October means...Halloween. It's still summer-like warm here in New York, so it feels odd to be thinking pumpkins. The other day my younger son started talking about his Halloween costume. He wants to be a ghost. Seriously. Last year he wanted to be a ghost, but I refused to let him cut eyes in a really big sheet that I had. Instead I made it into a toga. He still wants to be a ghost, so he suggested we just buy a cheap white sheet. I think this might be a good idea. One year my older son went trick or treating dressed as Harry Potter. At the school Halloween Parade there were lots of Harry Potters. I happen to think he was the BEST Harry Potter, but I am his mom! If any books or book characters have ever inspired your Halloween costume, be sure to tell us about it in this month’s poll and question.

October means...Halloween. It's still summer-like warm here in New York, so it feels odd to be thinking pumpkins. The other day my younger son started talking about his Halloween costume. He wants to be a ghost. Seriously. Last year he wanted to be a ghost, but I refused to let him cut eyes in a really big sheet that I had. Instead I made it into a toga. He still wants to be a ghost, so he suggested we just buy a cheap white sheet. I think this might be a good idea. One year my older son went trick or treating dressed as Harry Potter. At the school Halloween Parade there were lots of Harry Potters. I happen to think he was the BEST Harry Potter, but I am his mom! If any books or book characters have ever inspired your child’s Halloween costume, they can tell us about it in this month’s poll and question.

There are some months where news that we think is of interest to book clubs keeps coming and coming. Reacting to this, I delay sending the newsletter time and again as "one more item of note" keeps coming our way! This was one of those months.

Interesting week as I was on call for jury duty in New Jersey. My number finally came up on Wednesday, and I walked into the courthouse waiting for the "bomp bomp" sound that I hear on "Law & Order." The jury waiting room was crowded with potential jurors, most of whom were reading. I was thinking of handing out my business cards with all of our URLs on them, but froze in my chair when a police officer walked by. My overactive imagination had me writing a plot of getting arrested at jury duty for soliciting.

September is a great month. Sure, we know that back to school = lots of work, but it also means getting to see all your friends and picking up the clubs and sports you missed over the summer. The weather --- at least in New York --- is still warm, so afternoons and weekends still can be spent outside. Everything feels fresh and new, a theme that many of the books featured this month on Teenreads.com have picked up on in a big way.