I definitely had some highs and lows in my reading life in September. Here’s my Wrap-up by the numbers:
- 13 books total (5 DNFs)
- Average Rating: 3.7
- 6 physical books, 7 e-books, 0 audiobook
- 10 fiction, 3 non-fiction
- Genre: 1 contemporary fiction, 5 literary fiction, 2 historical fiction, 0 memoir, 3 non-fiction, 2 thriller, 0 young adult
- Rating: 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, 2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, 2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫, 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️, 2 ⭐️⭐️
- Author: 9 female, 4 male, 0 they/them
So far this year, I’ve read 127 books and my average rating is a 3.9 (I’d like to see this number a little higher).
My favorite books of the month were The Most Fun We Ever Had, After the Flood, and The Only Plane in the Sky. These three books were so good, in their own way. They offer something completely different and it was too hard to narrow it down to one.
Here’s the complete breakdown. (Click on the link to be taken to my original review).
Complicated Issues/Relationships:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 📖 The Most Fun We Ever Had by: Claire Lombardo (Doubleday) – Pub Date: June 25, 2019
I LOVED this family saga – full of family drama, secrets, and complicated relationships. The character development was phenomenal and I felt like the Sorensons were a real family. This book reads like a Netflix series (think This Is Us and Parenthood). I won’t forget this family for a long time!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 📖 *** The Goldfinch by: Donna Tartt (Little Brown) – Pub Date: October 22, 2013
This was a reread for me and I liked it even more the second time around. If it wouldn’t have been for a few places where the pace slows way down, it would be a 5-star read for me. The cast of characters really stick with you. This is ultimately a coming-of-age book and I really enjoyed it. (P.S. The book is better!😉)
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 📱 Red at the Bone by: Jacqueline Woodson (Riverhead) – Pub Date: September 17, 2019
The audiobook version of this one is excellent. I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but I’m not sure it’s going to be a story that sticks with me.
WWII Historical Fiction:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📱 *** The World That We Knew by: Alice Hoffman (Simon & Schuster) – Pub Date: September 24, 2019
This is the third book that I’ve read by Alice Hoffman. While this one strays a little from the previous two I read (The Rules of Magic and Practical Magic), it still had her signature touch of magic and I absolutely loved it. Hoffman is a magical (pun intended) writer and I have now added her to my Auto-Buy Authors list.
Apocalyptic Fiction:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 📖 *** After the Flood by: Kassandra Montag (William Morrow) – Pub Date: September 3, 2019
I wasn’t sure how Montag was going to keep my interest for almost 500-pages in a world that was basically flooded, but she did. I was enraptured with the story as well as her writing, and I could not put this one down. I loved the story and the characters so much! This book will be in my Top 10 at the end of the year, I’m sure!
Memoir:
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 📱 Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention by: Donna Freitas (Little Brown) – Pub Date: August 13, 2019
The #metoo movement has brought toxic masculinity to the forefront and I suspect stories like this one will become more and more common. Freitas was stalked by a professor at her college – also a priest – and when she finally reported him to the Human Resources department at her college, she was not believed. Instead, the professor was promoted! Nothing about this is surprising to me – we see it over and over again in the media. That’s what makes stories like these so important – in hopes that they help change the narrative around harassment of any kind towards women.
Thriller:
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 📱 Lock Every Door by: Riley Sager (Dutton) – Pub Date: July 2, 2019
I’m not crazy town about Riley Sager. I read Final Girls and thought it was fine, but I actually did enjoy this one. I’ve become a fan of books set in NYC, and I thought the plot of this one was a little better executed. If you need something quick and light, give this one a try!
Cute Romance with Some Substance:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Red, White, and Royal Blue by: Casey McQuiston (St. Martin’s Griffin) – Pub Date: May 14, 2019
Through Alex and Henry’s love story, we see the world united IN LOVE and I’M HERE FOR IT! 🇺🇸 ❤️💙🇬🇧 I always say that I’m not really a fan of the romance genre, but I now have several go-to recommendations in this category, and this book is certainly one of them!
Don’t Feel Bad for Skipping:
⭐️⭐️⭐️📱 The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by: Jim DeFede (William Morrow) – Pub Date: September 3, 2002
(I’m on a 9/11 kick, if you can’t tell.) I was so curious about this town in Newfoundland that found their town suddenly hosting passengers from America-bound flights that couldn’t land due to the flight restrictions placed shortly after the events of 9/11 started. They graciously hosted almost 7,000 people by opening up their homes, their stores, and their restaurants. They refused to accept any money from the stranded passengers – their only goal was to make them feel safe and as comfortable as they could. I was inspired by their hospitality and it gave me hope that this world isn’t as dark as it can sometimes seem.
⭐️⭐️ 📖 *** Inland by: Téa Obreht (Random House) – Pub Date: August 13, 2019
Still mad I finished this book and didn’t give up sooner. It just lacked any engagement and I was supremely bored the whole time!
⭐️⭐️ 📖 Disappearing Earth by: Julia Phillips (Knopf) – Pub Date: May 14, 2019
Similar to Inland, this one was heavy on descriptions but light on cohesion and interest. It read more like a collection of short stories, but promised to make sense at the end and that really didn’t happen for me.
Not For Me (AKA: DNF):
📖 Call Me By Your Name by: André Aciman (Atlantic Books)
I had such high hopes, but I got lost in the detailed writing. I found myself checking out too much to care.
📱 I Like To Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution by: Emily Nussbaum (Random House) – Pub Date: June 25, 2019
If you’re a big TV fanatic (I am not), then I think you’d enjoy this book. I don’t really watch a lot of TV so most of this went right over my head.
📱 *** On the Corner of Love and Hate by: Nina Bocci (Gallery) – Pub Date: August 20, 2019
I don’t know…I just couldn’t get into this one.
📱 If Beale Street Could Talk by: James Baldwin (The Dial Press) – Pub Date: 1974
Another book that I just couldn’t get into. I’m noticing that most of my DNFs are when I’m reading on my Kindle, so I wonder if there’s a correlation.
📱*** On Swift Horses by: Shannon Pufahl (Riverhead) – Pub Date: November 5, 2019
This book has hope and promise and I may revisit in hard copy someday. But as for now, I couldn’t get into it at all. Just because I love the cover and the premise so much, I forced myself to keep trying, but I’m finally throwing in the towel at 22%.
What was your favorite read in September?
Happiest When Reading 