Goodbye September, and hello October!
After taking a hiatus in August, I was back in the book blogging world for the month of September. September was really good to me….
Let’s see what I had going on this month, shall we?
Not only did I get a lot done on the blog front in September, but I also read 11 books, attended TWO book tours (one for Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere and one for Leigh Bardugo’s The Language of Thorns), got my first bookish tattoo (already working on a Harry Potter tattoo & a Jane Eyre tattoo), and went a little crazy buying books this month. It was a very bookish month indeed 🙂
October is my favorite month of the year, but it is also my busiest with birthdays, our wedding anniversary, football playoffs, Halloween parties, and school functions. Not only that, but we are about two weeks away from listing our current home, and about 7 weeks away from finishing renovations & moving into our new home. I hate to say it, but I will be scarce in the book blogging world in October. I’ll do my best.
*Book titles link to Goodreads
» Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Feelings in a few thoughts: multi layered story – really enjoyed how the author let the story unfold ¤ character study of a dysfunctional Chinese American family ¤ set in 1970s Ohio (my home state) ¤ mystery vibe not a thriller ¤ themes: racism, sexism, interracial marriage, parents projecting their dreams & ambitions onto their children, loss & grief
» Now I Rise (The Conqueror’s Saga #2) by Kiersten White
Feelings in a few thoughts: enjoyed this just as much as And I Darken,◊ loved getting more Radu, but did it take away from Lada? ◊ Mehmed is totally an ass – nothing new there ◊ YA historical fiction needs more hype – history is cool kids ◊ I love how Lada challenges traditional gender roles of the times & takes what she wants… in all aspects of her life
» The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue (Guide #1) by Mackenzi Lee
*4.5 Stars*
Feelings in a few thoughts: YA historical fiction makes my heart happy ◊ tongue-in-cheek humor – I laughed out loud multiple times ◊ these characters will steal your heart: Monty, the charming scoundrel, Felicity, the level headed and brilliant little sister, and Percy, the sweet and gentle friend ◊ includes some heavy tones, but overall a lighthearted & fluffy read ◊ audiobook is brilliantly narrated
» Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons #1) by Leigh Bardugo
Feelings in a few thoughts: Bardugo did a great job putting a YA spin on the Wonder Woman story ◊ dialogue between characters on point ◊ did not see the twist coming ◊ wanted to see more of life on Themyscira & the Amazons ◊ the story was just as much about Alia as Diana – would have liked the focus to have been more Diana
» Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
*4.5 Stars*
Feelings in a few thoughts: Hamid’s writing style takes a little while to get used to – lots of thoughts stringed together with commas ◊ LOVED that this book was a inside look at the collective refuge experience – it captured the fears & stresses refugees experience fleeing their homes ◊ a small touch of magic realism – would have liked these elements to have been a little more developed ◊ bittersweet romance – felt so realistic ◊ writing was understated, which suited the story well
» The Dinner by Herman Koch
Feelings in a few thoughts: This book was PAINFULLY slow ◊ the narrator, Paul, went off on so many random (and boring) tangents that my mind wandered for much of this book ◊ unbelievable for so many different reasons
» A Million Junes by Emily Henry
*4.5 Stars*
Feelings in a few thoughts: forbidden romance – Romeo & Juliet style ◊ grief & loss = central theme ◊ LOVED the magic & paranormal elements – magic realism done right ◊ beautiful writing ◊ slow burn romance ◊ realistic characters – Emily Henry somehow manages to write teen characters that do NOT annoy me
» Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson
*4.5 Stars*
Feelings in a few thoughts: Coming-of-age story set in 1970s Brooklyn, New York ◊ Woodson’s poetic writing is exquisite ◊ this book felt authentic – not surprising since it is an #OwnVoices book ◊ themes: grief & loss, friendship, and growing up ◊ you can really feel how special Brooklyn is to Woodson ◊ “short story” done right
» Here’s To Us by Elin Hilderbrand
Feelings in a few thoughts: This was my book club’s pick for September, otherwise I would never have picked this one up ¤ cliché ¤ what’s with all the cheating & divorce? – portrayed it as normal & almost acceptable ¤ not a fan of girl hate, while no blame is put on the man ¤ none of these woman had any self respect
» Asking For It by Louise O’Neill
Feelings in a few thoughts: this is one of those books I will be thinking about for a long time ¤ a necessary exploration of rape culture ¤ Emma wasn’t exactly a likeable character, but did she in fact “ask for it”? Would things have turned out differently if she had been different in the past? ¤ raw & honest – no sugar coating ¤ “My body is not my own any more. They have stamped their names all over it.” ¤ In the wake of the Brock Turner case, books like this one in the YA genre are so very important – another good book recommendation is The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis.
» Solo by Kwame Alexander
Feelings in a few thoughts: YA book in poetic verse ¤ the writing in parts of this book were absolutely stunning, but not as much in others – made the flow of the book feel messy ¤ I feel like this book would be appealing to teenage boys – which isn’t always easy to do ¤ I enjoyed the second half of the book much more than the first – especially when Blade arrives in Ghana ¤ really enjoyed how rock music is such a big part of the book ¤ audiobook well done – made it feel more authentic
August 2017 Wrap-Up + Book Haul + Hiatus Update
Anne of Green Gables Bookish Goodies + #Giveaway Opportunity #AnneReadAlong2017
*Giveaway Closed*
Top 5 Wednesday: Skip the Book Synopsis
Top 5 Wednesday: Fancasts for Recent Reads
Book Reviews:
Mini Book Reviews: YA Books (September 2017)
Book Review: The History Major by Michael Phillip Cash
Book Review: The Luster of Lost Things by Sophie Chen Keller
Book Review: The House by the Lake by Ella Carey
Book Review: Gone to Drift by Diana McCaulay
After only purchasing 3 eBooks last month, I really blew my book buying ban in September… I just keep adding to the ridiculous amount of books that I will have to box up and move in November.
Physical Books:
» Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
*Purchased copy to get signed at The Language of Thorns book tour – signed copy by author
» The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo
*Attended book tour – signed copy by author
» Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
*Attended book tour – signed copy by author
» Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran
*Copy sent for review
» The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
*Copy sent for review
And then I went to a library book sale…
» The Secret Hum of a Daisy by Tracy Holczer
» Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin
» Nightbird by Alice Hoffman
» Vicious by V.E. Schwab
» Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
*Will be buddy reading this with Kirstie @Upside-Down Books in October!
» The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
» Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt
» The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson
» Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
» East of Eden by John Steinbeck
*One of my favorite books 🙂
In my defense, I scored a hardback copy of each of these books for $1 each… Would you have passed that up?
Which books did you read this month?
Have you read any of the books I read or hauled this month? If so, what did you think?
Did you buy any books? If so, which ones?
Comment below & let me know 🙂
cover2covermom.wordpress.com 
I am currently reading Everything I Never Told You! Enjoying it so far. Exit West is high on my TBR!
Awesome reading month and haul 😊
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How did you like Everything I Never Told You? I really want to get to her second book, Little Fires Everywhere, soon! It has made so many “best of 2017” lists!
Exit West is a very unique little book. Not sure it is going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but I do think it is a special book. I hope you enjoy, or enjoyed if you’ve already read it seeing as this comment is over a month late ((hangs head in shame))
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I didn’t really like Here’s to Us either, her books seem to be hit or miss for me because I did like the Rumor from a couple years ago. I hope you’ll love The Heart’s Invisible Furies as much as I did!
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I’m just not a “chick lit” type of reader… I need some depth to my reading…
I hope to get to The Heart’s Invisible Furies this month. I am currently reading a different HF book, Lilac Girls, though so it might get pushed to next month. I tend to not be able to read such heavy HF books back to back.
Side note: I apologize this response is more than a month late.
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Awesome that you loved Asking for it, now I need to read it!!!
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Some people argue that it is “over the top” or “farfetched” because it is an extreme case, BUT I kind of think that was the point of the book. I’d love to discuss this book with a book club! Rape culture is such a taboo topic that needs addressed…. especially in the world we live in right now.
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Asking For It is an incredible book – glad you thought so too! And I absolutely adored The Gentleman’s Guide – Monty is hilarious. Shame about The Dinner – that book has always intrigued me, but sounds like it’s not really worth it! A Million Junes sounds amazing though – I’m going to have to pick that one up, really in the mood for magical realism at the moment!
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Give A Million Junes a try! I really think you would enjoy it. The Dinner on the other hand…. I would skip. I guess there are people out there that enjoyed it, but I was NOT one of them.
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Think I will pick up A Million Junes in the new year… attempting (but will probably fail) not to buy any more books until after Christmas…
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Wow! You had an AMAZING September, Amanda! I don’t think there is ANYTHING wrong with binging at the library book sale. I’m super jealous of all the amazing books you picked up, too. My library never has books I want to read at the sale, sadly. My guess is they all become unreadable before they make it there. Good on you!!
You read SO MANY books: If you had to select *only one* to recommend for me to read (since I haven’t read a single book you read this month!), which one would it be?
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If I had to pick only one book for you to read, it would be Asking for It because it is such an important topic: rape culture. I would love to read your thoughts about this book. It has been criticized as being too “over the top” but I feel like this was the author’s intent… it is definitely a book I will never forget.
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I’ve heard from a lot of people that Asking For It makes readers angry. But, you’re right, that’s probably the intent. I should certainly read it– I’d be interested to know my *own* opinions on this topic! It’s so polarizing and galvanizing. I imagine I won’t enjoy reading it… but that’s not always the point, is it?
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Little Fires Everywhere was wonderful. I hope it will be good to you too. I like how Ng tries not to portray any character as totally good or bad.
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I am really excited to read LFE! Did you read Everything I Never Told You? I feel like that was how that book was… blurred lines.
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I haven’t read it yet, but I plan to. I bought it last month shortly after completing LFE.
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