SEPTEMBER WRAP UP

I cannot believe that October, my favorite month, is finally here!  I had an okay reading month. I think I didn't realize how much time school would suck out of me, haha.  So, my OCTOBER TBR will be a little more modest. ;)

 


Lilus Kikus and Other Stories by Elena Poniatowska.  Loved this so so so so crazy much.  I have a review HERE if you'd like to read more about it.






 

In the End by Demitria Lunetta.  Not as impressed by this one as I was by the first. There were a lot of parts that just didn't really make sense... I didn't post a review here, but I have a mini-review on Goodreads that you can check out HERE.





 


Rumble by Ellen Hopkins.  This book and I did not get along.  This was my only one-star read this month... and for a very long time, actually.  Find out why I didn't like this book HERE.

 


Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass.  Perfect.  A book that absolutely everyone should read.  I'm working on a review of this one and should hopefully have it up by the weekend.







Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel.  A very weird and magical book.  When I finished it I wasn't sure if I loved it or hated it. Turns out, I kind of loved it.  But I'm warning you that things get a little strange.  It's called magical realism for a reason.

 


Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom by William and Ellen Craft.  This was my favorite book I read this month.  Only around 50 pages, full of information about the complexity of using race as a reason for slavery as well as a compelling and amazing story of how to people became free.  Really, really, really recommended. 



 


Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros.  This was a collection of short stories written by Cisneros, who has a very declarative, staccato style.  But she also can weave a sentence so beautiful it's like watching someone paint.  Put those two contrasting styles together and you have the very interesting work of Sandra Cisneros.  Her Eyes of Zapata story was my favorite. 

What did you read this month?

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BOOK REVIEW | The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

 5 creepy and magical stars.

The Graveyard Book is a deliciously creepy tale of a young boy who is raised in a graveyard by the dead. Nobody Owens ran to the graveyard when he was a baby after his parents and older sibling had been murdered. When the ghosts of the Owens family - a nice family who had always wanted children - saw him, they decided to keep him immediately. And thus, the graveyard became the baby's home, and Nobody became his name.

I've only ever read Stardust by Neil Gaiman before, but I think I'm starting to understand his style: a little bit of creepy, a little bit of action and a whole lot of magic. There are ghosts and ghouls abound in this book, as well as secret orders, and ancient tomb, a spirit animal - or what I think is a spirit animal, anyway - and a man who is both dead and alive. Nobody can "fade" himself and haunt a person and uses these tricks to his advantage to get out of some sticky situations, as well as for dealing justice at his school when needed.

I listened to the audiobook version of this, which was narrated by Neil Gaiman himself, and wow... I really recommend it. I'm in the car for three hours a day because of my job and my transit to school and this really added a nice little kick to my day. Even the kids I watch liked it and kept asking questions about it! Gaiman has a very versatile voice and can do heaps of different character voices, which always made me laugh. He also has a very soothing voice, so be careful lest he lull you to sleep like he did to me once.

This book is magic. Gaiman himself is probably magic. Highly recommended in whatever format you choose

BOOK REVIEW | The End of the Affair by Graham Greene

4 crazy stars.

First things first: I listened to this narrated by Colin Firth and he has a sexy voice. I feel like it's pertinent to note this.

I described The End of the Affair like this to one of my friends: It's about a crazy man lusting after his crazy ex-lover under the watch of a crazy god in a crazy world.

If I do say so myself, I believe my synopsis nailed it.

The writing was gorgeous, pensive and fluid.  Quite often, it can be hard to appreciate good writing when listening to an audiobook, but this book boasted such gorgeous prose that I believe it doesn't matter what format you devour it in.  The characters were tainted, innocent, corrupt and complicated. This is the kind of book where the synopsis sounds crazy (a man wanting to stalk his ex-lover), but the writing makes it almost philosophical. 

Morris, the narrator, is a jealous man; jealous to such a degree that I don't think I have ever met anyone so jealous. When Morris meets Henry again, the husband of his ex-lover Sarah, he finds that Henry has been suspecting his wife of an affair. Our narrator then hires a private investigator to stalk both Sarah and Henry, becoming inextricably linked into their lives again, falling deeper and deeper into their relationship and his own jealousy.  He wants to know if Sarah is having an affair and he also wants to know more about Henry, the man Sarah chose over them.  And in becoming so utterly involved in their lives, he begins to love them as well.

Throughout the book, there are many references to God and how the characters don't believe in Him. They are so adamant about it, so absolutely certain to the point that it doesn't sound certain at all. Sometimes things happen -- these things that happen everyday can be seen through the lens of rationality or faith; meetings can be coincidence or fate; healings can be psychological or supernatural; love can be a simple mixture of neurons and synapses or magic. What is comes down to is that it is about how much you're willing to see, in both directions. Morris wasn't willing to see anything. Morris, quite frankly, was blind.

Recommended for fans of The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God.