all in all, I’d still consider these months a success from a reading perspective.

Combine this with the fact that life is full of so many other cup-filling activities, and August and September were truly spectacular. This is by far my favourite time of year, and I’m revelling in all the opportunities to introduce baby girl to what makes summer and fall in Atlantic Canada so magical. Here’s a quick overview of what I’ve been up to, reading and otherwise:

Books Read in August and September 2026

This will be a quick and easy write-up, because not all that much was accomplished. Books read over the past two months include:

1. The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson: WOW what a start to a series. This quickly catapulted onto my favourite books of all time list. I loved the cast of unlikeable characters that grow on you over time, I loved what felt like a unique type of magic layered onto an intricately political society, and the twists! So many, and some that genuinely took me by surprise. This book is fantasy at its finest, an easy 5-star read for me.
2. We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark: all in all, I had a good time with this book. It’s a gladiator fantasy that admittedly felt a bit chaotic, particularly with a wide range of magical elements that I didn’t feel were super well explained. That said, the plot moved at a good pace, the narrative itself was entertaining, and it was an easy read to get lost in when my brain was exhausted. I’d rate this one 3.5 stars. Not sure I’ll continue the series, but I enjoyed the time I spent with it.
3. What Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam: it should be no surprise that I picked up a book on productivity if you consider how much I’ve been lamenting that I have no time lately. I appreciate that this book was concise and to the point, and it was easy to knock out in a single afternoon. That said, it was a little light on actionable strategies, and the definition of “success” was a bit narrow. Still an enjoyable read that I’d give 3.5 stars.

TBR Lists

I haven’t actually added many books to my TBR lists lately because I’m in such a backlog. This fall has seen a lot of releases I’ve been keenly waiting on for at least a year, though sometimes even longer, and I’ve yet to make my way through a single one of them.

As a result, here’s my small list of books I’ve observed lately that I’m hoping to one day take off the shelf:

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: this released way back in 2011 but recently re-released in a beautiful new edition. I’ve seen a few authors recommend it and the circus, competition-style fantasy sounds exactly like something I’d love.
• A Snake Among Swans by Hannah Kaner: I’ve loved Kaner’s Fallen Gods series, and this new fantasy that’s full of feminine rage and a scheming court system sounds very intriguing.
• The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett: this book, which is about three women whose friendship in 1930’s Mississippi is the foundation on which they’ll fight for what is right, is not a book that would typically draw my attention, but I have seen so many absolute rave reviews from readers that I trust that I couldn’t help but add it to my TBR. I’m 179^th in my library’s queue so I don’t anticipate getting to it any time soon, but I’m looking forward to giving it a shot.

What I’m Loving Right Now

While life has left little room for reading, it’s largely because we’ve been doing so much living, and that is always a worthwhile trade. Here are some of the highlights from the past few months:

Spending a significant amount of time with family

We took several family vacations this summer and wow, it was so joy inducing. Not only is it nice to get dedicated time to catch up and enjoy each other’s company, but these have also been some core developmental leaps for baby girl. She went from a toddler that can say roughly 20-30 words, to one having full-blown conversations, and honestly, it’s wondrous to witness. What a privilege to get to share these memories with our loved ones!

Putting the final touches on our basement overhaul

I’ve been talking for literally years now about how much work we’ve put into transforming our house into a home, and the basement is our last space we’ve overhauled before we need to start thinking about more structural renovations. We recently bought a new couch that fits all three of us more comfortably, and established a whole music section for my husband and baby girl so that each night they can practice across a range of instruments. The basement has been a real labour of love, and I’m so pleased to see the very last pieces come together into a functional space we can enjoy as a family.

Saying hello to a new furry friend

While the last couple of months have largely been joyous, there were some lows as well. We recently had to say goodbye to our 13 year old dog and I can’t even describe how much it devastated our family. It was unbearably difficult to do, even though it was time. Norman had been our stoic companion through every single season of my relationship and marriage, and when he left, he left a gaping hole in our lives.

While we’re still very much grieving his loss and are acutely aware that nothing can replace his unconditional companionship, but we recently chose to bring another furry friend home who needed a space full of love anyway. Our latest addition is a cat who we’ve fondly named Rigatoni (or Tony for short) who spent four long years as a stray before spending six months in our local shelter.

The second we met him I knew he’d fit right into our home. He’s a little skittish from spending years as a stray, but he has the biggest heart, and he’s been a balm in these difficult weeks as we all grieved the loss of Norman. Extra credit goes to him for his endless patience for baby girl’s shenanigans as well, which is not an easy thing to endure as she learns the concept of boundaries.

The usual Fall-themed activities

As always, September brings about my favourite season of the year: autumn in Atlantic Canada. The leaves on the trees are all changing, the corn mazes are open, and apple picking season is peaking.

Fall is uncontestably the best season if you live in our neck of the woods, and it’s an extra treat to bring baby girl to all of the activities now that she’s old enough to really understand and enjoy them. Between running through corn fields, throwing leaves, and eating apples as we make our way through the local orchard, it’s just so wonderful to watch her little face in awe as she soaks all these new experiences in. I saw someone say that when your kids are between 0-3, those memories are more for you than they necessarily are for them, and I thought that was just the most wonderful way of looking at it. She might not remember her first experiences welcoming the new season, but I’ll never forget the way her little face lit up at the top of a hay bail, or how happy she was to realize she could eat any apple she wanted to while running through the trees.

There’s more going on in life right now, including what I would consider a seismic shift in my effort to build out some more time for myself, but I’ll save that update for next month. For now, I’m going to continue working through as many books as I can, while simultaneously enjoying everything else life has to offer right now, too.