Hi, y'all. So, September was not a stellar reading month for me, or at least not in terms of the number of books I completed. Part of this is due to my having simultaneously started reading LOTS of books in the second half of the month, all of which I'm still working on. But part of it because I watched a lot of excellent television. God bless Netflix, where I've been introduced to the various joys of
Call the Midwife,
True Detective,
Lark Rise to Candleford, and Lena Dunham's
Girls. All wildly different, but all well done. Also,
In chronological order, here's what I read:
1.
Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. This is the only book that I read
and reviewed in September and I wasn't crazy about it. Though I'm glad I was able to get another book in translation under my belt for the year.
2.
Descent by Tim Johnston. Debut novel, literary thriller. Girl gets abducted one morning when out for a run in the woods. The book then gives us the perspectives of her family, her abductor, and even the girl herself in alternating chapters. Really well done and I hope to get around to reviewing it. Soon. Ish.
3.
The Secret Wisdom of the Earth by Christopher Scotton. This one's getting LOTS of pre-pub buzz among booksellers, but the more I think about it, the more "meh" I feel about it. Not sure if I'll review this one or not.
4.
The First Bad Man by Miranda July. I have
no idea what to make of this book. It's funny and weird and disturbing in pretty equal measure. I reckon I ought to review it, with a tagline like that.
5.
Yes Please by Amy Poehler. The long-awaited memoir/humor book from a favorite comedian. I liked it, but it really should have had a stronger editorial hand behind it. I won't review this one, as there will be plenty of others out there singing its praises.
6.
To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris. Oh, wow, I really thought this book was terrific, though my opinion did vacillate a bit over the duration. This was probably my biggest surprise of the month, as I'd spoken to a couple of other readers who really panned it. Because of that, I never would have picked it up to read, but then it made the short list for the Booker prize this year, and then I needed to acquire a new audio book for a road trip, and, well, it just happened. I hope to review it soon.
So, not entirely shabby but not impressive either. I'm having a great time with all 5 of my current reads right now, so I hope October will be good.
What about y'all? What books surprised or delighted or disappointed you in September?
I am sad about the non-stellar thoughts for Poehler's book. Whomp. I'll still read it though. The Descent also sounds good. Can't wait to see that review when you get around to it. I WILL WAIT
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to Poehler's book, but I reckon I'll wait for the audio. Audio always makes up for a lack of direction or focus or whatever when it comes to personal/humour books. Or at least that's what I've found.
ReplyDeleteLike Kayleigh, I've also been thinking about Poehler's book on audio... comedy memoirs are just so much better on audio I think. (Mindy Kaling, OMG).
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by the Joshua Ferris book... though I may be getting him confused with another author that I've heard mixed reviews on lately.