September Wrap Up

Welcome! Let me introduce you to the worst reading month I have had this year! With only 2671 pages in my belt, the fact that I read 9 books seems a bit of a glorification of a staggered and strained reading experience. Work has been insane with our Matrics writing their trial exams, and the disappointment I felt at their results put me in a tailspin - enough of a tailspin to land me dead centre in an existential crisis, wondering what the point of everything is. But, it is now the short third term holiday, and besides getting a lot of reading done, I hope to drag myself from my self-banished pit of despair and come out fighting.

So, let's get on with what I read (before I end up posting this around Christmas.):

First up was Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. This was an interesting post-apocalyptic novel with a dual timeline. We follow Snowman in the present time, and we learn through him what had happened in the past. While I enjoyed reading this one, and I could appreciate multiple aspects of the book (and have since moved the rest of the series to my night stand so that I can pick them up soon), it was not, in hindsight, the most fun read I have had. This is one I would recommend for fan's of Atwood's or to those, like me, who are venturing into the world of literary fiction as they want to get more from reading than just pure enjoyment.

Next was Fortunately, the Milk . . . by Neil Gaiman. I wasn't intending on reading this one. I just picked it up planning to read the first page or so, and the next thing I knew, I had finished it. I think this is a great children's story, and I think that adults reading it to children will not find themselves bored with the plot either.

After that was Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey. I have mixed feelings about this one. I enjoyed the unreliable narrator. It was unusual and definitely unreliable. But the subject matter was a bit close to home and although I knew that I should have shown sympathy towards Maud, the main character, all I could feel was a certain amount of frustration for what her family was going through (which was not really a huge part of the plot, but which jumped out at me as though printed in flashing neon). It is hard separating one's emotional response from a book (because one is not supposed to), but I cannot say whether I would have enjoyed this more, had I not been in the position of having a 93-year-old to look after.

Because I needed something lighter I decided to pick up the YA novel, Vivian Versus the Apocalypse by Katie Coyle, next. This was another one that gave me mixed feelings. A part of me felt that it could have been so much more, while the other part kept saying that for a YA novel it was pretty good. I did enjoy the strong female characters in this book and I enjoyed where the plot went. A pretty good read overall.

By this point in the month, I was starting to get concerned by just how little I had read, so I decided to pick up Maus I by Art Spiegelman. Maus II followed immediately, although I had really planned to read it next month (as I have exams to set and all the other wonders that occur in the final term of the school year and that can keep one busy and away from reading). These were heartbreaking and brilliant. It is one thing reading cold hard facts about World War II, but another to actually read about someone's experience. An educational and touching read.

One of the other causes for my poor reading month was this monstrosity, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Although its page count was not phenomenal, the size of the book was gigantic. The story was fun, but the pacing was really slow. I would only recommend this one to readers who have the stamina to wade through loads of what appears to be unnecessary information. Overall, though, I enjoyed the story.

The penultimate book for the month was Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin. I enjoyed this one, as the plot hooked me and the reading process itself was easy. I did not find it scary, but I can see how some people might find it so. This was one of the rare occasions where the fact that all the clues were really easy to piece together added to the plot (by this I mean the suspense) as opposed to adding to my frustration.

The last book I read, although I have not done a review for it here, is Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. Although this book is not the regular plot driven story, it is an interesting experiment into the minds of different people. I particularly enjoyed the view of PTSD in a day before it had been diagnosed. Although Septimus Smith's end was dramatic for the reason that he had perhaps come so close to actually finding an answer to what had been plaguing him, I had to admit that he had at least found peace. I am glad I finally got around to reading this one. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads,

Well, that is me for the month. So far (and I am very tentative in saying this out loud) I have had a pretty good reading month as I am already 2 books down and it is only the 4th!