Welcome to the September wrap up! How did your month go?
Kriti’s September Book Selection
Favorite books:
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi | Goodreads | Speculative Contemporary Fiction – There is so much I loved about The Centre. I don’t think I have read a Pakistani main character in a while (if ever) and Anisa’s narrative pulled me into this story for a lot of reasons. As a fellow migrant to another country from South East Asia, I related to many experiences that Anisa shared in this book. The homeliness of Pakistan, the stark differences between the lifestyles of Pakistan and England are parallel to my upbringing in India and subsequent move to Canada. I particularly enjoyed Anisa’s thoughts on language and how English has become her mother tongue even though it isn’t her mother tongue. I am looking forward to sharing my review!
The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar | Goodreads | Contemporary Fiction | Review – I posted about this one on publication day and it was a quite fun to post about an book in a timely fashion. I mentioned this in my year 29 books that connected me with my culture and I truly appreciated the hard realities that The museum of Failures addresses – the life of a single child immigrant. What I particularly love about this story that everyone does find the strength to keep going and make the best of their circumstances.
Non-Fiction:
I was immersed in a number of non-fiction books in September.
- Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention- and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari | Goodreads – This is an exceptional book and it gave me so much more than I had expected. What sounds like it would be about technology, our phone, the Internet, this book is so much more. It goes into the state of the world, what we eat, how that affects us and the global and national policies that affect attention. I highly recommend it!
- The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman | Goodreads – I have read Gary before (What Makes Love Last) and I enjoy his ideas on relationships and love. This one was fun! Clinton and I got to explore our primary love languages.
- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius | Goodreads – I could not believe how well this book has aged! It is ageless. I enjoyed Marcus Aurelius’ thoughts and stoicism philosophy. Much to learn and revisit here.
- Write Yourself Happy: The Art of Positive Journalling by Megan C. Hayes | Goodreads – If you enjoy journaling, Write Yourself Happy offers a beautiful reflection on why we practice, what brings us back to the pages of our journals, how we tend to use them generally and how we can truly enrich our practice further by tapping into positive emotions. It’s not an easy endeavour to write positive things. Our self-critical voice can take control of the page readily, going over all the things that happened where we felt inadequate or misunderstood or wanted to change something for a better outcome. In Write Yourself Happy, Mgan shares about a study with common people like us who decided to write in their journals, but what was different was that they had a purpose. They were going to pick one of eight positive emotions and write about them.
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck | Goodreads – I learned about fixed and growth mindset during my education years and this is the book that lays the groundwork for it. If you don’t know anything about the concept, give this a read. If you already know the differences and traits, skip it.
- Feeling Seen: Reconnecting in a Disconnected World by Jody Carrington | Goodreads – I mentioned this as one of the best non fiction from year 29. It took me most of the year to read it but the concept of walking each other home and making space for big emotions will always stay with me. I look forward to spending more time with this book when I settle down to write my review.
Buddy reads:
This month had three buddy reads!
Monstrillio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova | Goodreads | Horror – I read this with Ariel. A literary horror similar to Our Share of the Night, Monstrilio has the vibes of Frankenstein and The Children of the Hill. After losing her son, Magos takes a piece of his lung that evolves into a new being. I found this to be a slow burn book even though things were moving. It truly picked up about 70% for me when the story started being told from M’s perspective. The ending was worth the ride.
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer | Goodreads | Contemporary Fiction – Stephen and I discussed this one. The premise of The Collected Regrets of Clover is what drew me to it: What’s the point of giving someone a beautiful death if you can’t give yourself a beautiful life? Through this book I pondered a life that was all about helping the dying leave the world, while ignoring one personally. I had mixed feelings about this book.
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller | Goodreads | Contemporary Fiction – A popular book I did not like. This was my first buddy read with Aysha and we had fun ranting about it together.
Total TBR: 378 (Sep 1) -> 390 (Oct 1)
I connected with a number of Indie authors this month and my TBR grew! Two additions I want to highlight are Far From Mortal Realms: A Novel of Humans and Fae by Karen A. Wyle (Goodreads) and Elyse Thomson’s Mages of Oblivion series. A lot of books I added to my personal TBR I also picked up and read: Monstrillio, Stolen Focus, Meditations, Write yourself happy, The Collected Regrets of Clover.
Writing & Blogging
Updates on TBP (to be posted – reviews that I have written but not yet published to the blog) and TBW (to be written – books I have read but not yet noted down my thoughts about).
TBP: 24 (Sep) -> 22 (Oct)
TBW: 4 (Sep) -> 6 (Oct)
In case you missed it, the non-fiction feature of September was Valley of the Birdtail by Andrew Stobo Sniderman, Douglas Sanderson. Also check out Helen Knott’s latest memoir, Becoming a Matriarch.
Lots of amazing reviews written in September: Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally (Goodreads – review and interview coming in November!), The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi (Goodreads), The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman (Goodreads) and Write Yourself Happy: The Art of Positive Journalling (Goodreads).
Buddy read discussions of Monstrilio and The Collected Regrets of Clover were fantastic and I am looking forward to sharing them with you.
The Noteworthy: A random collection of findings
- September was a month of celebration. I posted about my wedding on Instagram. It was such a fun time and it’s already been a year.
- My pending reviews list is increasing and this is completely intentional. I am planning to take part in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November but instead of a novel, I will be catching up on all my reviews. 🙂 Have you ever taken part in NaNoWriMo? I would love to hear your experiences.
Ariel’s September
September went by pretty quick. It was good to reminisce about a year ago when I was able to celebrate with Kriti her wedding! Now, it is nice to go forth into the fall season and to catch up on upcoming Netgalley releases.
Books Total: 7
Ebooks: 4
Physical Books: 0
Audiobooks: 3
Library Books: 4
Netgalley Arcs: 0
Physical Arcs: 1
Notable Favorites:
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb
The Art of Destiny by Wesley Chu
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
Not books:
Favorite TV Show this month: Reservation Dogs
Favorite Video Game this month: Palia
Did you have a faborite book in September?
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