The September ’18 Overview
With the start of October, it is time for the books I finished in September. I have nothing much to add to this months introduction except I’m really excited for October and I plan to read only spooky books or books with spooky words in the title.
So what did I read in September? Find out below! As always they have been given a rating X out of 5 and a short review. If you click the title it will take you to the books’ Goodreads page.
September
“The Missing Girl” by Shirley Jackson ***
A little modern classic from Penguin it contains a few short stories by Shirley Jackson, the main one being ‘The Missing Girl’. I didn’t like them as much as I wanted, but I am excited to read her novel ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’ for this months book club.
“All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr ****
I listened to this book on Storytel. It was a really nice story to listen too, the world building was amazing and I can still picture the scenery and everything. The way the different storylines intertwine while also jumping through time just shows an amazing skill as a writer. I should read more by Doerr.
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr.
I didn’t rate this book, I’m not sure why. I think it is incredibly important to read pieces of text like this. It is also very well written and it is haunting how much of the problems still exist in today’s society. Would highly recommend picking up this little modern classic.
“The Shore” by Sara Taylor ***
Our book club read of the month. It is a collection of short stories which are connected through a family tree. I felt like it could have been more. There were some nice stories in there and the prose was good, but most of the stories were lacking something for me. I’m excited to see what she will do with her next book though.
“Get Your Sh*t Together” by Sarah Knight ***
I read the Dutch translation and the translator made some stupid mistakes regarding adding notes to the text. However, it was a nice book with all the usual profanities you expect from Knight after her first let-me-help-you-help-yourself-book. Worth a browse, but not necessarily a purchase.
“Her Body and Other Parties” by Carmen Maria Machado ****
Another short story collection, mostly about female sexuality in different contexts. It also contains one story that consists of episode summaries for Law & Order SVU, but different. It was amazingly done and still baffles me that Machado constructed a story based on what can be seen as 5 sentence chapters.
“A Tiny Bit Marvelous” by Dawn French *
My mom loved this book and I think I would too if I was closer to the age of the mom instead of the teenage daughter. I was just a bit annoyed with all the characters in the book and it took a bit too long to get to the point. I feel like it would be incredibly relatable if I was twice my age.
“Zijde” by Alessandro Baricco *****
An amazing story told with beautiful images and short chapters. I spotted it in the library and instantly read it and loved it. It captivated me and the images just really add another dimension to the story for me.
Review September
It was no August with its 15 books, but 8 is still nice. It was a month that felt like struggling through books, although it doesn’t look like it. All of the things I read (except the audiobook) I just had to really make myself sit down to read. I must say that the book I am currently reading has the same problem. It is nice, just not ‘can’t put it down’ good. We’ll see what the rest of October brings.
October
In October I plan to read only spooky books or books with spooky words in the title. I might make an exception for Hank Green’s recently released debut novel because I have been waiting for months to read it. This is my list:
- “Vampires in the Lemon Grove” by Karen Russell
- “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” by Shirley Jackson (book club read)
- “Dracula” by Bram Stoker
- “The Devil Wears Prada” by Lauren Weisberger
- “Green Manor” by Denis Bodart and Fabien Vehlmann
Is it ambitious? Probably, but we’ll see. I just hope I picked some 5 star reads again.
Are you planning to read some spooky books in October? Do you have any recommendations? Let me know in the comments below!