We are well and truly into fall, friends. This month's reading was, unfortunately, mostly mid with a couple of all time greats sprinkled in. My favorites are starred. Books marked with a * were gifted to me, and books marked with a ^ I was paid to read.

What You Learn Learning Music^

The True Confessions Of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw*

Broken Healer by David M. Berry^

More Like Enemigas by Stephanie Hope*

⭐ Coffeeshop In An Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee*

⭐ The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook by Matt Dinniman (reread)

One Of His by Alina Bellchambers^

If I Could Go Back by Briana Johnson*

⭐ Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

Wisdom On The Rocks by Michael Penn^

She's A Doll by Barbara Truelove*

The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism And The War On Democracy by Gil Durán*

⭐ Long Division by Kiese Laymon

A Few Rules For Predicting The Future: An Essay by Octavia E. Butler

⭐ Redshirts: A Novel With Three Codas by John Scalzi

Cold In Mississippi: A Memoir Of The Human Soul In Medicine by Dwaine Rieves^

Now, what's on deck for October? Truthfully, a lot of carryovers I didn't get to in September (summaries via The Storygraph):

Punished by Ann-Helén Laestadius* - A harrowing story inspired by true events of five Indigenous children forced to attend a government-run boarding school in 1950s Sweden, revealing the emotional scars they carry thirty years later.

One Word, Six Letters by Adib Khorram* - Two teen boys grapple with identity and accountability and set off a ripple effect within their community after a school assembly is disrupted by a shouted slur.

The Four Wives And Five Deaths Of Richard Milford by Nafissa Thompson-Spires* - A sly, spry, literary debut novel about the murder of an infamous moonshiner and the cacophony of true stories a small town can tell about itself.

There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm* - Humanity is under assault by malevolent "antimemes"—ideas that attack memory, identity, and the fabric of reality itself—in this wickedly brainbending tale of science-fiction horror, an entirely reimagined and expanded version of the beloved online novel.

One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford* - In this heart-wrenching and unique spin on the zombie mythos, a brilliant scientist desperately searches for a cure after a devastating epidemic while also hiding a monumental secret—her undead husband.

Now, you know I can't help myself and am compelled to build impossible TBRs. So why don't we add two more to that stack?

Honey by Imani Thompson* - A dark, provocative, adrenaline-rush of a novel about a graduate student who murders bad men and justifies it in the name of feminism, by a bold new voice in fiction.

Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wiswell - Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by impolite monster hunters, she constructs a body from the remains of past meals. Shesheshen’s nursed back to health by Homily, a warm-hearted human. Just as Shesheshen’s about to confess her identity, Homily reveals something else: she’s hunting a shapeshifting monster that supposedly cursed her family. Has Shesheshen seen it anywhere?

I'm taking several current reads into October with me: Lost Boi by Sassafras Lowrey (October's Spicy Book Club pick), Westward Women by Alice Martin*, City of Others by Jared Poon*, and The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman (reread).

To be perfectlyyyy honest though, The Disappearers by Marlon James is calling to me, so a lot of this might get swept aside for that brick of a novel. Who knows? Not me! Stay tuned to find out!

I can't believe I'm saying this but tomorrow bookstore ordering opens for 2027 Indie Bookstore Day exclusive and free items.

I can't do preorders for the items but I can at least gauge interest in certain items.

Please email me: info@deathbytbrbooks.com ASAP and I'll email you the catalog.

They always do this right before the holiday season when sales are low and only sent it to me a few days ago. <3

You win some you lose some. I found this hilarious. I've tried with baking powder and coffee creamer and neither have worked. Enjoy the fails. 😭

https://youtube.com/shorts/6rVx2nA9nWg?si=ub1pIC1Gicn4QUUu