“It was isolation that would break us. We couldn’t let it happen.”
Noted Media 006: What stood out in September, 2025 across books, screens, sounds, and scrolls. Title quote from 'The Eye of the Bedlam Bride (Dungeon Crawler Carl #6) by Matt Dinniman
Welcome to Noted Nonsense
Perfectly imperfect notes from the pages of my well-loved notebook. Field notes from a curious mind. Thoughts with no plan. Stories with no rules.
Hello friends!
Are you serious, October already?!
I’ve officially hit my fall media practices in which I try to maximize my time outdoors which means my reading and media exploration slows. Last month was a bit of an exception for this year, with seven books read in August. September slowed down considerably, though I did manage to watch a full, eight episode season, of a show I’ve been meaning to get to. That and a little football, but all this watching combined with extra time outdoors has me back to a slower pace with the books I’m exploring. Though I DID finish (for now) another book series as well so that is exciting!
How was your September? Read, watch, or listen to anything good?
Here was my September in media.
📚Last Month In Books
The Butcher’s Masquerade (Dungeon Crawler Carl #5) by Matt Dinniman
The longest in the series yet also brought the intrigue and emotional aspects up a few notches. There’s a lot more at play than Carl (and we) have been led to believe and things are starting to get much larger in scope and much more emotionally impactful. No spoilers but that dagger twist at the end was brutal in what it implies moving forward.
“This was also something that trauma could do. It could make you blind, and it could open your eyes wider than they’d ever been, all at the same time.”
― Matt Dinniman, The Butcher's Masquerade
The Eye of the Bedlam Bride (Dungeon Crawler Carl #6) by Matt Dinniman
Things are expanding and I don’t want to say too much out of respect for potential spoilers. We still get all the same humor, action, and mayhem of the dungeon but we also really see things begin to crack open in the “there’s a ton of stuff going on outside of the dungeon that might be even crazier” kind of way. The entire floor of the dungeon in this book focuses on the gaming convention of card games, a la Magic the Gathering or Yu-Gi-Oh, which adds an extra element of mayhem.
“But all I could think about was that lonely dog, left alone to guard an empty gas station on Christmas day.”
― Matt Dinniman, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
This Inevitable Ruin (Dungeon Crawler Carl #7) by Matt Dinniman
That’s a wrap on Carl… for now. Book seven marks the final book that is currently out in this series. Book eight is looking to be a 2026 release, while the author has slated a 10 book target for the whole series. For now, I need a rest…much like Carl and company. Book seven really reminded me in many ways of ‘A Memory of Light’ (Wheel of Time #14) by Robert Jordan. Not in story similarity in any way, shape, or form, but in the way that the entire book was essentially one huge chaotic battle basically from cover to cover. It was very enjoyable, but a little exhausting as well. This book continues to push into bigger and more outlandish territory, to the point it teeters on the edge of being too much, but it’s still a lot of fun and I think the stage is being set for an absolutely brutal gut-punch moment or two in which we start to lose favorite characters as a rapid pace.
“The Inevitable Ruin. That’s what their queen used to call this moment. The moment you realized there was no hope, nothing left to do, and all that was left was to die and reflect upon what you’ve already done while you waited. To ruminate on how you’ve helped the colony, and to beg forgiveness of God for not sacrificing enough.”
― Matt Dinniman, This Inevitable Ruin
📺Last Month On The Screen
I finally have something here to share and it’s very bittersweet.
While waiting for the season to wrap so I could binge it the news came out shortly after it ended sometime letting fans know that the show was cancelled by Amazon, so I was dragging my feet getting around to watching it because I knew they planned eight seasons and this was just the end of season three.
But September was time and I hit play on season three of The Wheel of Time. Within the first five minutes I could tell I was in store for a hell of a fun season. As I mentioned before, there are certainly a LOT of changes from the books, but there are also so many pitch perfect references to specific moments in the books and overall the season was incredibly enjoyable. This was easily the best season of this show yet, and then Amazon pulls the plug. Clearly they were planning on the show continuing, given how season three ended, but now none of us will see where they were going to take it. As a long-time fan of the book series, having read and re-read it many times over the years, I am so crushed that we won’t get to see where and how they were going to take things, especially as there are some pretty pivotal scenes in the books yet to come that the series hadn’t even been close to yet. Scenes and entire storylines that now would HAVE to be different due to events that unfolded this season that changed from the books.
Ah well…
At least networks can stay loyal to churning out season after season of stellar reality tv *insert heavy sarcasm here*…
Maybe someday another network will pick this one up or a new version can be done… though I doubt it. It was certainly a joy to watch what little we got though.
🎸 Last Month In Music
I’ve been a bit unsettled in music this month. My usual comfort zone music just wasn’t scratching that itch. I searched and experimented with trying to find something new that would catch my ear, but nothing seems to have stuck. I found myself listening to a playlist of music most often that was decent, but didn’t blow me away. Kind of the perfect backdrop to cruising backroads with a camera and just thinking, with the music down low just to provide a little white noise outside of car sounds.
I do enjoy the kind of spooky/Halloween feel of ‘Meet Me in the Woods’ by Lord Huron, as you can get an idea of from these lyrics:
I took a little journey to the unknown
And I come back changed, I can feel it in my bones
I fucked with forces that our eyes can’t see
Now the darkness got a hold on me
But most of this playlist falls into that category where the music is enjoyable enough, but other than a couple artists like Mumford & Sons and a few others I really couldn’t tell you the name of any single song or artist as they roam through my ears.
🎤 What About You?
What are you reading/watching?
Any favorite lines or quotes, even scenes that have stood out to you?
Have you seen anything on the horizon, be it a book coming out soon or a trailer/preview that you’re excited to check out once it is released?
What music has been on repeat for you?
If you enjoy my letters to you each week, please don’t hesitate to share it with friends you think might also enjoy them! I know it’s tempting to keep it a secret because you love it so much, but I promise it’s ok to let others in on the secret!
📰Last Month On Substack
September was quite a month. We saw a lot of folks suddenly taking a look at the world, at life, and trying to figure out just what the heck was going on. I found that in some strange way many of my favorite writers here on Substack seemed to be sharing articles that were all finding me at just the right moment when I was still trying to work out of a state of distracted hopelessness.
Here are a handful of letters from other writers I enjoyed this month, check out their writing and let me know if any of these letters hit home for you! It’s a mix of personal introspection, advice, research, and a little look at art thrown in to round out the mix. Because there are so many more great letters than I can share here once a month, I’m thinking about adding in just one or two favorite substack reads with each of my weekly letters to you instead of one giant list once a month? What do you think of that? In fact, I’m wondering if maybe this once a month letter of just a ‘media roundup’ might not be better integrated into my regular weekly letters? Thoughts? I’m still on the fence with that, but we’ll see. For now enjoy some favorites from last month on Substack!
Introverts, Read This When You Feel Like You’re Failing at Life by
ofFear Not by
of- and of
The Red Leaves of the Fall... and Sometimes I don’t know, and that’s ok. by
of (Yes its a two for one, but c’mon — you need to just get subscribed to The Lawson Atlas because it is one of my favorite reads every month)- of
Listeners Can’t Remember the Names of Their Favorite Songs and Artists and Subscription Prices Gone Wild! by
of (Yes another two for one, but both were super interesting reads worth your time)You Must Recognize Your Victory Now by
of- of
I still can’t figure out how October is upon us already, which is much the same as my plans for reading/watching/listening as my favorite season of the year unfolds. Truth be told, for the next couple months I don’t have high expectations or strict plans because every minute I can I plan to spend it outside enjoying my favorite time of year.
I had started Peter Beagle’s ‘The Last Unicorn’ in September. In fact I am over 2/3rds through it and made it that far in on my first sitting with it. It was good. Real good. But then I got busy and side tracked and when I went to pick it up again here at the end of September I realized I probably need to start it over, at least so I can glance through it enough to remember what exactly was happening up to that point. So I’m going to finish up(read again?) The Last Unicorn.
Past that… I guess we’ll see.
My only plan, my only hope, for both you and I stands from last month. A hope of enjoying an amazing fall full of family, friends, good books, great food, relaxation, and as much time in nature as you can squeeze in!
Most importantly — keep scribbling!
Dave
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Thank you for the mention. Appreciate it.