It’s officially fall here in the Pacific Northwest. I’m bundled up and burning a delicious smelling “Pumpkin Spice” candle as I write this. Even though it’s perfect reading weather, I didn’t finish as many books as I’d hoped to in September, but that’s okay because I’ve already hit my Goodreads goal for the year, and we’re just getting started with the cozy reading season.
Outbox
What I read in September:
I started off the month with Dryland by Sara Jaffe, which has been on my “to read” list forever because it features swimming as a sport and takes place in Portland in the 90s. It was available on ebook from my library, so I grabbed it in one of my recent library hauls. I was pleasantly surprised by the accuracy of the swim team stuff. The unique structure of the novel also really worked for me. It’s told in a sort of stream of consciousness journal entry first person account. The big mystery of what happened to the main character’s brother is mostly what kept me turning pages long after I should have gone to sleep. Otherwise this is a kind of quiet and literary YA story about finding your way and exploring your sexual identity.
After that, I did a couple of buddy reads with two of my friends, L. and S. The first of those was Radio Silence by Alyssa Cole. As you may remember from previous posts, I’ve been reading through her Reluctant Royals series (contemporary romance) and loving them. So, I thought it was time for me to finally read the first novel in her dystopian romance series. After all, I’m normally more of a SFF fan. I fully expected the book to be not as good as her other stuff because I’m pretty sure it was her first published book, and authors usually get better with each book. And, I can say this book met my expectations. I liked the book, but didn’t love it. I probably won’t continue with the series. My main complaint is just that it read like YA even though it was supposed to be an adult romance. I kept having to remind myself that the main characters had jobs and were adults, not kids.
Next up, my friends and I read Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. This one was actually YA (sci-fi) and also by authors whose books I’ve read and loved. It also had the added bonus of checking several of my “reader catnip” boxes. Specifically: military academy in space, officers in a space fleet on a mission, forming a squad / found family, and telepathy / telekinesis superpowers. Plus there was the added bonus of space Fae (or space Elves if you’re more of a Lord of the Rings fan). The book was fast paced and super campy. It definitely had a “Breakfast Club in space” vibe. I really enjoyed reading it, I’ll probably pick up the next one when it comes out, but I can’t think too hard about it, or I’ll start to nit-pick world-building and character stuff that annoyed me. Like the “new weird” twist at the end.
The last book I finished this month was actually the first book I started, Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I read this one for the Read Harder Challenge and picked it because I’d read her book Signal to Noise and really enjoyed it. This was a new take on a vampire novel. The world-building is top notch. I love all the types of vampires and how she’s integrated them into this alternate universe version of modern day. It definitely has that “urban fantasy” feel. There’s a romance, but I don’t think I would shelve this under romance because it doesn’t really end with the paired characters together. It’s an optimistic ending, but not exactly an HEA. Anyway, if vampires and/or urban fantasy are your jam, or if you’re looking for something like Trail of Lightning, I highly recommend this book.
Before I get to my “Inbox” summary for the month, here’s an update on where I’m at with that Read Harder Challenge…
Read Harder Challenge Status:
Tasks completed this month:
- Task #7: An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America (Certain Dark Things)
Total tasks completed: 18
Total tasks remaining: 6
I’m still on track to finish, but no longer ahead of schedule. The next three months are going to be packed, and I have a ton of books I want to read before the end of the year. But, I am determined to finish this challenge for once. I think this is the closest I’ve ever come to achieving that goal. So, I’m going to keep going and try to get at least 2 more tasks checked off in October.
Inbox
What I bought & borrowed:
The only one of these that I purchased was David Mogo, Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa. I was in a critique group with him at Futurescapes and got to hang out with him a bit. He’s super nice, and I love his writing, and I’m really excited to read this book. It’s been labeled as “Nigerian God-punk,” and he’s from Nigeria. So, if that sounds cool to you, grab a copy.
Some of the rest are new books by authors I like (There’s Something About Sweetie, Sorcery of Thorns, and Aurora Rising). A couple are for research (The Great Alone and Her Royal Highness). One is for a Read Harder Challenge Task (Guantánamo Diary). And the remaining two are based off of recommendations from the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books reviewers (A Curious Beginning and Polaris Rising).
I made another “TBR Bingo” tracker for my BuJo to create some additional incentive to finish my Read Harder Challenge and Kindle backlog books. But, as you can see from the list under the “Wild Card” section, I have quite a few sci-fi books that are calling to me at the moment…
We’ll see what happens in October. I think it’s going to be another chill (and chilly) month, but it is also officially “Preptober” and time to get started working on plotting and planning and outlining my NaNoWriMo project for November! So, I have some work to get done in addition to enjoying my “between novels” downtime.
What’s on your reading list for October? Have you read any of the books in my book haul? Let me know what you think in the comments.
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