I’m going for a re-brand of the posts I use to look back at the month just ended. “Reading Wrap Up” was such a dull and uninspiring title I was bored even just writing it into WordPress. So I’m kicking it into touch. Henceforth these monthly (well monthly assuming I remember to write them) will be called “My Reading Life” — I hope the personal touch will make it feel a little less yawn-inducing.
What can I tell you about September?
It was one of those frustrating months. The kind where you start reading something that sounded promising but then it loses its appeal after only a few chapters. I had several false starts simply because I couldn’t find anything to suit my mood.
Eventually I settled on one of the novels shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2023. Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris was inspired by the real-life experiences of the author’s family during the siege of Sarajevo in 1992. This was a powerful story about resilience, love and hope in the midst of conflict between differing ethnic groups.
I also read:
A Necessary Evil by Abir Mukherjee, a crime novel set against the background of tension in India in 1920, between the princely leaders and the British colonial rulers. My review is here.
French Braid by Anne Tyler. Tyler has legions of loyal fans but I’m struggling to see what they find so appealing about her books. I thought this was a very disappointing family saga. My review is here.
Force of Nature by Jane Harper. This is a tightly-plotted follow up to Harper’s best selling novel The Dry and featuring her police detective Aaron Falk. In this tale, Falk is called in when a woman goes missing during a team-building event in the Australian bush.
My tally has gone down but only fractionally. I had a purchasing spree in a second hand bookshop so overall, the TBR at the end of September was one less than at the start of the month. I didn’t really need to buy any more books but who can resist a bargain? Not me for sure!!
Here’s what I bought:
The Testimony of Taliesin Jones is the debut novel of the Welsh author Rhidian Brook whose later novel The Aftermath was one of the best books I read for Reading Wales Month ’25. I didn’t notice until I got home that this edition contains this hand written note by Rhidian. I wonder who “Ian” is — will I recognise him in the story??
Casting Off is the final novel in the Cazalet Chronicles. I haven’t read books two and three mind you but as winter approaches it would be good to read something completely immersive. Anyway this only cost 50p so really it would have been foolish to ignore this opportunity for a bargain.
Saraband by Eliot Bliss is a shot in the dark since I know nothing about this author. The back cover tells me she was born in Jamaica, was friends with Dorothy Richardson and Jean Rhys and wrote two autobiographical novels. I bought this purely because it was published by Virago as a modern classic.
And finally, there is Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout. I’m coming to the end of the current books in the “Lucy Barton” series so this will help stave off withdrawal symptoms until (hopefully) Strout writes another episode.
Future Plans??
As you all know by now, I don’t like to make reading plans. If I can find something suitable and interesting, I’ll try and join in with the #1925Club, co-hosted by Karen (KaggsysBookishRamblings) and Simon (StuckinaBook).
I’m much more confident about Novellas in November hosted by BookishBeck and 746books since I have a stack of novellas in my TBR. I might gather them in one spot and — gasp — make a shortlist. More on this later in the month. Until then, happy readiing everyone.
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