Everything I Read, Played, & Watched in September 📖🎮📺
I’m going to try keeping it pretty short here with this wrap-up, because I tend to get so rambly with my media, haha. This month I was able to work through a good amount of my book backlog, and even went to Half Price Books with SIX boxes of books to get rid of! Making progress on my storage unit feels great, and I’m looking forward to downsizing even more.
Honestly, I’m not sure if I’ll continue posting these wrap-ups in the new year. I’ve enjoyed doing them throughout 2025 and I like having a log of the stuff I’m consuming book/TV/movie/game wise to look back on, but I don’t really think it provides a lot of value here, and since it takes quite a bit of time to put together, I might be able to put the time I spend on this doing something else. I’ve also really been wanting to get back into physical journaling, specifically with books - so maybe I can start a little journal for myself to log all the media stuff I consume. We’ll see!
For now, here’s the wrap-up for September. And if you do enjoy these, please let me know!
SO HAPPY FOR YOU by Celia Laskey | Thriller | First Read
This was a little all over the place for me. The main character was really insufferable for a lot of the book; it’s wild how she managed to make EVERYTHING about her, and honestly, I completely understand why her BFF was pissed off. I thought the ending was too neatly wrapped up, and didn’t love the way everyone else in the book just went along with the bride’s poor choices.
SEVERANCE by Ling Ma | Dystopia | First Read
I understand why people like this, but I felt it was very tedious and slow — a bit too meandering for me personally, especially when the subject matter feels so dramatic. How is a post-apocalyptic story about pseudo-zombies so boring? I get the themes, I get the subtext - I’m just so bored by it. Of course we’re all zombies, going through motions in our daily lives, of course! Couldn’t you have at least made this interesting?
ONE ITALIAN SUMMER by Rebecca Serle | Contemporary | First Read
I’m not sure if it’s because of my difficult relationship with my own mother, but reading this was a mixed bag for me; on the one hand, I liked some of the magical realism and the setting and the romance felt very cute, but on the other, I just cannot relate to the level of upset and grief the main character was feeling, and I kept being pulled out of the story because of it. It’s sad that her mom died, yes - but to go through your day and seriously have thoughts like “there are no more happy days for me”, like totally seriously…? That’s just bananas lol, it feels like something a 14 year old would say after being dumped.
THE SUMMER OF BROKEN RULES by K.L. Walther | YA Romance | First Read
Apparently this was inspired by Taylor Swift’s music…? I did not know or pick up on that while reading, lol. This was pretty mid, I’m not sure why everyone goes super wild for it on TikTok but I am also not the target audience for this genre, so, eh! Will not pick up the others in the series, will not read anything else by the author, sorry not sorry.
ANNIE BOT by Sierra Greer | Sci-Fi | First Read
Short but interesting - I liked it, especially the ending! I’d love to see this as a movie.
EVERY SUMMER AFTER by Carley Fortune | Romance | First Read
Okay, although I am not the target audience for this, I LOVED IT! It truly surprised me, lol. I felt the third act issue was a little boring, but it played out well and overall the characters were really good and I liked the relationship and drama. I’m excited this will be getting made into a TV series!
THE SUMMER JOB by Adam Cesare | Horror | First Read
Nothing mind-blowing, but solidly entertaining from the jump.
LORD OF THE FLY FEST by Goldy Moldavsky | Horror | First Read
I’d been looking forward to this for so long and absolutely LOVE the cover, but yikes, I did not enjoy my time reading this. The main character was bizarre to read - I’m not sure if the author was going for campy comedy horror or what, but her thought process and dialogue and just everything she did was really strange and off-putting. It’s supposed to be like the Fyre Festival situation meets Lord of the Flies, but just missed the mark so completely.
NIGHTSHIFT by Kiare Ladner | Contemporary | First Read
A book about female obsession, and the way girls can become completely entranced by other girls; normally, this would absolutely be my cup of tea, but something about it here didn’t quite work for me. I didn’t find the main character relatable at all, and the girl she’s obsessed with was so boring and edge lord-y, ugh.
HACKERS (1995) | Rewatch
One of my favorites, I’ve seen this so many times and it’s still such a wild, silly, fun ride!
NIGHT SHIFT (2023) | First Watch
I let this autoplay because I was working on my crochet, and it wasn’t bad! The tone was all over the place & the twist is extremely predictable, but I love Phoebe Tonkin.
JOHN WICK (2014) | Rewatch
Saw this for the first time a few months ago but never finished my marathon, so back to it! I love these so much.
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 (2017) | Rewatch
I really love seeing the inner workings of the assassin folk - the cleaners, the different weapons, the outfits, the gear, the perks. It’s all so cool!
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM (2019) | First Watch
Definitely my favorite in the series, I LOVED THIS!! So many fun fights and dog scenes, haha.
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 (2023) | First Watch
Just so over the top, this was so much fun!
VANDERPUMP RULES | Season 11 | First Watch
Finally finished this godforsaken show, lmao. It’s trash, but so addicting to watch these terrible people do all kinds of wild things to each other - I’m positive I spent half my time watching with my mouth hanging open, stunned by what was unfolding. I’d only recommend this if you’re on bed rest and really need something mindless to keep you occupied, because that’s how I started it and I have no regrets lol.
VANDERPUMP VILLA | Season 1 | First Watch
And yes, all the above said, I did start watching another spin off immediately after finishing VPR, hahahaha. The Valley was AWFUL, I only made it through like 3 episodes before deciding I couldn’t handle how annoying and stupid everyone was, but this? This is also very bad, but in a good way!
DONUT COUNTY
This is a pretty short game, but it’s fun to gobble up all the things in each level. The dialogue between main characters is also funny and silly, they’re all so sarcastic, lol.
SILENT HILL: f
A birthday gift I wasn’t at all expecting, IT’S SO GOOD! Loving it so far, it’s so creepy and an amazing blend of both the original game vibes and new stuff.
CRIME SCENE CLEANER
Finished getting 100% for the new Nightmare mode content and loved it, very fun - highly recommend this if you’re into creepy/gory things and games like House Flipper or Powerwash Simulator.
RUSTY’S RETIREMENT
A cozy little idle game with Ghibli vibes and gardening, super cute!
Did you binge anything this month? Let me know everything!
