Happy Sunday in mid-September! This week I’m sharing all about Library Card Sign-Up Month, a TJR book review, memoirs on audio, a rec from my husband, and in case you missed it, continuing the celebration from last week of hitting 100 posts on East Bay Bookshelf! (You can access them all right here.)
September is Library Card Sign-Up Month!
I’ve moved around a lot in my adult life and one of the first things I do in each new city is check out the local library and sign up for a library card! This month I’m celebrating all the ways that having a library card improves my life and the communities I’ve lived in.
E-books and audiobooks. I use the Libby app almost every single day to download books from my local library. My husband has read 24 audiobooks in 2025 and 95% of them are from Libby too!
Physical books. If I’m in need of some retail therapy, my first stop is always the library. It’s like shopping, but free.
Desktop computers for kids. We do so much on our phones and laptops, so my son gets his “desktop computer practice” with a regular keyboard and mouse at our local library.
Children’s events. Movie nights, Lego afternoons, and themed parties are great to get kids out of the house for no or low-cost.
Book clubs. Many book clubs require you to purchase the book at the local bookstore, but library book clubs usually have enough free copies for all participants!
Printing services. I’m a millennial and so our home printer is usually broken or the ink is dried up. Embarrassing, but true. In a pinch, I’ve used my local library to print documents!
Study rooms. I work from home, so if I need a change of scenery or the power goes out, I head to a library. There are not many places in society where you can just “be” for free.
Literacy tutoring. Many libraries have community events and volunteer opportunities posted. I signed up to be a literacy tutor and met with my student each week at the library.
There are many other services that I haven’t even utilized, so get a library card and check them out for yourself!
Book Review: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Last Saturday night, I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I received the hardcover for my birthday from a friend earlier this summer, and to get the full experience, I requested the audiobook via Libby as soon as I could.
Atmosphere is set in Houston, Texas in the 1980s and the main character, Joan Goodwin, is a professor at Rice University. She learns that NASA is looking for female astronauts, so she applies. We follow her journey over the next four years as she navigates relationships and training at Johnson Space Center. The book has a dual point of view; Julia Whelan and Kristen DiMercurio are excellent narrators! The story is so layered – it’s about women in a male-dominated field, toxic family relationships, and risking it all to be with your soulmate.
My review: In full transparency, it’s books like this that make me question all my other 5-star ratings for other books. I feel like I should give this book 6 stars; it’s definitely one of the best books I’ve ever read!
Memoirs on Audio
One of my favorite podcasts, Happier in Hollywood, is hosted by a female writing duo in Hollywood. I love their take on life in Southern California and learning about the similarities and differences between my career and those of TV writers. They recently published a list of great audiobook memoirs on Substack. I’ve read a few and many others are on my TBR!
He Recommends
It’s very rare that my husband and I read the same type of books because we have very different preferences. However, the other day we watched the movie, The Thursday Murder Club on Netflix, and after that he told me that I would probably like How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin. He said the two have very similar elements and he promised me it is not a thriller.
“Debut novelist Kristen Perrin has done the impossible in delivering readers a quintessential English murder mystery with a fresh, unconventional approach. Idyllic country village? Check. Amateur sleuth? Check. But a fortune teller’s grim prediction coming true sixty years later? Now that makes for an enthralling tale. There’s no shortage of entertaining, well-rounded characters in this charming and multilayered whodunit, a perfect shelf companion alongside reader favorites like Agatha Christie, Richard Osman, and Nita Prose.”—Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary
ICYMI: Celebrating 100 Posts 🎉
I celebrated 100 posts on East Bay Bookshelf last week by reflecting on my Top 10 most visited posts and pages. I was so pleased with the page that has been visited the most!
I put the finishing touches on this post today during my son’s basketball warm-ups, and now that the game is over, we are off to get ready for a week of work and hosting family! Hopefully I can squeeze in some book time, too. Check out my current read. (I also noticed, How to Read a Book and The Henna Artist e-books are on sale right now!)
Questions for the week:
- How have libraries improved your life and community?
- What’s your favorite memoir on audio?
- What are you reading right now? Any dark academia or cozy mystery recommendations?
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