September reading list

I can't believe it's October already. This month I turn 20. Yikes.

September wasn't a great month for reading, but it wasn't terrible either. A grand total of 23 books, and several great ones in there!

The Princess Academy--Shannon Hale: I enjoyed this book. Not the best I've ever read, but certainly not mediocre or bad. I enjoyed Miri's character very much and I also liked her close relationship with her family. Moreover, the ending is not what you might expect while being extremely fulfilling.

The Well of Lost Plots--Jasper Fforde: Jasper Fforde is always wonderful. In the third Thursday Next novel, a pregnant Thursday has gone into the BookWorld to escape the clutches of the Goliath Corporation. While there she deals with gramasites, rogue JurisFiction agents, and much more. Very enjoyable.

Light Thickens and Photo Finish--Ngaio Marsh: The next-to-last and last in the Inspector Alleyn series. They were....alright. Quite honestly, they made me glad that there were no more because Alleyn didn't have the charm and interest which makes the earlier books so readable. Black as He's Painted and Last Ditch were much better.

Sunshine--Robin McKinley: Reviewed here.

Busman's Honeymoon--Dorothy Sayers: Reviewed here.

Something Rotten--Jasper Fforde: The fourth in the Thursday Next series and the best since The Eyre Affair. Thursday is back from the BookWorld with her son Friday and Hamlet, who wants to see how he is portrayed in the outside world. Complications and hilarity ensue, especially since Yorrick Kaine, the corrupt book character, is still around and is causing anti-Danish feeling.

Inkheart--Cornelia Funke: I've read rave reviews for this book. Maybe it's the fact that I read it while I had a cold, but it didn't seem quite that good to me. It was definitely engaging and interesting, and I loved the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. I'd read it again, but as of this reading it won't be on my favorites list.

The Hostile Hospital
The Carnivorous Carnival
The Slippery Slope--Lemony Snicket: The beginning of the end of the Series of Unfortunate Events. All three were fairly typical Snicket.

Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid--Lemony Snicket: This handy little book has many of the best quotes from the series, although it's missing one of my favorites which means I'll have to read The Wide Window again. A must for any Snicket fan.

Holy Women of Russia--Brenda Meehan: Reviewed here.

The Grim Grotto--Lemony Snicket: This is where the series gets really, really good. The characters become more complex, the situation less formulaic. *cheers*

The Penultimate Peril--Lemony Snicket: Again, one of the best in the series. Still complex as the Baudelaires face hard decisions and overwhelming mystery.

The End--Lemony Snicket: Best book in the series. Highlight for spoilers: I cried when Count Olaf dies. I really wasn't expecting to do that. For everyone who hasn't read it, just know that this book answers many questions while leaving many others unanswered. Some people die, some people live, and the end of The End is ultimately both rewarding and frustrating.

The Wizard of Earthsea--by Ursula LeGuin: I'm still not sure what I think of this book. My favorite fantasy books draw me right in and make a part of the story and this book never did that in such an overt way but I kept reading which really tells me what a good writer LeGuin was!

Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography: The author for this is fairly obvious. Loads of Snicket fun. A few more questions are answered, at least in part, while even more questions arise. Typical.

Spiritual Counsels--St. John of Kronstadt: A wonderful book from a wonderful saint. Before reading this I wasn't quite sure why so many people found St. John so wonderful. Now I know. If you're Orthodox, read it.

The Beatrice Letters--Lemony Snicket: Letters to and from Lemony Snicket and the two Beatrice Baudelaires. Not as good as any of the other extra Series of Unfortunate Events books.

Island Magic--Elizabeth Goudge: Her first book. Not as good as some of her later ones, but still quite spiffy. And it's Elizabeth Goudge, which makes me happy. And the du Frocq family is absolutely charming.

The King of Attolia--Megan Whalen Turner: The third in the series which begins with The Thief and continues with The Queen of Attolia. I did not know this book existed until very recently and when I discovered it did, I was ecstatic. Just as marvelous as the other two books in the series, which is very marvelous indeed.

So, that was my month book-wise!