September Reads 2024

This month I was a great reading month for me. I was able to read 13 novels and one of those novels was over 1,000 pages!  I read:

The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt By Chelsea Iversen
Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe
Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore 
Hum by Helen Phillips
The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce
The Paper Menagerie by Ken Lui 

This is a no spoilers episode, so come give it a listen.

Transcript

Intro: September always flies by! My kids are back in school and my semester has finally started, so everyday is filled with activities. However, with my kids back in school, I have had more time to read! This month I was able to read 13 books. This number is largely padded by the 5 graphic novels I finished, but still it was a great month. In this episode I will talk about each of the books I read, with no spoilers of course, and share a quote from the book. So here we go.

Book 1: The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt

Thanks to Netgalley for giving me a copy of the Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt. This book is going to be published on December 3rd so make sure to get your copy. This book is about a young woman named Harriet who is living on her own because her father mysterious disappeared 6 months ago. Harriet was forced by her father to be a recluse, so not only is she alone but she is isolated. Harriet has one friend her cousin who is moving across the country with her husband. However, Harriet does have her garden to take care of her. That is until a number of people start barging into her life. Her new maid, her new betrothed and her new neighbors. This book was everything I wanted from Weyward that I didn’t  get.

I rated The Peculiar Garden of Harriet hunt a 4 out of 5 stars. It was a bit predictable but definitely worth the read.

Because this is an arc, I will not include my favorite quote.

Book 2: words of radiance

I, like many, am rereading the stormlight archives to prepare for the 5th and final book, well sort of, of the series. If you are a fan of epic fantasy, and you haven’t read this series yet, what are you waiting for? In this book we follow Kaladin and Shallan as they learn to navigate their powers aware that they will need to use them shortly. Also Dalinar, learns about his visions and is working to unite the kingdoms of Roshar. This book is an excellent addition to the series, and is many people’s favorite book.

I rated this book 5 out of 5 stars because while it is long, it is fantastic.

Here is my favorite quote from the novel:

“All stories told have been told before. We tell them to ourselves, as did all men who ever were. And all men who ever will be. The only things new are the names.”

Books 3-7 Volumes 3-6 of Lore Olympus

I cannot say enough good things about the Lore Olympus Series. I love the vibrant colors and the use of the art to tell the story. I also love the modern take on the Hades and Persophone story. It is fun to see modern themes with classic characters. I do not read graphic novels very often, but this book series is 100% worth it.

I rate this series 4.5 stars. I am very excited to see how the story progresses. 

Again there aren’t really long thoughtful quotations to share because this is a graphic novel but here is a panel that highlights the artwork

Dallin put in a panel

Book 8: Empire of Silence

The Empire of Silence is an excellent first novel in a series. While there were moments of this book that were painfully slow, I overall enjoyed the novel. In this book Hadrian Marlow is a young man from the noble house of his planet. This is a space opera, and I like to think of it as 10,000 years after red rising. Hadrian is a young man who is displeased with how the government is running society, main that it is a theocracy based on corrupt principals. So instead of choosing to join the religious sect, Hadrian tries to run away and control his fate. However, while on the run, he gets stuck on a backwater planet far from his destination. It is there that he starts to take fate into his own hands. The narration style of this novel is interesting because it is told from and older Hadrian talking about his conquests and telling us about how he got started. So he often tells us what is going to happen before telling us what happens.

I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars and I am excited to read the next book in the series.

Here is a quote from the book:

“The man who hopes for the future delays its arrival, and the man who dreads it summons it to his door.”

Book 9: The book of Longings

My favorite book of this month was Easily book 9 the book of Longing by Sue Monk Kidd. This is a beautiful retelling of the life of Christ through through the eyes of his wife. Anna is a young girl growing up in Israel around 30 CE. She is forced, by her parents, to be betrothed to an old man, but as she goes to meet him she instead meets Jesus. Anna doesn’t want to be married, all she wants to do is write and tell the stories of the women that came before her. The book follows Anna as she marries Jesus, and tries to find herself again. I loved the powerful stories of Anna and the women in her life Such as Mary’s mother Jesus, her friends, and her aunt. Although we do not see many scenes from Christ’s ministry in the novel, we can see how jesus was a person and not just the savior. 

I rated this book 6 out of 5 stars. I don’t think I have cried this hard all year. You have to read it.

Here is a quote from the novel:

“When I tell you all shall be well, I don’t mean that life won’t bring you tragedy. Life will be life. I only mean you will be well in spite of it. All shall be well, no matter what.”

Book 10: Hum

The tenth book I read this month was Hum. This book had so much potential and I really liked it, but the end ruined it all for me. In this novel May is a mother of 2 who is trying to make ends meet after losing her jobs to an AI program. She goes to get a surgery done to make her family enough money to survive a while and to go to the botanical garden that reminds her of her childhood. This book is a dystopian thriller, but I cannot say I would recommend it. 

I rated this book 3 out of 5 stars… maybe

Here is a quote from the novel:

“Their time here was brief, yes, slipping through their fingers: but it occurred to her that every day was not twenty-four hours, it was actually ninety-six, each of the four of them living in their own twenty-four hours side by side

Book 11: The Pumpkin Spice Cafe

This was a very cute fall romance. It was the perfect palate cleanser for all of the epic fantasy and hard hitting novels I have been reading lately. I loved getting to know the main character Janie as is trying to find herself in a new place after seeing her boss die at his job. This grumpy x sunshine was a great time.

I rated this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. Thank you to libro fm for gifting me this copy.

Here is a quote from the novel:

“She wasn’t so much afraid of dying as she was of forgetting to live her life. Somewhere along the way, she’d forgotten to figure out who she was or what she wanted to be when she grew up.”

Book 12: The Ex Vows

Move over Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez, the new star of my romance year now goes to The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce. Once I started this novel, I literally couldn’t put it down. In this book our FMC Georgia is helping her friend Sam plan his wedding, but everything that could go wrong, is going wrong. The dj breaks his leg, the venue catches on fire, etc. So fixer and best woman Georgia is there to help. Unfortunately that means working with her ex Eli who is insistent that he make this wedding work too. This book was of course a romance, but it was also about two people who were trying their best to be the best versions of themselves. I love a romance with a mental health focus.

I give this book a 5 out 5 stars making it one of the few romances I read this year with a 5 star rating. I highly recommend you check this one out.

Here is a quote from the novel:

“nothing lasts forever. Maybe these rocks will, but it’s a beautiful and painful reminder that no feeling does, bad or good. No moment or mistake.”

Book 13: The Paper Menagerie 

The Paper Menagerie is a collection of stories by Ken Lui. and there is something for everyone in this book. There are a number of sci fi pieces, but there is also historical and contemporary fiction. My favorite story was the matchbox. It takes place in a world where everyone’s soul is born with them as an object. A pencil, a book etc. In the story the main character’s soul is a block of ice and she was afraid to live her life away from a freezer. Most of the stories in this book are about Chinese Americans or people living in mainland china. This book made me cry, and it helped me to think about ideas with fresh eyes. I highly recommend this novel.

I rated this collection 5 out of 5 stars. I didn’t love all of the pieces but most of them are fantastic.

Here is a quote from the author about his craft:

We spend our entire lives trying to tell stories about ourselves – they’re the essence of memory. It is how we make living in this unfeeling, accidental universe tolerable. 

I am so excited to finally read We Solve Murder by Richard Osmon. We are reading this for our neighborhood book club. I loved the thursday murder club and think this will be a great read. 

I will also be reading the book So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison. I love a good vampire book, so I am looking forward to this one. 

I also want to read all the colors of the dark by chris whiticker. I have heard nothing but good things about this book.

What books are you reading this month? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for listening to this episode of according to your english teacher. This month is scary month so I am going to be talking about my favorite spooky pieces.