september: books read + books made.
it’s september! can we smell the fall yet?
working on it over here.
in the meantime, here come all of this month’s weekly reading book review videos: complete with title links to bookshop.org where you can learn more or collect a new favourite book while supporting the local indie bookshop of your choice!
wishing you all the so many happy colourful reads of almost-fall to you,
❤️xo,
*hallie :)
you can always shop my recs by category on my bookshop.org “affiliate: page, too! (trust me, all “proceeds” go right back into collecting more books to read and review for you. yay author support!) ;)
✨📖 weekly reading book review september 2025: episode one!! 📖✨
🚕 this week, i read:
🐉 A FORGERY OF FATE by elizabeth lim (ya fantasy romance perfectionnnnnnn!!!)
👻 AGGIE & THE GHOST by matthew forsythe (picture book perfection!!)
📚 made some progress in:
🧡 THE LIBRARY OF THE DEAD by t.l. huchu
📚 story highlight of the week/month/year/ever:
🎭 seeing TWELFTH NIGHT in central park!!!! (😭😭😭😭😭 more on that in today’s newsletter!!!! 📝)
📚 miiiiiight read next:
☂️ THE VILLAGE BEYOND THE MIST by sachiko kashiwaba (middle grade japanese fiction in translation that inspired SPIRITED AWAY!! 🥹🎬)
🦝 NIGHT CHEF: AN EPIC TALE OF FRIENDSHIP WITH A SIDE OF DELICIOUSNESS by mika song (middle grade graphic novel coming october 2025!! #randomhousekidspartner)
🦎 LIZARD BOY 2: THE MOST PERFECT SUMMER EVER by jonathan hill (middle grade graphic novel)
sequel to a fave: TALES OF A SEVENTH GRADE LIZARD BOY
🥀 THIS PLACE KILLS ME by mariko tamaki & nicole goux (ya graphic novel & shakespeare-adjacent!!)
👉🏽 make sure you’re on my newsletter list for 12N goodness, biiiig september happenings, & a v. colourful happy mail giveaway!! 🥰❤️🖍️🚙📝🥳📬🩵
also: crayon box DouBLE sticker mail this month to celebrate ALL the THINGs! ;D
with all my spectacled valentine glitter heart full of marshmallow goo & stories to tell & art to make,
💖xo,
*hallie 🤓
✨📖 weekly reading book review september 2025: episode two!! 📖✨
🎉 the books i read this week:
🌴 ORPHAN ISLAND by laurel snyder
🐱 CATWINGS by ursula k. leGuin
☂️ THE VILLAGE BEYOND THE MIST by sachiko kashiwaba
💛 ALCHEMY OF SECRETS by stephanie garber
my book of the month copy & $5 for your first book HERe!
📚 currently reading:
👑 QUEEN MACBETH by val mcDermid
🎁 reading next, among mannnyyyyy other road*trip things:
💜 NEVERMOOR: THE TRIALS OF MORRIGAN CROW by jessica townsend (yay club reading MG! & yes, i bought a paperback copy to mark up because there’s no way i’m putting margin notes in my signed first edition!! 🥰✨💜!!)
📺 & because i had a few evenings to myself this week, i also watched:
🎧 ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING season 4! (loved it!! it’s funny when celebrities playing celebrities are making fun of themselves & the whole movie*making hollywood process, right?! 😂😂)
💖xo,
*hallie 🤓
✨📖 weekly reading book review september 2025: episode three (apparently 🥰)!! 📖✨
☕️ this week i read:
👑 QUEEN MACBETH by val mcDermid (adult historical fiction)
🎭 HENRY VI PART 2 by wm. shakespeare
🌹 THIS PLACE KILLS ME by mariko tamaki & nicole goux (ya graphic novel)
📚 currently reading:
🩷 THE GRAMMAR OF FANTASY by gianni rodari, illustrated by matthew forsythe, translated from the italian by jack zipes (nonfiction writing/teaching/storytelling craft)
❤️🔥 BRING THE HOUSE DOWN by charlotte runcie (adult fiction)
💜 NEVERMOOR: THE TRIALS OF MORRIGAN CROW by jessica townsend (a fave middle grade re*read for book club!!)
📚 most likely to be reading next:
👻 THE LAST RESORT by erin entrada kelly (spooky *interactive!!* middle grade)
🐺 ENDLESSLY EVER AFTER by laurel snyder, illustrated by dan santat (choose your own adventure/ending picture book!!)
🖤 GRAVE FLOWERS by autumn krause (my signed & personalized indie bookstore pre*order of the month from mysterious galaxy!!)
🖤 & forgot to show in the video, but: HAUNTED U.S.A.: SPINE-TINGLING STORIES FROM ALL 50 STATES by heather alexander, illustrated by sam kalda
with a brain full o’ inspiration & veins full o’ coffee & piles of colourful art to be made,
💖xo,
*hallie 🤓
✨📖 weekly reading book review september 2025: episode four!! 📖✨
🌟 here’s what i finished reading this week:
💜 NEVERMOORE: THE TRIALS OF MORRIGAN CROW by jessica townsend (fave middle grade re*read for book club!!)
🎭 HENRY VI, PART 2 by wm shakespeare (oops-- finished this one last week!! but i did the quote for it this past week in my notebook...! 🙈 )
my fave quotes from this one: https://www.instagram.com/p/DO51TvJkRGy/
📰 BRING THE HOUSE DOWN by charlotte runcie (adult fiction at the edinburgh fringe fest!! 🙌🏽)
📚 about to finish:
👻 THE LAST RESORT by The erin entrada kelly (spooky, interactive middle grade!! 💜 )
📚 reading next from new author friends i met at highlights:
💙 WHERE YOU SEE YOURSELF by claire forrest (ya/new adult disability rep goes to 🎬 college!!)
❤️ MAYA PLAYS THE PART by calyssa erb (middle grade autism rep at drama camp!!)
📚 thennnnn i might read:
🫣 THE GHOST OF CRUTCHFIELD HALL by mary downing hahn (spooky middle grade; my used & 🖤ed copy from that's novel books in clt!)
🩵 THE REMARKABLE JOURNEY OF COYOTE SUNRISE by dan gemeinhart (middle grade contemporary)
💖 RAIDERS OF THE LOST HEART by jo segura (adult romcom enemies*to*lovers i picked up at the ripped bodice in bklyn!!)
what stories are you loving right now?!?
🥰📝🎧🎨🎭🎬🩰📺
to the library!
(yes, i know i have a problem… 😅💘)
💜xo,
*hallie 🤓
✨📖 weekly reading book review september 2025: episode five!! 📖✨
📚 here are the stories i gobbled up this week:
👻 THE LAST RESORT by erin entrada kelly (spooky mystery interactive middle grade!!)
❤️🔥 RAIDERS OF THE LOST HEART by jo segura (steamy adventure v. grownup romcom 🥰!!)
🩰 THE SECRET STARLING by judith eagle (mystery middle grade!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ )
(for some reason, this one wasn't on bookshop.org, so the title link above takes you to the listing on barnes & noble’s website, but her other books are available on bookshop.org & i want them all!) ;)
🎭 HENRY VI PART 3 by wm. shakespeare
(couldn’t find my folger library edition on bookshop.org, but that link is a cool cover & another reputabe edition for you.) ;)
👻 THE GHOST OF CRUTCHFIELD HALL by mary downing hahn (middle grade spooky for readers not ready for the literary lengths of daphne du maurier or the brontës yet)
🔎 listened to:
🎧 IN THE DARK (podcast) season 2: the curtis flowers case
watched:
📺 THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951 with katharine hepburn & humphrey bogart; more on last week’s what went wrong podcast episode!!)
imdb link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043265/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1
podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-went-wrong/id1512847066?i=1000727825891
💃🏽& the PROJECT RUNWAY season 21 finale on disney+…. 😑😑😑
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437741/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_project%2520runway
📚 currently reading:
💙 THE WAND KEEPERS: THE MUMMY SNATCHER CURSE by tiffany mcDaniel (out tomorrow!!!!!!! magical middle grade!! i looove itttt!!!)
📚 might read next:
👠 THE WIZARD OF OZ by l. frank baum (seriously: go check out jime wimmer's work!! 🤩✏️)
this isn't the edition i'm holding in the video, but many beautiful ones are available! https://bookshop.org/a/5254/9781936830930
🎭 HENRY VIII by wm. shakespeare
🧡 MS. BIXBY’S LAST DAY by john david anderson (recommended by rockstar authors for well-done classroom/crowded cast scenes & storytelling!!)
💛 BIRNAM WOOD by eleanor catton (eco-thriller retelling of the scottish play)
💜 THE DALLERGUT DREAM-MAKING DISTRICT by miye lee
💖 THE DARK COVE THEATRE SOCIETY by sierra marilyn riley (ya dark academia!! & theatre kids!!)
📺 & hope to watch julie taymor’s THE TEMPEST (2010)
gonna go get my hands dirty in the studio…
xo,
*hallie 🤓
well, i didn't read nearly as many books as i'd packed on all of this month's adventurings, BUT, i did find (& revisit) some new favourites!!
in no particular order (except for from top to bottom), here were my fave reads of the month:
❤️ THE SECRET STARLING, by judith eagle.
a middle grade mystery with pippi longstocking vibes (small spoiler: the neighbor kids bring a horse into the mansion; teehee) and a quest for parents after the surly guardian uncle goes on the lam.
🖤 THE GHOST OF CRUTCHFIELD HALL, by mary downing hahn
a spoooooky, atmospheric middle grade with clean, snappy prose that's sure to induce ghost (er, goose) bumps in the bravest of readers. a dead girl, an invalid brother, one nice and one not-nice guardian, an orphange and an estate that hasn't forgotten what happened a year ago.
💙 ORPHAN ISLAND, by laurel snyder
another middle grade which surprised the socks off of me. mostly because we were on an island with no grown*ups, but without resorting to lord-of-the-flies or the megalomaniacal nonsense of LOST. ;) i got to meet the author (!!) at the highlights foundation earlier this month, and i'm SUCH a fan of her approach to writing and how much she leaves up to the reader to imagine. a moving advenure of growing up even when we don't feel ready.
💜 NEVERMOOR: THE TRIALS OF MORRIGAN CROW, by jessica townsend
yes, it's middle grade. teehee. BUT, it's not new-to-me. i read it when it first came out (2017)... and have lost count of how many times i've read it and listened to the audiobook (and its sequels) since! this month i got my (grown*up) book club to read it with me: and THEY loved it, too! now i gotta re*read numbers 2 & 3 before i read no. 4 that just came out!! yay!!
(oh, it's quirky and adventurous and magical and the writing is sooooo stupid good. and i SO need to do a painting of FENESTRA, the giant magnificat who lives at the hotel deucalion...!)
❣️ BRING THE HOUSE DOWN, by charlotte runcie
hey mom, look! i read a grown*up book! this is adult fiction. i was lured in by the red and pink cover with a bomb on it, thinking it was a murder mystery at a theatre: alas, it was EVEN Better! it was two arts critics at the edinburgh fringe fest dealing with the aftermath of a very bad review and the repurcussions of cancel culture, insta-fame, the glories and downfalls of art and celebrity and criticism and creation and it was WONDERFuL.
❤️🔥 QUEEN MACBETH, by val mcDermid.
if you wanna know what might have REallY happened before Lady M was Lady M with blood on her hands-- you know, when she fell in love with macbeth before he was king... well, this is the closer-to-historic story of their romance and ascention to their thrones before the bard made up his (also excellent) story.
what stories did YOU love the most or discover this month??
🥰📚✏️🎭🩰👻🎧✨📺📖🎉🎨
looking forward to the pages ahead,
💖xo,
*hallie
as ever:
montly marker re*cap coming to my (always free!) substack newsletter this week here:
https://halthegalstoryart.substack.com
as ever, you can shop my recommended reading lists on my bookshop.org affiliate page, organized by genres or age recs here:
https://bookshop.org/shop/halthegal
you can also find these videos & other travel and artsy, bookish nonsense on my instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/halthegal_storyart/
and get more behind-the-scenes in the studio, publishing updates, and MonthLY STickER mail from me in the crayon box here!