The BFR Round Up – September 2020

Back to school and work! It’s been SO good to have more of a routine this month. It doesn’t feel completely established yet, but we’re some of the way there.

Although lockdown measures have tightened here, we’ve taken the chance to visit a few bookish places just in case it gets worse. We don’t really mind being at home, but it’s nice to see the world and support literary tourism, especially as some of the places we’ve been to like the Brontë Parsonage Museum are struggling financially right now.

September has been a great month for the blog and views have more than tripled since we revived it in mid-May. Setting a few blogging goals seems to have worked! It has also been fun to launch the new Interview with a Bookstagrammer series and we’re excited to continue this in October. But first, here’s the rundown for September.

Mel

Despite my best intentions, I didn’t read quite as much as I’d hoped – probably because I was focusing more on this blog and bookstagram. Saying that, the books that I did read were good ones! My newfound appreciation of audiobooks continues and I wrote about how I got into listening to audiobooks after getting tips from friends.

Books Read

• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo AUDIO (4.25/5)
• A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicolls (4.5/5)
• Help The Witch by Tom Cox (4/5)
• Sky Pirates by Alex English (4.25/5)

Al

Two vintage classics for Al in September and he gave them top ratings. I shared our top 10 scariest reads for Halloween this month and The Collector very nearly made the cut. If you haven’t read it, it’s about abduction and stockholm syndrome – John Fowles’ debut and possibly his best.

Books Read

• The Collector by John Fowles (5/5)
• The Pride of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (4.5/5)

Little M

M has been reading several slim school books a week as well as picks from her own library. She was very excited to find out that Mirabelle now has her own stories in the Isadora Moon series – she prefers the rebellious streak!

Books Read

• Mirabelle Gets Up To Mischief (Isadora Moon) by Harriet Muncaster (4.25/5)
• What’s for Dinner, Mr Gum? by Andy Stanton (again!) 4.25/5)
• Mythopedia by Good Wives and Warriors (4.75/5)

Movies and TV

I couldn’t really get into TV this month, but watched a few films. The top family choice was Enola Holmes, which everyone loved. We hope there’ll be a sequel. Al and I also enjoyed War for the Planet of the Apes. We also highly rated Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – a tough movie to see but incredibly well-acted.

Family Days Out

It was a fantastic month for literary days out. Early in September, we spent a few hours in the grounds of Lord Byron’s ancestral home, Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire. We had planned to tour the house, but the weather was so good (and there was a vintage fair for Little M) that we didn’t make it this time. I’m kind of glad about that though because it means we have a reason to go back.

The other big adventure was a day trip to Haworth, the home of the Brontë Sisters – a pilgrimage that all book lovers should do once in their lifetime. Again, this is a place we’d like to return to and walk the local moors.

October is always a special month for us as we immerse ourselves in autumn colour and spooky tales. Obviously we want to read tons of books, but reality often gets in the way so let’s see which ones manage to escape the TBR pile!

Wishing you all a beautifully eerie and exceptional month.

Mel, Al & Little M

xxx