September 2026 Breakdown: Lots of Graphic Novels and a Solo Adventure

Happiest of spooky season, friends!

Mornings have been getting that sweet, sweet crisp autumn chill, and I am very much looking forward to wearing my newly acquired cardigan with a hoodie that I got earlier this year. I’m not sure if I’ll leave it at work or bring it back and forth with me like a regular light jacket, but I guess I’ll find out in the next few weeks.

September has been fairly eventful, though, and I yap quite a bit (especially in The Breakdown section), so I’ll keep this intro fairly short. I also wrote this later than intended, oopsies. Sunday came around and I realized I had the decision to either sit down and finally get my ducks in a row or move it to next month. I also thought about turning the monthly wrap-ups into a quarterly one instead but considering this wrap-up is sitting at a very nice 2k, I might need to rethink that and keep it as more of an occasional thing than a regular one.

Book Hauls and Reading

I’d say I got nothing, but I got surprise book mail from Red Tower Books of Harbinger by Geneva Lee! It was probably meant to come earlier in the month or even last month (the book recently released) since it got forwarded from my old address; I think I’ll make it a goal in October to update my address with publishers and everything else I haven’t prioritized.

What I Read

As for reading, I got through a lot of graphic novels – we can safely say I was (and probably still am) very much in a graphic novel reading mood. I almost finished a book for every day; I was on a roll. There’s a couple of audiobooks as well; I’ve been trying to take more walks when it’s nicer out, so that’s been opening opportunities to pick them up again after nearly half a decade. I won’t get through a chunk of my Libro.fm ALCs that I’ve collected, but at least I’m making some progress.

• The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine, Vol. 8 by Grrr
• The Cursed Fate by Sam Prentice-Jones
• Camouflage: The Hidden Lives of Autistic Women by Sarah Bargiela – recently my therapist and I have been talking about neurodivergency so in typical book nerd form when I saw this graphic novel I decided to take a snoop at it.
• Spy x Family, Vol. 16 by Tatsuya Endo
• The Princess Diaries: the Graphic Novel by Meg Cabot – the art was adorable and it makes me want to watch the movies again (because I remember nothing) and then maybe read the books (I never read it). Super excited to read the sequel(s) if they decide to continue!
• W.I.T.C.H. Part III: A Crisis on Both Worlds, Vol. 2-3, W.I.T.C.H. Part IV: Trial of the Oracle, Vol. 1-3 and W.I.T.C.H. Part V: The Book of Elements, Vol. 1-2 by Elizabeth Gnone
• I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell by Mackenzie Reed
• Books, Iced Coffee & a Side of Dragons by Amanda Lovelace – I’m such a sucker for graphic novels featuring adorable dragons and this delivered. Also loved the sapphic romance.
• Matcha on Monday by Michiko Aoyama, translated by E. Madison Shimoda (audiobook) – another ALC from the backlist I got from Libro.fm! I think this is one of those I’d appreciate better if I read in book form rather than audiobook honestly.
• The Dream Thieves: the Graphic Novel adapted by Sas Milledge
• To Dance the Moon and Stars by Tasia M.S. and Barbara Perez Marquez – I first saw this last month when I was at a local indie bookstore and the title and cover caught my eye, so I decided to seek it out at my local library.
• Lovely Recipe by Myra Rose Nino – love the art and the story of friendship and budding romance was equally as adorable.
• The Library of Memories by Barbara Perez Marquez, illustrated by Lissy Marlin – I’m just realizing that I seem to be unintentionally going through Perez Marquez’s backlist…
• I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Conor
• Cat + Gamer, Vol. 8 by Wataru Nadatani, translated by Zack Davisson – Ahhhhhh this is the final book in Cat + Gamer which has quickly become one of my favorites when I discovered it last year. This was a beautiful conclusion to Riko’s story, and I’m so excited to read Cat + Crazy which is a new series from the same author.
• Dune: the Graphic Novel adapted by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (DNF) – I know graphic novels isn’t entirely representative of the actual book, but I ended up stopping mostly because I wasn’t a fan of the art but also the storyline just didn’t grab me. I also think there are some commentary the book version covers that just isn’t translating across entirely too well for me. I’ve not read the books, though.
• Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth: the Graphic Novel adapted by Colleen AF Venable, illustrated by Honie Beam
• Hollow Magic by Mars Lauderbaugh
• Magical Girl Dandelion, Vol. 1-2 by Kaeru Mizuho – I picked this up because I saw the title and love a good magical girl novel, and I think I’ve found my next manga obsession. I’m planning on reading the third book this month.
• Silenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan Genocide by Pablo Leon
• Land of the Lustrous, Vol. 1 by Haruko Ichikawa (DNF) – this might be my first manga DNF (at least that I can recall)? I usually push through those since they’re really quick to read but I honestly hated the art style in this one.

I watched several movies throughout September due to the continuation of hot weather! Plus I didn’t feel like playing games either throughout the month, though lately I feel like picking up my Steam Deck again. Maybe I’ll pick up a game sometime in October. Ask me about my possible latest hyperfixation next month (I’m actually looking at The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim which is currently on the Steam Autumn sale for a reallyyy nice price…).

I saw the latest Dracula early in the month – it wasn’t the worst thing ever, but it was pretty anticlimactic. Pretty early for spooky-related things, but I never was the type to save that for October only. I’ve already started using my Halloween-related washi tape in the middle of September simply because I can and no one will stop me.

Michael was really good and I enjoyed it a lot – choosing Michael Jackson’s nephew was honestly perfect and Jafaar Jackson did a fantastic job bringing his uncle to life. I also like that he went through the audition process much like everyone else did (according to some of his interviews); you can definitely tell he put a lot of work into it. The movie puts a heavier emphasis on his performances than his personal life, so if that’s what you were hoping, you’ll be disappointed. I didn’t really have a preference when I picked it up (I was mostly nosy), but I do love a good performance and that’s exactly what the movie had.

I started Project Hail Mary near the end of the month but took a few days to finish it, so it was technically October by then (it’s a 2.5 hour long movie and when I started I was sleepy). I haven’t read the book so I don’t know how it compares, but I did enjoy the movie (Rocky is my favorite). I wasn’t a fan of a scene about ⅔ through the movie where there’s like 5-10 minutes of intense flashing, though.

Music

I’ve been listening to some new music, but I haven’t really been keeping track too much outside of the Blackpink members releasing new solo music, which have been living rent-free in my head. new trick by ROSÉ has been living rent-free in my head the most along with Lisa’s SaWaDiKa, but I’m also really liking Jennie’s Fallen Angel from her EP and Click by Jisoo (low-key catchy).

Other Songs I’m Really Liking (you can find these and more under my Current Addictions/To Listen playlist that I try to keep updated regularly but sometimes fail to do so):

• Float by Taemin
• crow by i-dle
• Back to Life by KARD
• Control by The Rose
• Ice Cream by Yeonjun
• Teardrop by CLASSy
• EPIKISM by Epik High and Crush
• Patient Zero by Taylor Swift

The Breakdown

A breakdown of what the universe had in store for the month (or longer).

August ended with a crisp autumn air, and I was absolutely ready for September to be cool so I can finally finish tidying up my room from moving. Alas, half the month was hot and humid, and I may have given up a little since I stuffed a couple boxes into my closet.

On the plus side, they’re mostly photo albums of my dad’s family and maybe tiny versions of me (my mom just gave it to me years ago and I stuffed it into the back of the closet of my old apartment and frankly forgot about it) so it’s not like they’re random items. There might be a few other boxes of extra kitchen utensils that my mom gave me as well that I’ll hopefully get to pull out next year.

Birthday Month, Yippee

September completes my 28th trip around the sun! Last year I took a week off and I resorted to retail therapy to get through the week with my mom, and since then I’ve basically vowed to never take a week off for a staycation – I’d rather lose vacation days. I’m fortunate to work in an environment where my managers encourage taking time off, though, so with their support and everyone else around me (including my therapist), I’ve been slowly trying to find ways to take time for myself even if it’s under my usual work hours. I’ll probably still lose some days by the end of the year, but most were used for moving, so I probably don’t need to worry too much.

But I still wanted to take off for my birthday (I’d rather sleep in and play games but I also don’t want to deal with the conversation that makes me feel like I shouldn’t take off because my parents never got vacation days), so I decided to spend the hours I’d normally work to go on a full solo date. I’ve been thinking of doing that as a way to use my vacation time, so I figured this would be a good time to give it a try and see how I feel, and then maybeee do more in the future.

I started the day stopping by a local boba shop and tried out a strawberry matcha boba with strawberry popping boba (first tried mango popping boba at this same shop when I was out with a now ex-friend and absolutely loved it. The boba, of course.), then I drove up to an indie bookstore and explored the area for a couple hours. I got a handful of stickers, saw a phenomenally crafted chess set and chatted with the owner for a few minutes about it, and chatted with another shop owner about how cats are super awesome but so are dogs. I also got a tiny little dumpster fire figurine based off my favorite meme that I’ve yet to figure out where to put it.

It was unfortunately a hot day (the week before was cool and I was begging for the universe to give me a good day here but lo and behold the crisp autumn air was a tease), so after exploring the area for a bit, I went to a reciprocal library system and finally got a library card there before hanging out in one of my natural habitats until the evening reading some books I brought with me. I didn’t have plans to stay in the library as long as I did or I would’ve brought a charger, so as my phone got closer to inevitable death for the night I searched for a place (I tried Thai for the first time!) near my apartment that I wanted to try before heading back.

All in all, it was a tiring day and it felt really weird to go on a solo “date” considering the amount of time I spend alone in my head (I guess your mom living with you isn’t entirely alone), but I think I’ll make going on solo dates a regular thing.

Other Things in September

I mentioned in my last wrap-up my Cinnamoroll pen case was starting to peel (which I expected but it brings me so much joy so it was still devastating), so I’ve been on the hunt for a new case to replace it. Fortunately I got a case during TCMC’s June preorder event that I originally was going to use for my desk (it’s a standing one with a big happy face) but I decided to move my stuff over since I didn’t know if it would fit my tote bag.

Fun discovery that may or may not have been in the product description but clearly I forgot: there’s three slots in the liner that’s perfect for some of my fountain pens. I use it to keep my TWSBI Swipe, Platinum BISO, and Vanishing Point Decimo since they’re what I’m currently using. I also keep my FriXion eraser and pen so they don’t get lost with the other stuff – I need to go through and figure out which pens I’m no longer using much these days, but I think I’ll save that for when I start 2027 planners.

Speaking of 2027 planners, I preordered my planner for next year! I’ll get into the details in a separate upcoming post currently cooking in the drafts, but I went with a different one this year rather than Sterling Ink. I also managed to get some stuff from the Hello Kitty x Hobonichi collaboration – it was expensive (😭) since it was a Japan exclusive and I had to go through a third party, but she was absolutely worth it.

I also caved and got a Traveler’s Notebook! I’ve always been interested in the modular format of the TN but I’m not sure if I would be a fan of the narrow width of it. SumLilThings released some really cute designs (my other issue is the design of TNs and the stains the leather would potentially leave) when they went to Yoseka Stationery Fest, so I was looking forward to this release. I was thinking about how my 2026 setups could be better modified for 2027 so there’s hopefully less abandoning, so a TN has been circling around in my head for a little bit.

And if not, I’m currently using one of the inserts for solo adventures. When I first got it I wasn’t sure how I wanted the setup to look like, but during my outing on my birthday, I saw sticker versions of some of the shops I went to so I figured it would be a good opportunity to not only use one of the inserts but also to encourage me to go on more solo dates. I also included a sticker from a local art fair a friend and I went to during a weekend – it was way too hot to be walking 2 blocks, but we saw a lot of really cool art in various mediums from artists from all over the country. Despite my TN insert saying “Solo Adventures” I think I’ll probably include the occasional adventures I go with friends.

I’ve been spending some time over the past few weeks decorating it with a couple of stickers on the inside pockets (the outside is perfect as is), a charm I got from SumLilThings with the TN, and a Kuromi charm I swiped from a bag I leave at work (originally it was a TCMC one but it kept getting flipped the wrong way and I got tired of it). A friend gave me a very cursed My Melody charm for my birthday* (she gives me a lot of joy though), so Kuromi now has a buddy. Kuromi is not cursed, but I’m sure there’s a cursed version somewhere.

*I got a little boba plush, too! Now the big one in my room has a little companion, hehe. I also got a cute ghost mug (among other things) that I left at her place (not left there) since I very much have a record of forgetting my water bottle at home (and everywhere). May she always be haunted by me – she’ll never get away from me now. 😈

Let’s talk!

Tell me how September was for you! Do you go on solo dates, or do you prefer hanging out in groups? If you use a Traveler’s Notebook, how do you use it (unless you’re Sumedha, who I very much blame for putting TNs onto my radar again with her Traveler’s Notebook Setup post)?