September Reading!

[sweet_sparrow]

Hey all! I'm feeling a wee bit swamped in stuff. (And the final days of September/beginning days of October are looking set to be an emotional rollercoaster.)

So I thought I'd inquire into everyone's reading a little earlier. (Obviously, feel free to wait to answer or not answer at all.) What have you been reading in September?

I'd expected to get loads of reading done with classes started up again, but I feel sorely disappointed. That may be because September has been an abysmal month for reviewing, though.

Books I've Read:

Ancient Irish Tales by Cross & Slover (Sorry, lazy. Their names are long.)
Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card
Complete Short Fiction by/of Oscar Wilde
Far from You by Lisa Schroeder
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (dnf)
Haiku by Patricia Donegan
Mella and the N'anga by Gail Nyoka
Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger (I've been trying to say something about this book since I finished it.)
The Sound of Water by various poets
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
Writing with Power by Peter Elbow

It's actually not much different from other months. That's about 12 books. My favourite was definitely Mella and the N'anga. I may finish Cybele's Secret before the month is out, but we'll see... I've also been reading Casting the Runes and Other Stories. Soon I shall be all out of coursework mandatory reading... Well, except for LotR, but I know I like LotR and cannot call it 'mandatory'.

What's your reading been like?

Comments

[holyschist]

I did a lot of traveling, so didn't really read a lot...also, I read a bunch of Real Grownup Books instead of YA, which took me longer.

Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah (YA contemporary)

This was a quick read; one of those teenager-develops-identity-while-dealing-with-prejudice-and-general-teenage-crappiness books. I liked it, although I felt the author maybe overdid it a bit on the trying to sound teenager-y.

The Virtu, by Sarah Monette
The Mirador, by Sarah Monette (adult fantasy)

Books 2 and 3 of Doctrine of Labyrinths (Book 1 was Mélusine). I have very mixed feelings about these books; they're delicious and kind of cracky, and I absolutely adore one of the main characters (Mildmay, a thief and former assassin). However, I have severe misgivings about the Tragic Gayness of the other main character, Felix (a wizard who has wallowed in angst for 3 solid books now).

Cyteen: The Betrayal, by C.J. Cherryh
Cyteen: The Rebirth, by C.J. Cherryh (adult SF)

These are the first two thirds of Cyteen, published in three separate volumes. So far I am really, really irritated by Cherryh's writing style, and frequently bored. I gather Cyteen is better read after Downbelow Station, and flipping through the sequel Regenesis, it looks like the things that irritate me about Cyteen may be less pronounced there. Anyway, it's dystopian future SF about a society that breeds clone-slaves, and a replicate of a genius scientist who was also a horrible person, and it's got a lot of interesting ideas. I'm not not in love with the execution.

I Shall Wear Midnight, by Terry Pratchett (YA satiric fantasy, lighter on the satire)

The fourth and final Tiffany Aching book. Tiffany is a young witch on the Discworld, and I think the Tiffany books are a good introduction to the Disc. They're some of my favorite books ever. I don't think I Shall Wear Midnight is the absolute strongest of them, but I found it to be a satisfying wrap-up to Tiffany's story, if a little name-droppy.

Slammerkin, by Emma Donoghue (adult historical fiction)

Set in the Georgian era, this is a fictional account of the story of Mary Saunders, a maid who killed her mistress. There isn't a lot known for sure about Saunders' story, and Donoghue has postulated an intelligent, shallow girl raised in poverty and trapped by gender and social station. Mary longs for pretty clothes and fine things, and turns to prostitution. Solidly researched, vividly written, and horrifying; Mary is both sympathetic and repulsive. A very good book, but not exactly an enjoyable read. It's a good antidote to all the historical novels out there about jolly prostitutes who never have violent customers and somehow avoid STDs and dying in the gutter when they're too old. Donoghue is an amazing writer, and I'll definitely read more of her books (not all are so grim).

I'd say the best book in the lot was Slammerkin, but I Shall Wear Midnight was my favorite.

[sweet_sparrow]

I hope the travelling was good fun! ^-^

I have Does My Head Look Big in This? on my TBR pile somewhere...

And Slammerkin sounds awesome. I've heard good things about Room too. ^-^

[holyschist]

Fun, but also exhausting--lots of traveling the last few months.

Slammerkin is really good, just depressing as all getout! The Donoghue book originally recommended to me was Life Mask, which I haven't read yet, but I really enjoyed Kissing the Witch (woman-centric, queer-flavored fairytale reimaginings). The section of Life Mask at the end of my copy of Slammerkin was definitely intriguing. She's a really amazing writer.

[sweet_sparrow]

Mmm... I hope you're getting a chance to rest now!

*makes note not to read it in really bad or really good moods* Is it first or third person? I'm thinking of using either this or Room as introduction to her work. It sounds awesome, if in need of being carefully distributed across the TBR pile.

[holyschist]

Third, and switches POV sometimes.

[sweet_sparrow]

That'll be my intro then. ^-^ (Er, eventually.) I prefer third to first by miles, so if I can use a third person pov to introduce new authors to me... (I usually forget to check, but when I don't it's proven to be useful. ^-^)

[holyschist]

I think most of her books are third person.

[sweet_sparrow]

Ooooooh... Now if I like the prose, I may find myself a new author whose works to collect. ^-^