The September Archive

September days have the warmth of summer in their briefer hours, but in their lengthening evenings a prophetic breath of autumn. (Rowland Robinson)

some recommendations based on what i’ve been reading, watching and using in the month of september.

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to read —

The Bird’s Nest by Shirley Jackson. (1954)

a quote that stuck with me: I was thinking what it must feel like to be a prisoner going to die; you stand there looking at the sun and the sky and the grass and the trees, and because it's the last time you're going to see them they're wonderful, full of colors you never noticed before, and bright and beautiful and terribly hard to leave behind. And then, suppose you're reprieved, and you get up the next morning and you're not dead; could you look again at the sun and the trees and the sky and think they're the same old sun and sky and trees, nothing special at all, just the same old things you've seen every day? Not changed at all, just because you don't have to give them up?

Elizabeth Richmond is almost too quiet to be believed, with no friends, no parents, and a job that leaves her strangely unnoticed. But soon she starts to behave in ways she can neither control nor understand, to the increasing horror of her doctor, and the humiliation of her self-centred aunt. As a tormented Elizabeth becomes two people, then three, then four, each wilder and more wicked than the last, a battle of wills threatens to destroy the girl and all who surround her. The Bird's Nest is a macabre journey into who we are, and how close we sometimes come to the brink of madness.

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Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. (1938)

a quote that stuck with me: Moonlight can play odd tricks upon the fancy, even upon a dreamer's fancy. As I stood there, hushed and still, I could swear that the house was not an empty shell but lived and breathed as it had lived before.

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." So the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter remembered the chilling events that led her down the turning drive past the beeches, white and naked, to the isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast. With a husband she barely knew, the young bride arrived at this immense estate, only to be inexorably drawn into the life of the first Mrs. de Winter, the beautiful Rebecca, dead but never forgotten...her suite of rooms never touched, her clothes ready to be worn, her servant -- the sinister Mrs. Danvers -- still loyal. And as an eerie presentiment of the evil tightened around her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter began her search for the real fate of Rebecca...for the secrets of Manderley.

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(articles corner)

I Tried The Writing Routines Of Famous Writers Like Joan Didion & Virginia Woolf by Blythe Roberson.

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to watch —

Gloria! directed by Margherita Vicario. (2024)

a quote that stuck with me: Questo corpo che mi vuole bene / Anche se cade non succede niente / È una promessa che faccio a me stessa: Io mi riprendo quello che mi hai portato via

It is late 18th century in Venice, and in a convent school for girls Teresa, a girl with prophetic gifts, joins forces with some amazing music-makers. They create a new kind of music that is pop, bright and bold, and challenge the ancient and rigid system.

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Pamela, A Love Story directed by Ryan White. (2023)

a quote that stuck with me: You know what? For once in my life… just be in love with myself. Have a love affair with myself.

In her own words, through personal video and diaries, Pamela Anderson shares the story of her rise to fame, rocky romances and infamous sex tape scandal.

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to use —

— Round Lab Sunscreen (for a sunscreen that will not break you out)

— Clinique Black Honey (for a legendary lip balm)

— Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (for a calm fall evening)

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see you next month! remember that in addition to my free Monthly Archives, you can read my other two publications:

• The Seasonal Archive, where I write about my favorite books, movies, and all things seasonal (I’m currently working on the autumn one!), and

• Into The Archivist’s Mind, where I review all the books I’ve read during the month, including ratings, favorite quotes, and whether I would recommend them or not.

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