What did you read in September?

[Vespasia]

Any favorites or disappointments? If you have a reading goal for the year, are you on track?

[travella]

5*

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum (the best book I have read so far this year!  I couldn't really relate to the MC in the beginning, but my heart hurt for her by the end.)

4*

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh (Khawf didn't work for me in the story and I would have liked more depth to the characters, but overall it was a really good book).

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger (entertaining from start to finish)

The Phantom Tollbooth by Juster Norton (An odd but clever book)

The Last Flight by Julie Clark (entertaining from start to finish)

3*

The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Barnes (I just couldn't get into this book like the others)

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff (I'm not usually one for dark comedies, but this one had times where it was really interesting and others where it dragged).

2*

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim (I didn't like the MC at all and I didn't care for the distracting footnotes, it was a big disappointment after loving Miracle Creek)

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff (Grim, Bleak, absolutely no hope, dull and drags on and on)

1*/DNF

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

I always set my goal at 45 books for a year.  I am at 75 so far this year.

[Vespasia]

Full length books:
The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd Jones - 4*

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher - 4*

Starter Villain by John Scalzi - 5* (definitely my favorite)

Reign (American Royals #3) by Katherine McGee - 4* (a satisfying conclusion to the series)

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (took me a bit to get to into it but it was fun)


Kindle Shorts:
Slot Machine Fever Dream by Chris Bohjalian - 2*

The Prince and the Troll by Rainbow Rowell - 4*

Plus several others I couldn't finish despite how short they were



I'm at 55 out of 52 books for the year. I usually increase my goal when this happens but not sure that I will bother. 

[charlatti]

The Last One by Will Dean 1* ooh, I hated this book. Grr. Poorly written, ridiculous plot.
Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson 2* I don’t normally force myself to finish books. This is why. It took me forever to get through and I never connected with any of the characters.
The Woman in the Castello by Kelsey James 2* started well, turned silly and predictable

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum 3* Great writing, but I could never really feel for the main character
The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly 3* not his best
Inside the Wolf by Amy Rowland 4* I have no idea what I liked about this, because I barely remember what it was about.
Falling by T.J. Newman 4* like an action movie in book form
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins 4* had very low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. Still mostly fluff, but more to it than I expected

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab — 4-4.5* on a reread. This is just the sort of story I tend to enjoy.
Working on a Song — Anais Mitchell explaining the lyrics and development of Hadestown 5* because I’m in love with the musical. Non-fans would probably not be as thrilled.

[estrellita]

Kingdom of Ash (Last Throne of Glass book) 4* - finished out the series and looked it, but a few details didn't seem realistic (in a fantasy world, lol)

Fourth Wing 4* - good, I get the hype. But the main character annoyed me for a while.

The Song of Achilles 4* - Love the story, didn't like a few details but overall good.

Seems to be a theme this month lol

[Vespasia]

charlatti , I agree that Shrines of Gaiety was very disappointing. I like the author and the plot sounded really promising but it was so boring!

[charlatti]

Oct 3, 2023 14:02:15 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

charlatti , I agree that Shrines of Gaiety was very disappointing. I like the author and the plot sounded really promising but it was so boring!

I’ve really enjoyed most of her other books, which is part of why I made myself finish. They often seem a little meander-y at the start, but this one just never resolved well enough.

[msmerymac]

Oct 3, 2023 14:02:15 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

charlatti , I agree that Shrines of Gaiety was very disappointing. I like the author and the plot sounded really promising but it was so boring!

I find her books to be a little slow, but quite good, so that is disappointing to hear!

[msmerymac]

By the end of September, I was at 35 books out of 30 for the year! (First full year with a baby, so I wasn't really sure what my goal should be).

What I finished in September:

Mrs Harris Goes to New York by Paul Gallico ***
Paris: the Memoir (audio) by Paris Hilton ****
The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin ****
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley ***
Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett ***

The last one is the first in the Bookshop Mysteries cozy mystery series that was recommended by a friend. I've also been (slowly) reading the Cleo Coyle coffee shop cozy mysteries, which are always a nice little break. In fact, I started Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow after Murder is Binding and had a hard time getting back into regular fiction after a cozy mystery!

[dearprudence]

My favorite was My Husband and I can't wait for the bookclub discussion!

5*
My Husband

4*
Killers of a Certain Age
Sitting Pretty
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone
What Moves the Dead

3*
The Housekeepers

[tacokick]

I have read like 260 books this year so far so it’s been a prolific year. That’s a lot even for me!

I read like 35 books in September?? Maybe a couple more?

Standouts:

A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand

What We Kept to Ourselves by Nancy Jooyoun Kim (little convoluted)

The Guests by Margot Hunt

Piglet by Lottie Hazell

She Taught Me Everything by Amy Smith Linton

Creep: Accusations and Confessions by Myriam Gurba

A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy by Kathy Kleiner Rubin with Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi


And almost all of the Ann Cleeves Vera books. They are so fatphobic it’s almost a morbid game to see how they refer to Vera next. But the mysteries are fun. I don’t understand why she writes like that.

[Vespasia]

Oct 5, 2023 20:09:04 GMT -5 tacokick said:

And almost all of the Ann Cleeves Vera books. They are so fatphobic it’s almost a morbid game to see how they refer to Vera next. But the mysteries are fun. I don’t understand why she writes like that.

I tried to read the Ruth Galloway mystery series a while back and had the same issue. It was horrifying, the mc referred to her weight at least 3 times per chapter in the first few chapters before I gave up. Screw that nonsense.

[tacokick]

Oct 5, 2023 20:51:07 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Oct 5, 2023 20:09:04 GMT -5 tacokick said:

And almost all of the Ann Cleeves Vera books. They are so fatphobic it’s almost a morbid game to see how they refer to Vera next. But the mysteries are fun. I don’t understand why she writes like that.

I tried to read the Ruth Galloway mystery series a while back and had the same issue. It was horrifying, the mc referred to her weight at least 3 times per chapter in the first few chapters before I gave up. Screw that nonsense.

I tried those too and stopped. That was painful.

The Vera books are a little sneakier with it because it’s the other characters that mention it/think about her weight but really, every single person in every single case thinks of her as the “fat detective” even after spending a lot of time with her and regardless of character.

I’m supposed to believe that some writer/college prof can’t remember the name of the detective they’ve met 5-10 times and who is trying to solve the murder of their friend?? And they can’t think of words like “your boss” or the “other detective” or even the “woman detective” to refer to her?

Like the Elly Griffith books, I’ve read most of another series of her books and they weren’t like that.

[mrspez07]

Slow month for me:

Visual:
2* The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey (I really liked Magic for Liars, this one seemed weird just for the sake of weird and didn’t have much substance to it)
3* One Two Three by Laurie Frankel

Audio:
5* Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H Balson

[CrazyLucky]

I read
The Radium Girls - 4* It could get a little bogged down with the huge cast of characters, but it was so interesting/maddening to me.
The Bright Hour - 3* This is by a young mother who is dying of cancer. When she was talking about her story, it was really interesting and touching. But she spent a lot of time talking about poetry and philosophy, and those parts really dragged for me.
Somebody's Daughter - 3* not really well written.
The Fix - 4* - I like the Amos Decker series
Leslie F*cking Jones - 1* I hated this book. I think Leslie Jones is funny, but she is not a good writer. This book is not that funny either.