September TBR

Already I feel like I have been side tracked from my original TBR for September because of how much I enjoyed "Six of Crows" at the start of the month.  I got an Audible credit and just felt like I had to spend it on the sequel.  I have no regrets!

The first book on my TBR is "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo.  I got this from Audible to keep me company on a long car journey after hearing so much about it on Booktube.  I was pretty intrigued and had gotten about halfway through it in August.  It was my priority to finish this one first (which I have) and get on to reading the rest of my September TBR.  I will put a full review in my September wrap up but it was a superb read.










The next book is one that I am totally unsure about, even a bit wary, if I am honest.  There are so many mixed reviews about it that it took me a while to convince myself to put it on my list.  "Confessions of a Sociopath" by M.E. Thomas is one that should be right up my street - I love anything remotely psychological and especially books that look at things from a different perspective.  As M.E. Thomas is a diagnosed non-violent sociopath I figured that it would be an interesting way to learn a bit more about the condition.  I have started this one already and I can totally see where the negative reviews are coming from.






"Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman is book 3 on my to be read list this month.  The title caught me straight away - who is Eleanor Oliphant!? Why wouldn't she be fine? Is she really fine?  All questions that have popped into my head when I look at the title of the book.  To me this sounded like a book of balance - it has a serious side but a bit of humour injected too.  I am saving this one for the middle of the month when I need something to cheer me up a little bit amongst my other dark, gloomy reads. 


This next book is one I picked up for a few reasons: the nomination for the Women's Prize for Fiction and the hype that surrounds it.  "Stay With Me" by Ayobami Adebayo is set in a community where polygamy is normal and the idea of staying faithful to one person is absurd.  It follows the journey of a couple who are trying (unsuccessfully) for a baby and the devastation they face when they don't get what they want.  The couple's devastation is deepened when the family arrives with another wife to join the family and provide children to Akin.  I am so keen to read this beautiful book - the yellow edged pages are stunning!





I fell in love with Ira Levin when I read "Rosemary's Baby" at university and I have always been meaning to come back and read more of his work but never quite found the time.  This month I have added "A Kiss Before Dying" to my list to ensure I finally get around to this one.  I don't know very much about the actual plot other than it is about a young man who will do anything to get to where he wants to be.  I know that Ira Levin's writing style is one that I previously enjoyed and I know that this book gets rave reviews so I have high hopes for this one.






"The Sellout" by Paul Beattie which won the Man Booker prize is another book on my list this month. This is about a man brought up by a racist father who has shaped his view of the world.  To try to make a point he re-introduces segregation and slavery in modern day America.  This is a shocking story but one that I am genuinely scared of becoming a reality in the future.  The way that the world is heading seems to be further and further from what is morally acceptable.  I think this may well end up an important lesson that should be heeded by many world leaders today.






For years I have been meaning to work my way through the works of Shakespeare that I (shame-faced) admit that I have not actually read yet.  I feel this list is WAY longer than it should be!  I also feel that I have added "The Tempest" to this month's list because I really want to read Margaret Atwood's "Hag-Seed" which is a re-telling of the original story.  I figured it is definitely some sort of sacrilegious act if I was to read "Hag-Seed" before the real deal.








Having read my first Daphne DuMaurier novel in August I was intrigued to compare the quality of her short stories to the novel.  I have picked "The Blue Lenses" as a short story collection to start reading this month.  My aim is to get this finished pretty quickly - especially since it is actually a book borrowed from the library. I know nothing about the stories but I am intrigued to find out more.

Finally, as mentioned earlier, I want to listen to "Crooked Kingdom" by Leigh Bardugo.  I was so impressed with "Six of Crows" that I just don't want there to be a huge time gap before I get the chance to binge on this one too.  The cliffhanger in "Six of Crows" left me glad that I came late to the party and could move straight on to the next book in the series!









I am going to do a mid month reading review in September I think so that will be up in the next week or so.  I also want to do a proper individual review of a few books I have loved recently.

Meg x