Best Books of September
As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she reads that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better at doing this.
So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.
These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from September.
Could Should Might Don’t: How We Think About the Future (Nick Foster): I read this because I wanted to become more comfortable with thoughts about the future, and the book ultimately achieves that, giving you ways of seeing though messaging and balancing your thoughts. I admittedly skimmed sometimes, but would highly recommend to anyone who thinks a lot about the future. I’ve been talking about it a lot the past month.
The Subtle Knife (Philip Pullman): Part of my re-read of His Dark Materials before the release of the final book at the end of October. No matter how many times I read it, it is just as beautiful and thought-provoking as the first time. I love being with Lyra and Will.
Displeasure Island (Alice Bell): Solid follow-up to last year’s Grave Expectations. The characters are still great. It was a light-hearted read during a time when I needed a light-hearted read.
The Killer Question (Janice Hallett): Janice Hallett is a treasure. Every book is brilliant. Even if you guess something, I guarantee that you will not guess everything. She has trick after trick after trick, and makes you laugh over and over again. Thank you for such an enjoyable experience.
The Wasp Trap (Mark Edwards): I’m so happy that I finally got to read a Mark Edwards book – they are hard to get in the U.S. – and it was a solid thriller. Good characters, great pacing, interesting situation. Well done.
The Amber Spyglass (Philip Pullman): As much as I’m disappointed that the ending doesn’t change with the re-read, it is the only ending that makes sense. It breaks your heart. But life does. Luckily, I still have two novellas and a novel left in my re-read of His Dark Materials before the final book is released.
What did you read last month?
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My best book of last month was ADHD is Awesome by Penn and Kim Holderness – on audio. I have not stopped talking about this book since I read/listened to it. Anyone who cares about someone with ADHD should listen to this because it is fantastic. It gave me insight and also so much hope and peace.
I finished two books in September, all reviewed on my blog, as well as on Goodreads & StoryGraph:
* “A Place of Greater Safety” by Hilary Mantel. This was a slow readalong with Footnotes and Tangents, which began May 5th and ran for 20 weeks through Sept. 15th. This was the first book Mantel ever wrote, albeit it was not published until years later. It’s about the French Revolution, from the perspective of three of the main revolutionaries, and it’s a bit of a sprawling mess — but it’s an interesting mess, nevertheless! 3-3.5 stars.
* “The Secrets of Blythswood Square” by Sara Sheridan, for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club. We read a previous book by the same author a year or two ago, “The Fair Botanists.” Set in 1840s Glasgow, it tells the stories of two women from very different backgrounds: Charlotte, who makes a shocking discovery about her father after his death, and Ellory, a photographer’s assistant who comes to Glasgow to set up shop for herself. 3.5-4 stars.
I only read two books in September (most of the month was taken up with visitors). They were good though.
“The Women” by Kristin Hannah. I didn’t love the writing, but after the first few chapters the story overtook the writing style. Centred on the women who served as nurses in the Vietnam war, I found it interesting and I enjoyed it . Having watched China Beach and MASH it felt familiar – yes I know MASH was in Korea, but … The ending was a bit too neat, in some ways. It kind of spoiled the storytelling for me. But I still recommend it.
And after watching Ted Lasso again, I realised I’d never read “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle, so I downloaded it and raced through it. Now I know what they’re talking about!
Oh fun– other than the Phillip Pullman books (love!), I didn’t know any of these! The one about future thinking sounds particularly useful right now.
I read 6 books in September, half of which were non-fiction. I read John Green’s Everything Is Tuberculosis, Jennette McCurdy ‘s I’m Glad My Mom Died (an amazing book if you haven’t read it) and World of Wonders: in Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (vignettes connecting a fascinating creature with her life experiences).
Fiction: Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham (twisty slow burn that ignites like crazy in the last third, missing persons and cults), A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke (very bizarre but gripping, a woman has to keep moving or she dies of a hemorrhage), and The Safekeep by Yael Van der Wouden (sooooo good, highly recommend).