September was such a blur that had you asked me what I read during the month, I couldn't have told you without looking at my goodreads account. That is often the case but was especially the case last month since I traveled so much! Overall, the month was "just ok" in terms of my reading. I read 6 books, bringing the number of books read in 2024 to 74. Here is how my reading shook out.
Good to great
You, with a view is a romance that was recommended by Stephany. It's about a granddaughter that discovered that her grandma had some secrets in her past that she doesn't learn about until her grandma has passed away. The book involves a road trip which made it extra enjoyable for me. The Guncle Abroad is a sequel to The Guncle which is a book I absolutely adored. I enjoyed being back with these characters but didn't like it as much as the first. After loving Rufi Thorpe's latest book, Margot's Got Money Troubles, I decided to read some of her back list and started with The Knockout Queen. It's a coming-of-age story about 2 teens that live next door to each other. I love that Thorpe's characters are so very "voicy." How We Named the Stars is a book I heard about on Sarah's Bookshelves Live. It's an owned voices coming-of-age story about 2 college roommates that are discovering who they are/their sexuality. Humor Me is the sophomore novel from Cat Shook. This one features a protagonist that works on an SNL-type of late night show. I enjoyed it while reading it but had to remind myself what it was about when reflecting back on my month's reading.
Did not work
I was drawn to read Absolution as it was about a group of expatriate wives living in Vietnam with their husbands/families in the early 60s when the conflict in Vietnam was escalating. I usually love character-driven novels but this one just did not work for me at all.
The boys' reading
We pulled out our fall books which Paul seems to have sadly outgrown. :( But Taco has really been enjoying them, especially Room on the Broom and Pumpkin Soup.
Paul has mostly been reading Wimpy Kid books. We are reading The Getaway together which is about a family vacation gone wrong. He also likes to re-read the various Dog Man books we own over and over and over so we are really getting our moneys worth on those books!!
Did you read anything great in September?
Awww, Wimpy Kid!! My favorite thing about this series is how long it lasts-- both Cooper and Dorothy read these books all of elementary and bought the new one every year at the book fair, etc. Coop still re-reads them occasionally if he's really bored.
ReplyDeleteI have not read any of the ones that you put on your "good" list! I also liked The Guncle and Lily and The Octopus but did not love The Celebrants quite as much so it seems like maybe he is a classic example of multiple-book deal gone bad. I will probably read the Guncle Abroad anyway though!
ReplyDeleteI have a post scheduled for Friday, but my favorite read from September was The Anxious Generation. Otherwise, I had a bit of a slump if you want to call it that, as I could not concentrate on listening and did not have time for real reading, so I read only about half as many books in September and rated many of them three just because they were all kind of okay, but not bad. I also DNFed two books.
My kid and I decorated for Halloween yesterday and found two Halloween picture books in the box that I have no recollection of buying or reading. She insisted that I read her the first one last night, which was super cute. I mean, I still read to her every night, but we've moved on to, like, The Hunger Games, so a picture book was fun!
ReplyDeleteI LOVED Room on the Broom. So many feels. My absolute favourite Halloween book for kids is The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches. Grimelda The Very Messy Witch was another big hit for my kids.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading What Remains by Carole Radziwill and it is quite gripping.
I read Summer Romance and it was kinda a snore for me. I was so thankful to see Engie had similar feelings since everyone else on the interwebs seems to love this book.
Oh man, I knew exactly how What Remains was going to end and it was still absolutely one of the most suspenseful books that I have have ever read. I can't wait to hear your thoughts.
DeletePreview for my book post tomorrow: I DNFed Margo's Got Money Troubles and slammed the book shut in absolute disgust and I don't think Thorpe and I will be book friends.
ReplyDeleteOoh I can't wait for your post! I loved Margot dearly AND I want to hear why it didn't work for you. Our list of books that we disagree on is now up to three...and the list of great books that I heard about from you is a way higher number.
DeleteI haven't heard any of these books, thanks for sharing. on the book that you didn't like, did you still finish it or DNF? I'm always curious how others decide not to continue.
ReplyDeleteI definitely want to read more Rufi Thorpe! I'm about to finish the Amish murder mystery series so I am finally going to have to move on to something else - something tells me that Rufi would fit the bill.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm so glad you loved You with a View. What a sweet story! I loved it so much.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you liked The Guncle Abroad. I've been hearing mixed reviews!
Best book is hard! Either Summer Romance or The God of the Woods.
The one about the grandma's secrets sounds good to me! I do not read a lot of the sort of "popular fiction" variety, but I do always love the covers! That set of covers all have a similar style and look so nice together. I am (still) slowly reading You Only Die Once, which I started in like... August? Haha. (I usually just do non-fiction in the morning, and typically only 5-10 minutes, so it takes forever to read anything. But I went through a long phase recently where I did zero morning reading...anyway, I picked it back up on the plane to Nashville and am now getting close to the end.) I also am reading a really good historical fiction called The Nurse's Secret, which is about a girl in NYC in the 1880s who is an orphan who makes a living as a pickpocketer. One day she accidentally ends up being in the wrong place/ wrong time on the streets and ends up being accused of murder. In an effort to hide out and make a new identity for herself, she joins an elite Nursing School (new career in those days, based on Florence Nightingale's principles). She is rather rough around the edges and so far I'm just at the part where she is struggling through the demanding nurse's training. I have a feeling it will end up being a life-changing experience for her, if her identity doesn't end up being revealed.... (she is still technically wanted for murder!). It feels very "fall cozy" as the setting is sort of grim, dark 1880s New York, and there is interesting backstory already about the history and evolution of the nursing profession. I'm not even probably 1/3 of the way through yet, but I'm really enjoying it.
ReplyDeleteRoom on the Broom is one of our favorites. I love that book. Thanks for sharing your reviews. I might check a few of these out. I'm about done with the books for book club this year and I will have some time before next year's list comes out.
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