M. Suzanne Terry

Hello! I get excited in September because both jobs calm down a little and the weather (usually) starts being a little more bearable. Well, there is talk that the weather may someday be more bearable, at least. I start to think about fall things, like who I’m going to be for Halloween (right now I’m varying between 80s Susannah Hoffs from the Bangles and Daria), warm beverages on patios, and new boots.

September’s not always a big reading month for me, but this year may be different. With the pandemic still raging away in Texas and the Texas legislature’s utter lack of concern for…well, anyone…I’m bouncing between hyper-anxious and dissociative, both of which have many effects, and one of them is that I act even more introverted than usual. If the last couple of weeks has been any indication, this may shape up to be a heavy reading month.

Joy

I am going to read the books I meant to read for joy last month because that didn’t happen at all. 

• The Joy of Movement (McGonigal)
• Welcome Home (Zebian)

Community Reading

One way I’m keeping myself from going full hermit is continuing with book discussions. Most are online but a couple of them still meet in person. Follow the Reader met in the swimming pool last Thursday, and that is my new favorite way to talk about books in the summertime. I’ve joined a couple of other low-maintenance book groups in the last month or two

• Anxious People (Backman)
• The Island of Sea Women (See)
• How To Be Both (Smith)
• The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina (Córdova)
• The Charm Offensive (Cochrun)
• The Renunciations (Kelly)
• Wild Mercy (Starr)
• Caste (Wilkerson)

Seasonal Leanings

Ah, fall. The time of year when my love of mystery and gothic novels and magic intensifies. The TBR list for the month reflects some of these particular leanings.

• Boundary Waters (Krueger)
• Ruddy Gore (Greenwood)
• Urn Burial (Greenwood)
• The Hunting Wives (Cobb)
• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (Schwab)
• Velvet Was the Night (Moreno-Garcia)
• Vicious (Schwab)
• Maisie Dobbs (Winspear)
• Counted Corpse (Bookens)

Also I had to pick up the latest releases from two of my favorite contemporary romance authors, and I doubt I’ll be able to wait another month to tuck into them:

• While We Were Dating (Guillory)
• The Heart Principle (Hoang)

The list is long this month, but I’ve started quite a few of these selections and finished a couple of them already. So I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to finish most of it. 

What are you reading?