September '22 Reading Wrap Up
Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!
October has arrived! It's my favorite month of the year, for many reasons: Halloween, Fall is in full force, my birthday...I can go on and on. But I won't, because we're here today to talk about my September wrap up!
September was a weird month for me, reading wise. I read a grand total of...nine books. Nine. I feel like that should count as a reading slump, since I read on average 15 books or more a month. But oh well. I read 8 novels and 1 novella, with 1 reread.
Let's just get on with it, yes?
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Novels
1. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton (REREAD)
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Classics, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4.5 stars / 8.29 CAWPILE
Page count: 400 pages
Day(s) read: 9.03 - 9.05
Goodreads thoughts: This was SO much better this time around. I think when I first read it (back in 2019) I wasn't used to reading adult fiction, much less sci-fi, and I didn't give it a fair shot because I was expecting the movie. Of course, the movie is NOTHING like the book. But having subverted my expectations, I really enjoyed reading it this time. Even though it's over 30 years old now, I think it's gonna be a staple on my shelves for a long time.
2. Wild is the Witch by Rachel Griffin
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, YA
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars / 6.43 CAWPILE
Page count: 320 pages
Day(s) read: 9.10 - 9.11
Goodreads thoughts: Tw: anxiety attacks, heavy injury, injury and death of an animal
I feel like this was a pretty average YA romance, but with a dash of magic in there. I really like that both of Rachel’s books have centered around environmentalism and how the magic was shaped by nature, very cool. But I didn’t feel connected to the characters, or the conflict, or the romance. I was just along for the ride. Obviously the best part was that Iris was best friends with a wolf. Who wouldn’t want that, honestly?
3. If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars / 6.57 CAWPILE
Page count: 272 pages
Day(s) read: 9.12 - 9.17
Goodreads thoughts: I really enjoyed looking at the lives of these women. It was a very strong character study, in my opinion. The four of them all had very different problems, but at the end of the day they were all facing the same thing, in a way: how to live a good life. And I liked that the friendships they formed became the most important thing in their lives, not money or men or beauty, but the love they felt for each other. I will definitely be picking up more of Frances Cha's work in the future.
4. Elektra by Jennifer Saint (Review here)
Genre: Mythology, Historical Fiction, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars / 7.71 CAWPILE
Page count: 291 pages
Day(s) read: 9.13 - 9.21
Goodreads thoughts: The story of Agamemnon and the women around him is one that I'm very familiar with, as it's one of Aeschylus' most famous works. But like Ariadne, Jennifer Saint took a story that anyone who has studied Ancient Greek literature would recognize and transformed it into a story everyone can enjoy. It drags a crazy amount of emotion from you as you read, and you find yourself sympathizing with each of the characters, even though they do atrocious things, you can understand why they did those things. Truly brilliant.
5. Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars / 7.86 CAWPILE
Page count: 352 pages
Day(s) read: 9.18 - 9.22
Goodreads thoughts: I didn’t think this series would get even more emotional after the previous book, but ding dong I was wrong .-. I feel like this is a perfect example as to why I don’t like war stories—all that death and destruction cuts me deep.
I did like that we got Temeraire’s point of view in this book, but that just made me even more sad to be privy to his innermost thoughts and worries. Tem is such a sweetheart and he’s really just doing his best out there.
6. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
Genre: Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars / 6.29 CAWPILE
Page count: 369 pages
Day(s) read: 9.22 - 9.24
Goodreads thoughts: TW: rape, grooming, sexual abuse of a minor, drug abuse, suicide, cyber-harassment
This has to be one of the best-written books I've ever read. The prose is immaculate, the story is gripping, I flew through it, unable to put it down...and yet I hated almost every minute of it. That is a really impressive accomplishment, when I think about it. Reading made me feel nauseous and achy deep to my bones, but I can't deny how incredible this book is. I don't think I'll ever be able to pick it up again, and yet it will be a permanent feature on my shelves because I don't see how I'd ever be able to get rid of it.
Also, the ending with the dog? Yeah, that definitely made me tear up.
7. Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars / 6.86 CAWPILE
Page count: 336 pages
Day(s) read: 9.24 - 9.27
Goodreads thoughts: This was probably my least liked of the series so far. I just found the middle chunk of the book, where they are trekking across the Australian outback, incredibly boring. I was slogging through those chapters, unfortunately. The ending picked up, however. And I definitely appreciated seeing the character development in Tem and Will both. I've found that Temeraire is the most sensible one out of every character, as he isn't bound by obligation or loyalty to any one country, and so he doesn't hesitate to call anyone out in their mistakes and/or attempts at imposition. I'm excited to see what the next chapter is!
8. The Lost World by Michael Crichton
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Classics
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars / 7.57 CAWPILE
Page count: 393 pages
Day(s) read: 9.24 - 9.29
Goodreads thoughts: It makes me laugh so hard that Stephen Spielberg really pressured Michael Crichton into writing a sequel because the movie made so much money. That, and the fact that Crichton resurrected a character because of Jeff Goldblum? Wild, absolutely wild.
The book itself was very good, but not as good as the first one, in my opinion. I felt like it was a little drag-and-drop, especially with Malcolm being the "Damsel in distress" character again. But I like the agency that the women had - Crichton definitely writes powerful female characters. Sarah Harding is my new role model and I want to be like her when I grow up.
Novellas
1. Elder Race by Aiden Tchaikovsky
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars / 7.86 CAWPILE
Page count: 201 pages
Day(s) read: 9.06 - 9.10
Goodreads thoughts: I REALLY liked this. It’s like the opening scene in Stark Trek: Into Darkness, when Kirk and Bones are on a primitive planet trying to save the people living there. We have two perspectives: one, a princess who is trying to save her people from a demon, by summoning the elder wizard to use his all powerful magic; and two, said wizard, who is actually just a scientist from Earth who space-traveled to this far away planet, the populace being relatively new and have no clue of any high-tech issues. That juxtaposition is excellent. And this is probably the only time I’ll say that the miscommunication is done well.
That probably doesn’t make any sense, but just read it, and you’ll figure it out.
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Total page count: 2.934 pages (oh my god, that's so little)
Favorite book of Sept: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
DNF'd books this month: The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller
No unfinished books this month
September book haul: Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti by Christina Rossetti
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia
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Alright, that's it for September! Onto the final quarter of the year...yeesh.
What was your favorite book that you read this month? Let me know in the comments, or tweet at me @AllyEmReads.
Until next time!
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