September Bookish Wrap Up
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Graphic with a grey background. The words September Bookish Wrap Up are in the centre and surrounding them is a picture of some books, a cup of tea and some gold stars
Hello friends,
It’s that time of the month again! However, some of you may have noticed I’m publishing this wrap up on a Friday, rather than Monday. That’s because I’ve decided to change my schedule as although Monday worked great for a little while, I ended up having to do some final article checks on the weekends, which I don’t really like doing ~ I don’t even post on social media anymore at the weekends, so I didn’t want to be at my desk either. I need my energy for being downstairs, spending time with my family. So from now on, unless I have a specific date for a certain article ~ like a book tour piece, all my posts will be live on a Friday from now on.
So now that little update has been done, let’s get on with more important matters ~ how my September went in regards to what I’ve read. Well… Despite the fact that I was hosting my Book Club’s One Year Anniversary Readathon, personally this month was a bit up and down and that definitely had an impact on my reading ~ one of my cat’s has been unwell on and off throughout the month, so I’ve been dealing with some stress and worry over him. Then a couple weeks ago, I had a bad fall in the middle of the night and I’m still struggling with some after effects of that. So for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel up to physically reading anything until last week.
But don’t worry because audiobooks have been my saving grace, so here’s what I’ve been listening to along with the only book I physically read this month:
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes:
{I won’t go into detail about this book as I have a full review here, if you want my thoughts on this one.}
The book The Ballad of songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. It has a dark green and black cover, with a gold coloured bird and snake in the middle. The title is written in white above the picture.
This was my book club’s Optional Buddy Book for the month and since I’d physically read it when it was first published, I decided to give the audiobook ago. Sadly, while this book is still very much a 5 star read for me, the audiobook completely missed the mark! Maybe my expectations were high, I don’t know, but I think I was expecting more singing than I actually got. There are so many songs within this book and thanks to the Hunger Games films, we know the melody of some of them but sadly the narrator just “spoke sung” them in the voice he was doing for whichever character was singing.
So if you are planning to read this, maybe skip the audiobook and pick up the actual book.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens:
When I picked this one up, it was for one of the prompts of my readathon, but I ended up changing that to something but as I’m wanting to slowly work my way through Charles Dickens’ books, I’m glad I read it anyway.
The book Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. The cover is black with an ornate silver pattern on it.
The story follows Pip, an orphan with no prospects. This is very much a rags to riches tale as we follow Pip come of age, inherit a fortune from an unknown source and begins an adventure he could only dream of as a child as he tries to figure where the money came from and who he is.
I really enjoyed this story, Dickens’ writing really comes to life in this story. I felt Pip was such an endearing character that you can only wish the best for and ache for when trouble finds him. While A Tale of Two Cities is still my favourite Dickens’ novel so far, this one is a close second!
The audiobook was great to listen to as well, the narrator did a wonderful job!
Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Audio Collection by Arthur Conan Doyle, Read by Stephen Fry
{The link is for Wordsworth Edition Complete Sherlock Holmes Boxset, which is what I own.}
I adore the BBC series of Sherlock and I re-watch it often. So I have wanted to read the entire collection of Sherlock Holmes stories for a very long time and I’ve had this audio collection sat in my Audible Library for a long time {I got it with a credit as it’s pricey!} and as I just didn’t feel up to physically reading the book I’d planned to read, I decided to dive into Sherlock instead!
While Benedict Cumberbatch is my definitive Holmes, Stephen Fry is absolutely exquisite narrating every single one of these books ~ there’s six in all. He’s also written forwards for each of them giving the reader/listener extra information on A.C.D and the stories themselves. The whole experience was just wonderful and I think exactly what I needed to get me through most of the month.
My Sherlock Holmes shelf. On it is a postcard with a Sherlock quote on it, a Funko Pop of Sherlock, the book The Adventures and Memories of Sherlock Holmes with a special edition cover on it. A box set of the entire Sherlock Holmes collection and a wood block with a page from a Sherlock Holmes book with a quote from one of the stories on it.
Fry makes every story come to life, his skill as an actor just shines through, paired with A.C.D’s writing style and skill, the combination just works! There were times when I even forgot Fry was narrating because he embodied the characters so well, which helped to feel me fully immersed in the stories.
As I was reading them, I was restarted the BBC series of Sherlock and it was so interesting seeing how the stories had been modernised and okay, some things had of course been changed but they just worked as a modern version of that character or story.
If you’ve ever wanted to read the entire collection of Sherlock Holmes’ stories, I’d definitely recommend this audiobook collection. It’s also available in six separate sections on the app I use for my Library, Borrow Box, so it’s not exclusive to Audible.
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine:
This was the only book I physically read this month and I was so glad I finally decided to pick this one up after having on numerous monthly TBR’s. This book was originally picked for the readathon prompt of being a book that I’ve been meaning to read for a while, but as I’ve never read anything by the author before, it also counted for a prompt that related to that as well.
Louise’s hand holding the book A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine in front of her bookshelves. The book has a black cover. The title is written in gold and there is an illustration of a thrones shaped like the sun above the title.
A Memory Called Empire is a Sci-Fi with a heavy Political element to it, something I’ve not really read in other Sci-Fi’s before. It follows Mahit DzMare, who is chosen as the new Ambassador to Teixcalaan for her home, Lsel Station. No one knows why a new Ambassador has been requested by the Empire until Mahit arrives in the City to find her predecessor is dead. Now Mahit, working off information and memories that are 15 years out of date, needs to find out what happened to him, while navigating a culture she is unfamiliar, in a time of political unrest and wondering if her own life is at risk too.
The beginning of this book is quite information heavy and full of world building, so I found it a bit of a slow read at first as I was getting to grips with everything that makes up this Empire and culture but once I hit around the 100 page mark, the pace begin to pick up and I found myself not wanting to put it down. Mahit and her Cultural Liaison, Three Seagrass {there are some great names in this book!} are just wonderful characters and watching their relationship shift from professional to friendship was just so lovely.
I just love Sci-Fi’s that have elements of intrigue and mystery to them and as the reader, you’re learning things along with the characters and trying to figure out what’s going on. A Memory Called Empire has a few layers of this and it all works so nicely together. I’m hoping to pick up the second one, A Desolation Called Peace, soon as I need to know how this story ends.
So those were the books I managed to read during September. Compared with previous months, I haven’t technically read much but with what I’ve been dealing with this past month, I’m proud of what I’ve read and each book has been just what I needed to help through.
I also know it’s not about the amount I have read, I am always grateful if I manage to read even one word as with my M.E, I know it could quite easily take away my ability to read in an instant ~ it stops me from speaking at times, so why not reading?
My TBR for October is mainly going to be Dune by Frank Herbert {my book club’s Optional Buddy Read Book} plus another book that I’m joining the Book Tour for. Remember, if you’d like to keep up what I’m reading and doing, you’ll welcome to follow my Instagram: @louiseslittlelife
What were you able to read this? I’d love to know.
Stay Safe. Read a Book.
L x
