After having such a busy reading month for August, I may not end up reading an insane amount this month. Although, I will have to start pre-reading for my university course, so if you see a bit of sci-fi this month you know why.
Atonement by Ian McEwan
I have wanted to read this book for years and years. I love the film, it is up there with my favourites. It is one of those films I find myself thinking about time and again, perhaps it is also one of the reasons I love character based stories that explore complicated relationships. Also, it is one of the few Ian McEwan books I had yet to read – The Children Act being my favourite. For whatever reason I have never been able to find this book relatively cheap, it is not available through my library and the full book price is a lot. However, I recently found it in a charity shop and just had to pick it up. While I do think in some ways I prefer the film (or perhaps just enjoyed the story the first time I encountered it perhaps), I did really enjoy reading the book. The first section of the novel was by far my favourite I think, I didn’t enjoy the parts taking place during the war as much – however I did very much enjoy the sort of confrontation scene in part 3. I particularly enjoyed reading the iconic fountain scene. I am very glad I finally picked up this book.
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
I reread this for an upcoming university course. I initially read this book years ago and at the time I remembered being annoyed about the narrative style of the book. I was annoyed that the novel didn’t show the reactions of the people – so my favourite sections are definitely the beginning and the end. I also remembered there being a weird romance and that is still there. Reading it with a different focus meant that I picked up on different themes, so it was an enjoyable reread.
People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins
This book was not quite what I expected it to be. For whatever reason I thought it would be set in a school shooting and be the reactions in the moment. However, the novel has a longer time frame than that and also has nothing to do with school. Instead the book is more of an introspective in different people’s minds exploring why people use guns etc. It was kind of interesting, but it just wasn’t what I wanted it to be. The prose style was already but the perspective (the story is told by violence/the want to kill) was weird. I found the plot twist was unexpected but unoriginal. And the end was more obviously preachy than it needed to be – the message could have been subtler and more affective.
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
In around April I was looking at the books I wanted to read trying to decide what I wanted to read. In this list was Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. However, I realised I didn’t actually know what the book was about. The book is about a pandemic started by a flu. So, that was not the vibe for the moment. But then recently I saw that the author had a new book out and just had to read it.
I really enjoyed this book, but my feelings on the book are shaped by the fact that I was slightly expecting something else. Somewhere I saw the word Gothic associated with this book so was expecting it to be creepier than it was. While the book has ghosts in it, it is not the biggest part of it. The novel was more like a literary fiction novel than the Gothic horror I was expecting it to be. The first chapter of the book did promise what I was expecting – after the first couple of sections I thought that the book could be a new favourite for me. However, the book shifted focus and became more about the business world. A lot of the questions you had reading the book were explained by business rather than a weird explanation that I wanted. I will certainly be picking up other books by this author, but this one wasn’t quite it for me. It was still very good though.
Graceful Burdens by Roxane Gay
I loved her non-fiction, but I didn’t enjoy this as much. I think the story needed a longer format, rather than being a short story. It explored the feminist themes I expected a Roxane Gay story to include. I enjoyed the exploration of motherhood in this dystopian world, but it was just too short to fully explore everything. It felt more like a beginning than a full story.
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
I thought I would enjoy this book because the description gave me Rear Window vibes, however the book is not as good as Rear Window. To me everything was a bit too obvious, I kept reading as I thought eventually there would be a twist that completely shocked me. But I had picked up on a lot of the clues beforehand. Also, why do so many thrillers include an unreliable female narrator who has marriage problems and is an alcoholic – I don;t read many thrillers but enough to pick up on this commonality.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
This book was really cute. At the moment, I am not picking up a ton of fantasy books but I am glad that I picked up this gem as it is one of the most heartwarming stories I have read. I actually don’t know what age range this book is aimed at but I think it is truly a book for everyone – which is so rare. I listened to the audiobook and I think I would recommend, although the occasional character was voiced a bit weirdly. Whether you listen to the audiobook or read the physical book I would highly recommend you read this adorable book.
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
I read this for my sci-fi course and I am so glad I did. While this book is oftentimes hard to read, it is a very important read for race relations in America. It is also just an amazing time travel novel.
Our Stories Our Voices edited by Amy Reed
This is an essay collection from young adult authors. I did enjoy this. The essays explored interesting issues relating to the authors personal struggles growing up. My favourites were from the authors I had read before and I particularity enjoyed the ones that were from unpublished authors. However, I will say some of the essays were very similar – I don’t know when this essay collection was made but almost all of them referenced Trump.
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
I really enjoyed this story, but I will say young adult novels fail to be my favourites at the moment so my enjoyment was shaped by this rather than the content of the novel – a few years ago I would have loved this book rather than just enjoyed it. It is a great story about a black queer girl running for prom queen and learning a lot of important lessons. It contains a really cute love story and equally explores friendships and family. I would highly recommend this book for teens.
Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gillman
While this is a sci-fi book, it isnt one for my course. Before starting the course I wanted to read some sci-fi books as I actually don’t read sci-fi that often. When I saw this book I had to read it. I had previously read The Yellow Wallpaper by her and also love feminist sci-fi so had to read the first of them all. I don’t know if I can say I enjoyed reading this book, but I did find it interesting to read. The male perspective was interesting and the comparative conversations were thought-provoking. It perhaps isn’t a book you would read for plot but more a book to make you think about and reconsider gender norms.
After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones
This is the first time I have ever listened to a short story collection as an audiobook and I don’t think I would do it again. At times I struggled to concentrate as a short story collection requires a bit more brain power at the best of times. However, I did really enjoy the stories. There were quite a few that really drew me in. I am definetley interested in reading a longer story by this author. I think with the opportunity to delve a bit deeper into the horror I will really enjoy his work.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
This is perhaps the weirdest book I have ever read, but god did I love it. The book was on my radar and I was abdiment that I would read it before watching the film, but then I saw the audiobook was available on Scribd and had to give it a go instantly. This is perhaps the best audiobook I have ever listened to! I was so thoroughly engaged in what was happening. A lot of this is due to the story itself which is so well crafted. However, the audiobook does do something spectacular which made me literally stop and just listen. Usually I struggle to do nothing while listening to an audiobook but for the second half of this audiobook that was all I could do. I listened to the whole thing in a day and invented things to do so I could listen to it more.
I don’t want to write too much about the actual plot of the book as I think knowing as little as possible is paramount to reading this book – don’t read a description just read it if you like weird horror.
Vague Spoilers Ahead: The twist was done so well. I think if it was included in another story I wouldn’t have liked it. But it made so much sense, the clues were there and it really made me think. I honestly think i will have to reread the book at some point – probably the physical book – and pick up on the clues as I know the ending. I keep thinking about how various elements add into it, but there are certain parts I really want to reread as to make it clearer. I think reading it a second time will if anything make it even creepier.
This Savage Song by VE Schwab
I really enjoyed this book. It took me longer to get into than her other books but once I got into it I really enjoyed. I am really excited about the upcoming release of The Invisible Life of Addie Larou so thought I would read one of her books I haven’t read yet in anticipation. I will say that in general I prefer her adult works over her young adult ones. But this was still a really solid story. I will definitely be reading the sequel – probably very soon.
Words and Dragons 