WRAP-UP | September 2017
September has been a dream for this bibliophile! I went to a local book festival and several exciting author events, and I got to visit the most adorable independent bookshop near me for the first time. This was also the month of exciting new releases! But most importantly, I read some wonderful stories. I’m fairly selective with what I call an all-time favorite, and I am designating two of my reads from this month as such, so that should tell you how good September was to me!
“I was not happy as a child, although from time to time I was content. I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.”
This was such an incredible little novel. It is one of the two aforementioned new favorites, and I am already itching to reread it! Before this, I had only read Norse Mythology and a few chapters of American Gods. Now, I’m realizing what a mistake it has been that I haven’t previously made Neil Gaiman’s work more of a priority! This book delighted and surprised me in so many ways throughout. Absolutely charming!
“‘The human soul is the opposite of chaos, of nothingness. The soul is everything.'”
I read the first two books in the Magisterium series quite quickly after their releases, but, for no particular reason other than being a mood reader, I didn’t get to this until just now! I enjoyed it so much! This third book brings more complexity to the plot and character relationships, as the kids are getting a bit older.
“She had never been so close to anybody. It was as if they were one being, together, not predator and prey, but partners in a dance. Poppy-and-James.”
So at some point this month I grew totally nostalgic for paranormal romance, and this happened. And guess what?! I wish I had given these a try before now! This was sort of off-kilter in a way that makes it feel a little more old-timey than most YA involving vampires. I have since bought more of the books in the series, and I plan to continue it!
“The sprawl of Antica spread before them, smaller and smaller as they rose into the skies. Until it was no more than a cobblestoned road beneath them, spreading into every direction. Until she could spy the olive groves and wheat fields just outside the city. The country estates and small towns speckled about. The ripping dunes of the northern desert to her left. The sparkling, snaking band of rivers turning golden in the rising sun that crested over the mountains to her right.”
I don’t want to say much about this one, and I chose the quote carefully, because I know there are probably a lot of people who are still avoiding spoilers. All I will say? Maas did not disappoint this fan. In fact, she somehow exceeded my expectations for this book, and I really was excited. Exploring the southern continent, and getting to know characters new and old was so wonderful! P.S. I never want this series to end!
“With your deposit and financials, you can cover aesthetics or disease polymorphisms. There won’t be enough money to cover everything you want.”
This quote is from “Annabel” by R.E Hengsterman, just one of the works included in the first volume of Twelve Point Collective. I discovered this company, which publishes a bimonthly, themed volume dedicated to undiscovered poets and artists, at the book festival I went to this month. The whole collection is so great that I actually subscribed to the publication, but Hengsterman’s short story is really cool. I’ve read about and listened to podcasts on Crispr, and I find the whole thing incredibly fascinating—and terrifying.
“Immie refused to strive for greatness or to work toward other people’s definitions of success. She struggled to wrest herself from men who wanted to dominate her and women who wanted her exclusive attention. She refused, over and over, to give any single person her devotion, preferring instead to make a home for herself that she defined on her own terms, and of which she was master.”
You guys. This book is such a page-turner! I could not put it down and was surprised over and over again up to the very end. E. Lockhart is a master! I enjoyed this even more than We Were Liars, which I read last year and really liked.
“I’d shut my mouth on apologies: if I began to apologize for being untidy, I’d be apologizing the rest of my life. I could tell from only a few days in the tower that he loved beautiful things. Even his legions of books were none of them exactly alike: their leather bindings in different colors, their clasps and hinges of gold and sometimes even dotted with small chips of jewels. Anything that anyone might rest their eyes on, whether a small blown-glass cup upon the window-sill here in the library, or the painting in my room, was beautiful, and set aside in its own place where it might shine without distractions. I was a glaring blot on the perfection. But I didn’t care: I didn’t feel I owed him beauty.”
This is my second new favorite from the month. I already posted a full review on it, so I’m not going to get into any detail. I will just say: wow.
“Bright and wild and beautiful
For the Autumn festival,
I will hang from tree to tree
Wreaths and ropes of Bryony,
To the glory and the praise
Of the sweet September days.”
I continued my reread of these endearing poems and works of art, which I so loved as a child. I still love them, and reading them as their seasons come along is a delightful experience!
If you would be interested in reading a full review of any of my September 2017 reads (aside from Uprooted, for which I’ve already posted one), let me know in the comments below!
