September was a weird reading month! I was out of town for the entire first week at a conference, and then just couldn’t seem to settle my brain to read much of anything – going into last weekend, I’d only finished three books!
But then something magically clicked and I finished four books in two days (two that were about 60 percent done already, and then two from start to finish). It was glorious! Here’s my final September reading log:
- The Class by Heather Won Tesoriero (nonfiction)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (young adult/audiobook)
- Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser (nonfiction)
- I Should Have Honor by Khalida Brohi (memoir)
- The Personality Brokers by Merve Emre (nonfiction)
- Warcross by Marie Lu (YA fiction)
- Wildcard by Marie Lu (YA fiction)
Despite a slow start, it ended up being a satisfying month that I think I can build on for October. The nonfiction I read was pretty varied, and I think all of it was good enough that I’d recommend it. The Class was really charming, I Should Have Honor reminded me of I Am Malala, and The Personality Brokers was an odd, enjoyable microhistory. I also liked Prairie Fires, a book club read I wrote about last week.
On the fiction side, I absolutely loved getting to read Warcross and Wildcard together. The setting, a futuristic, diverse world that centers around the adoption of virtual reality, was so interesting, and the characters were well-drawn. They were my first Marie Lu books, but definitely not my last. She’s a great storyteller.
A Look to October
As always, the list of books I want to read is long and the time I feel like I have to read them is in short supply. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try! In addition to a few October releases, I have three spooky books I want to read because it’s that time of year:
- Ghost Hunters by Deborah Blum – The story of a group of 19th century scientists looking to find scientific proof of the supernatural.
- American Ghost by Hannah Nordhaus – An American ghost story and family history set in Santa Fe.
- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie – A classic murder mystery that will complete one of my Read Harder challenge prompts.
And then I’d like to try and check off another book for my Read Harder challenge, an essay anthology. I have two possible options: Nasty Women, a collection on “feminism, resistance, and revolution in Trump’s America,” edited by Samhita Mukhopadhyay and Kate Harding, or West Wingers, essays by the “dream chasers, change makers, and hope creators” who worked at the Obama White House. You can see where my head is at these days.
Happy reading! What books are you looking forward to in October?
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I think I’d love The Class.
I think so too, it’s great narrative nonfiction!
Oh! I hope I get that magical click soon, too, as my reading lately has been a disaster. Glad you managed to get some good reading done in the end, I hope it continues for October! 🙂
I love Marie Lu, and I just received Wildcard so I’m excited to continue on with this series. If you want to read more from her, I’d personally recommend her Young Elite series. It’s fantasy rather than sci-fi and Adelina, the main character, is excellent (though not exactly… good). I absolutely adored it on audio!
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ve been looking at Marie Lu’s backlist to see what to get into next, but couldn’t quite pick. That sounds great!
For about two years, I read Agatha Christie almost non-stop, so I definitely recommend her. I’m glad to hear you like Lu; I have one or two of hers on my shelves but have yet to pick them up. I’ll have to rectify that soon.
She’s such a classic writer, I feel like I need to dive in and read a few. And I do love mysteries, so I think that will be a fun nonfiction break.
Yay for a good reading month! It’s been a while since I’ve read any Christie and would love to re-visit with Mrs. Marple!
Ooo, yes! I didn’t love the Pirot book I read, so I’m hoping this one will be different!