September Reading Plans + Magical Readathon: Orilium – The Novice Path

September is here! August was a great reading month, you can read all about it in my wrap up. For September I have planned the new books around the Magical Readathon: Orilium – The Novice Path (art in header and in journal by Lisa and Logan).

But first, let’s take a look at what I’m currently reading:

• The Stand by Stephen King: Yep, still buddy reading this, nearing 75% now and I’m so ready to see how this all wraps up!
• Todos los Cuentos by Gabriel García Márquez: I am nearing the end of this book and I just love how Márquez manages to envelop me in beautiful writing and just all the atmosphere of his stories.
• Emma by Jane Austen: I was not expecting this one to be so funny! I absolutely love Emma’s dad, he’s ridiculous in the most endearing way ever.
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: I barely started this one and it will unfortunately go into the backburner for a bit since I’ll be putting other books as priority for the first half of September. However, I’m super enjoying the writing so far, I need to know what is going to happen!
• Temporada de Huracanes by Fernanda Melchor: This is the new pick for the book club with my friends and wow it’s so good! It is about brujas in a town in Veracruz, Mexico. A woman, known to be a witch in her town, is found murdered and so far we see how her origin is full of rumors, mythology, and violence. Excellent writing, absolutely love it.

And now, let’s look at what I will read for the Novice path for the Magical Readathon that I mentioned above!

Character Development (in progress)

For my character I’ve chosen to create Anukis Atali who lives in the urban center of Kerador and who is of Skaimorn heritage. She is a reader who has always been super curious about the magic that might be within her but which she has never been able to harness except in moments of intense pressure. She was raised by her great-uncle who is all about searching for the origins of his ancestors, genealogy is his passion. As such, Anukis knows that she comes from a line of powerful magic, which makes her inability to harness her own quite frustrating. The three books seen (Fight Club, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, and Club Dumas) will be read before April 2022 so I will talk about them in future TBRs.

TBR Spread in my Readathon Journal

So the idea for September is that my character will be embarking on the journey to Orilium Academy in order to learn how to harness her magical abilities. As such she must travel through various landmarks, each marking a trial that she must endure and pass in order to make it to the Academy. She’s not alone but she’s also super shy so hopefully she’ll be able to overcome that shyness in order to get to her goal.

• The Novice Path Entrance — Read a book with a map: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: No, I haven’t read the Shadow and Bone series but I absolutely love heist movies and I’ve never read a heist book so I really wanted to check this out. I don’t know much more about this book other than the heist element and I am pretty sure that’s all I need!
• Ashtorn Tree — A book on top of your TBR: Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language by Amanda Montell: This is the pick for this month’s Feminist Book club so of course it’s at the top of my TBR! This book takes a look at words that have often been used against women, labeling women as less than, and tracks their origins in order to take away that negative connotation and allow the reader to take back the word into a different kind of use.
• The Mist of Solitude — Read a Standalone: In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner: I am SO excited to read this book. I’ve loved all of Zentner’s books so far and I don’t expect this one to be any different. I don’t even know what this book is about!
• Ruin of the Skye — Read a book featuring ghosts/supernatural elements: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas: This book follows Yadriel, a Latinx brujx, who has managed to summon the ghost of the school’s resident bad boy, Julian Diaz. Now they are forced to work together in order to set things right for both of them. Ghosts, romance, LGBTQ+ and Latinx representation, can’t wait!
• Obsidian Falls — Read a thriller or mystery book: The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix: I am a big fan of horror movies and one of the tropes in many of them is that final girl who manages to survive. So this book follows a group of final girls who have survived their respective serial killers and who now come together to help each other deal with the aftermath. But apparently their horror story is not over….
• Tower of Rumination — Read a five star prediction: Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine: This is a series of short stories centered around Latinas of indigenous ancestry. There’s friendship, motherhood, sisterhood, and heritage. I’m pretty sure I’ll love this.
• Orilium Academy Arc — Book with a school setting: A Tale of Magic by Chris Colfer: A middle-grade book about Brystal, a 14-year-old girl who is whisked away to a magical school where she’ll learn that maybe her life is not as boring as she thought! I loved The Land of Stories series so I expect that this will be no different.

And that’s it for the Novice Path TBR! IF there’s time at all, I will also be starting All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, which came up in my last Want To Read List Cleanup post. As it stands, it might be pushed into October but that’s quite alright since there’s no hurry. Who knows, I might be in the mood and start it even while working on the books for the Orilium journey, we’ll see!

What will you be reading this September?

Want To Read List Cleanup #3

This is my monthly dive into my Want To Read List on Goodreads where I look at 10 random books on that list and decide which books stay and which ones go. Out of the ones that are left I will add the book that has been on that list the longest to my TBR for September. Let’s see what’s at play today!

• Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I definitely want to read this book, a letter to future feminists that promises to be inspiring. Adichie gives advice to a friend on how to raise her daughter as a feminist. It is a necessary book for all of the future generations. This one stays on the list.
• Woke Up Lonely by Fiona Maazel: I honestly don’t know why this book is on my list. It is apparently a funny book about some kind of spies in Cincinnati that somehow end up in North Korea? Not interested at all so I’ll be removing it.
• Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen: I also don’t remember why I added this book! This book follows Rebecca Winter, a photographer whose life is basically going downhill. She’s gone to a small town to start her life over and find some new purpose. It reminds me of a Hallmark/Lifetime movie, which I don’t normally love since they are so predictable. I will also be removing this book.
• Girl at War by Sara Nović: This is a novel set in Croatia in 1991, right when civil war is breaking out. We follow Ana as she is forced to flee her home country to go to the United States. This is a perspective I don’t know much about and would love to read so I’ll definitely be keeping it.
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: This is one book I’ve seen everywhere since it came out, set in France and Germany in the middle of World War II. I’ve seen that it is told from three different points of view and that it is beautifully written. I’m definitely still interested so I’ll be keeping it on the list.
• Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi: This is a memoir that I’ve had for a while and actually started once but didn’t get too far. The reason was that I haven’t read some of the works that are talked about in this memoir. There were some clear parts that I was missing because I haven’t read or am not familiar with the books mentioned. I will keep it with the caveat that I will need to read some other books (or at least familiarize myself with them before I attempt it again).
• The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge: A middle grade book that I added long ago and I don’t remember why. I am not interested in this one so I’ll be removing it.
• The Diviners by Libba Bray: This is the first installment of a series that is set in the 1920s in New York City. This also delves into the fantasy realm so there’s magic and hidden worlds. I’m interested in checking out this series so I’ll keep this book.
• The Next Species: The Future of Evolution in the Aftermath of Man by Michael Tennesen: The subject of evolution is very interesting to me. As a scientist I’ve learned about how humans have evolved and the various mechanisms. Looking at reviews it seems like this book focuses mostly on how humans have evolved in the past and not at what might happen next. I think I can find some more recent book that explores what our future looks like, especially since this book was published back in 2015. Therefore, I’ll be removing it.
• Show Us Who You Are by Elle McNicoll: I just added this book! This story includes characters who are neurodivergent involved in a plot surrounding a technology that recreates humans as AI. I’m definitely keeping it!

And that’s the 10 books! Out of 10 I removed 4 books that I’m no longer interested in reading. Now, which of the 6 remaining is the one that has been on this list the longest? Well, that would be All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, which will be going into my September TBR.

Now, I am perfectly aware that I am not yet done with both Todos Los Cuentos and Emma, but that’s okay! I’m in no great hurry to finish them right away, I just want them in my TBR so I can pick them up as soon as it fits my mood. I’m enjoying Todos Los Cuentos, reading one or two stories each day, thinking about them for a couple of days and then going back to dive into the next story. I just started Emma and I think that once I get into it I’ll likely not want to stop.

Were you surprised by any of the books that showed up? That I either kept or removed? Let me know in the comments!