Everything I read in September. (And some you should too!)
Everything I read in September. (And some you should too!)
My biggest reading month yet.
I went hard this month— I was either living on a beach or on vacation at the beach for most of September, and with no phone service in Portugal, I was pretty locked in to doing nothing but reading. We’d abandon our books only for dinners, enjoying breakfast or lunch or afternoon espressos in the town square with our books front and center.
It was heaven!
I made the decision to up my Goodreads 2024 yearly reading goal to 100 books, inspired by
, who I believe wrote about doing the same. I had already hit the goal I set for myself in January, so I was excited to reignite some challenge. This will far and away be the biggest reading year of my adult life, and I’m not sure how or what changed since last year. I won’t question it though— I love reading more!Excited to share my September reads with you and can’t wait to see which of you read some of the same!
Speaking of reading, I’d really love if you’d start with this piece by
— she put words to what’s weighing heavily on me better than I can right now.
If you are carrying this heavy load too— I love you, I see you, I’m with you.
Here are some reads that may serve as a welcome distraction, should you need one.
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore // I heard many people say this was one of the best books they’d read this year. Surprise, I agree! It was excellent. I’d recommend this for just about everyone— Grandpa, you might like it. My mom might like it. My boyfriend would like it. It’s the kind of thriller that has something for everyone.
One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin // A pretty simple and classic enemies to lovers romance! No notes.
Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff // The first from 831 Stories, a new business from the
team. This is a novella, and I didn’t realize how short novellas are! I was done in an hour. 😮 Needless to say, easy to pick up and read cover to cover for even the most avoidant of readers.Natural Selection by Elin Hilderbrand // A new short story from Elin Hilderbrand that’s actually free on all Kindles. It’s like a 20 minute read if even that— I felt like it was just fine. I am not totally sure what the point was in releasing it? Just to let us know she’s still active even if her last Nantucket novel has been released? But I’ll read and savor anything and everything she writes, duh.
Liars by Sarah Manguso // I was told that this book was a great read for folks who loved My Husband by Maud Ventura, one of my favorites. I am writing to tell you that nothing has ever been less true and my experience of this book was really awful… no… put it down… back away slowly.
The In Crowd (DI Caius Beauchamp #2) by Charlotte Vassell // The second in a series about a detective who seems to be consistently assigned to crimes committed by London’s posh upper crust. I quite enjoy both the potential criminals and the detective staff in this series, I plan to continue to read these as they publish more! I do love a series.
Speaking of a series…
Magnolia Parks Universe: books 4 (Daisy Haites: The Great Undoing) and 5 (Magnolia Parks: Into the Dark) by Jessa Hastings // I love this series. It’s kind of junk food for my brain. When I first started the Magnolia Parks Universe I thought it was deranged, but fell pretty quickly in love with it. I love them all, including book 4, but book 5… woof. Definitely my least favorite in the series. It seems like we will be getting one last book, a 6th from the Daisy Haites perspective, next year, which I can’t wait for!
ACOTAR series: A Court of Thorns and Roses (#1), A Court of Mist and Fury (#2), A Court of Wings and Ruin (#3), A Court of Frost and Starlight (#3.5), A Court of Silver Flames (#4) by Sarah J. Maas // What can I say about this series that hasn’t already been said? I started and finished all five within a week, gobbling the first three down like candy, one a day. I’m definitely quite late to the party here, for no good reason. If you haven’t read it and you like romance and universe building, you definitely should. My favorites were book 2 and book 4 (I’m told loving book 4 is uncommon, since it’s a different narrator/main character!). I am bummed it’s over now though... 😫
That’s all for today, folks! If you are in search of more book reviews and books worth reading, I’m linking 3 recent letters I’ve written below.
I stayed up all night to finish God of The Woods and it was worth it!
I am SO excited to dive into Big Fan alongside a big ole glass of a Gamay at my local wine bar. I loved The God of the Woods (I felt like a little kid staying up late reading 'til the end) + Wedding People is high on my list!