Wow…I feel like September just started! This month felt particularly short…maybe due to the late Labor Day (it still feels like August to me until after Labor Day, regardless of when Labor Day falls) and the kids not starting their full school schedule until last week (who dreamed up this ridiculous school calendar?!). It was also filled with lots of behind the scenes blog work…fixing issues from a WordPress upgrade, researching a new host, and implementing a weekly email subscription option (you can sign up at the end of this post!).
In October, I’ll be teaming up for a third time with the lovely Anne Tollett of Hanover Avenue (check out our previous collaborations: A True Reader’s Library and White Knight Bedroom) to stock three different bathroom designs with reading material. And, San Francisco based artist and designer Shannon Kaye will also be joining us! Anyone who claims not to read in the bathroom is a big, fat liar!!
September Reading
My last month of reading was a bit of mediocrity bookended by greatness! I was on vacation during the beginning of the month, which tends to bode well for my reading and this time was no different. I finished up The Animals, My Southern Journey, and Infinite Home…all of which I enjoyed immensely. Not on Fire, But Burning blew me away in some ways, but a key element just didn’t work for me, coloring my overall impression. Sadly, A Place We Knew Well was just an all-around disappointment. And, September ended with me jumping firmly and happily on the Did You Ever Have A Family bandwagon.
Best Book of the Month
Did You Ever Have A Family by Bill Clegg (September 8, 2015)
Fiction, 304 Pages (review coming soon)
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon
October Releases I’m Excited About
City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg (October 13)
Speed Kings by Andy Bull (October 20)
The Three-Year Swim Club by Julie Checkoway (October 27)
Top Non-Review Books on my “To Be Read” List
A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Where All the Light Tends to Go by David Joy
Most Popular September Posts
Why Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff Left Me Utterly Conflicted
Top Ten Books on my Fall 2015 TBR List
#30Authors: Brian Panowich on Soil by Jamie Kornegay
Favorite Posts by Fellow Bloggers
- We’ve all discussed how our book reviews don’t do nearly as well as other kinds of posts. Stephanie at These Paper Hearts shared 5 Ways to Increase Reader Engagement in Book Reviews, a few of which I implemented in my reviews.
- Marisa at The Daily Dosage shared 10 Tips to Get Your Book Club Out of a Rut.
- Carrie Lippert discussed girls that love watching sports (particularly football). Yay – a girl after my own heart!
- And, for those of you that post recipes every now and then, Trish at Love, Laughter, Insanity shared some Simple Tips to Enhance Food Photography. I’m still working on figuring this one out without natural light!
You’re right… I think having Labor Day so late made the month seem shorter!
I didn’t get much reading done this month and will most likely spend October catching up with September new releases. And reading the next Barsetshire novel, The Small House at Allington – definitely need another Trollope fix 😉
This month totally zipped by! It sounds like most of the books were good for you, though…and there’s a ton to look forward to in Fall!
I’ll have to check out the Bill Clegg book, I’m hearing so much about it. I appreciated the link to the post on writing more engaging book reviews. That’s definitely an issue for book bloggers. Have a good October!
I want to read many of these, but only tackled Did You Ever Have a Family so far –such a good one though.
I keep hearing about Did You Ever Have a Family! Must. get. soon! and oh my gosh September did fly by! Seems like this entire year has gone by way too fast. Well, here’s to October and some great reading! Happy Weekend Sarah!
Sarah, I’m so glad that the month began and ended on a high note for you in the reading department; I’ve put Did You Ever Have a Family on hold at the library, as well as Fates and Furies, because I don’t think I can resist any longer – ha! I’m also very interested in reading Where All the Light Tends to Go; you’ll have to keep me posted. Hope you have a great weekend!
Wow! Another great month that is going to leave my TBR list a little bit longer. I keep hearing great things about Did You Ever Have a Family? and need to get my hands on a copy.
I completely agree that September came and went too fast. I really want to read The Animals at some point but know I won’t get to it for a long time. I still have A Man Called Ove on my Kindle to read and really looked forward to it at one time. I don’t know how it got pushed back; perhaps for the same reason they all get pushed back – my roving eye for new releases. It’s reading anarchy!