September 2023 Reading Review

Happy Monday, friends! I hope your weekend went well. We had a quiet weekend; we stayed close to home, ate from the crockpot, and enjoyed a couple of evenings around the fire pit. The temperature is getting quite cool in the morning and evening but the sun is strong and is keeping the house warm during the day, which means that we haven’t had to turn on our heat yet. Despite being ready for deep fall and winter, not turning on the heat is a good thing!

I’m here today with a review of my September reading. I laughed when I realized that over half of my finished books were readalouds! How fun is that? It’s all time spent reading and it’s often the most enriching reading that I do, thanks to the time spent with my children. Let’s take a closer look at the books we read last month:

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Favorite Book in September:

The River We Remember was easily my favorite book of the month. Krueger has become one of my must-read authors (although I have a long way to go in order to catch up on his Cork O’Connor series) and I think he’s become my favorite male writer. Set in the late 50s in Minnesota, Sheriff Brody Dern investigates the death of the wealthiest man in town, Jimmy Quinn. Everyone believes that he was killed by Noah Bluestone, the Native Sioux who’s family lived on the land generations before, but Dern isn’t so sure.

If you like books about good people trying to do good things, then I think this one is for you. It’s full of imperfect characters trying to get it right and that’s one of my favorite themes. This is also about shameful secrets and what can happen when we begin to let them go. Krueger’s writing is thoughtful and beautiful and I’m already waiting for his next novel!

Booker Prize Reading

I read two books from the Booker Prize longlist in September and they both made the shortlist! They were:

The Bee Sting was a fantastic family drama set in Ireland. This book is told from four different points of view, two children and two parents. Each character has a wildly different voice and it’s amazing that they were all written by the same person. Every chapter is filled with tension and the whole book leads up to an ending that must be discussed.

I really enjoyed this book and despite its heft, felt that it was worthwhile. I loved how Murray reminded us of the importance our families and communities. Of the shortlisted books I’ve read, this is my favorite to win the prize.

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This Other Eden is a historical fiction novel set on an island in Maine. It explores poverty, race, and eugenics in the context of a family who has lived on the island for generations and is now being forced to move. It’s beautifully written and full of fascinating history, but I never really connected with the story. Still, I’m happy to see that so many people are reading it because it’s a topic that doesn’t get discussed very much.

Not only did This Other Eden make the Booker prize shortlist, it also made the National Book Award longlist!

Readalouds:

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We finished three morning readalouds! We typically go through these books much more slowly, but these three were short and approachable. There will be more about Mary Bowser on Wednesday, but it was fascinating! Chocked full of real history and a puzzle of a book. Bryce loved it and it was definitely my favorite of the three we read in September.

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Bronwyn and I finished three Molly books (Meet Molly, Molly Learns a Lesson, and Molly’s Surprise), as well as the third Zoey and Sassafras, an Ivy & Bean, and a book from the Greetings from Somewhere series: The Mystery of the Suspicious Spices. It was a great month for bedtime readalouds! And I’m shocked that we only have two more Molly books before we finish the core American Girl books. I’m impressed that we were able to stick with the whole series!

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As a whole, September was an excellent month of reading! I’m looking forward to seeing what October brings. Currently queued up: The Hundred-Year House, The Vaster Wilds, and a reread of The Historian. I am in the mood for spooky and I think these might fit the bill!

I hope to be back on Wednesday with an update on this week’s reading. Until then – take good care!