Fall 2019 Reading Round Up

Ahhh, Fall. Autumn. Golden Hour of Seasons.

I absolutely love it. It's my favorite time of year.

There's Halloween and Thanksgiving. There's family time and the coziest treats.

There's a smell in the air that just feels like the most energizing and soothing breath of air all at the once.

Unfortunately I was in a little bit of a rut, leading up to fall, and even into the beginning. In fact, I didn't do a single blog post in September.

But making time for the things I love helped me snap out of it a bit. And remembering not to be hard on myself. I think often when we're in a rut and not our most productive, we dig ourselves in deeper by chastising ourselves for not doing the things we wanted to do. Or for not having accomplished all the things we hoped to.

So even though I didn't accomplish the things that I wanted to in September, or read as many books as I hoped to, I am reminding myself that this is only one short month in a whole year. And sometimes we just get into a reading rut. That doesn't mean all of fall has to be that way!

As I mentioned before, I don't write extensive reviews for every single book I read, but I want to do a summary of the books I read each season. So here's Fall!

1. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

This took me pretty much all of September to read. It was a book club pick and though I didn't finish it in time, I had heard from one of the women that it took a while to get into but the ending was great. So I was determined to finish it.

I'm not crazy about classics, and they always seem to disappoint. This book is a long read and I really think it could have done without some chapters, especially since so much of the action is in book three. But I have to remind myself that perhaps it felt slow to me because I'm used to the constant flow of media and content. Overall, three stars!

2. Eyewitness at Amritsar: A Visual History of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre by Amandeep Singh Madra and Parmjit Singh

This was a really great introduction to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It was well written and organized, with a forward by Kim A Wagner that helps to set the stage for what was going on, and what was leading up to all that tension. Why were people gathered in the first place? The book itself is a visual history which helped to break up the facts and content in a way that made learning this history memorable without being dry. The pictures, news clippings, and quotes ranged from heartbreaking to informative, but were always interesting. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about India's history and the horror's of British rule.

3. In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende

I absolutely love Isabel Allende's writing! This was another book club pick, and it was a great story, beautifully told. Allende has a way of changing point of view in a way that isn't necessarily linear but flows wonderfully. Highly recommend. Previously, we had read Japanese Lover for book club and we all enjoyed that as well.

4. Inland by Tea Obreht

I was really skeptical about reading this book. It was a book club pick and all I knew about it was that it was kind of like a Western. Not my thing at all! But I gave it a shot. I had heard it was getting great reviews so I thought okay why not?

It was soooo slow. I didn't think I was going to make it, but I kept chugging along. It did start to get interesting, but I want to say it wasn't until at least two thirds of the way through. To be fair, I'm not sure when I started to care so much about the characters, but I did. And then suddenly I just needed to know what was going to happen and couldn't really put it down.

Not my favorite, but beautifully written to say the least.

5. Revelations by Melissa de la Cruz

Just a fun vampire YA novel. Read it quickly and it was enjoyable. I’m excited to just binge read the rest of the series. Oh nostalgia! Part of why I decided to read it now is that I had found out about the later books when I put together a nostalgic reading list of some of my favorite YA series from when I was in middle school and high school. And not long after that post, I went to request a book from paperbackswap and saw that the sender had the first three! So I ordered them, read the third and then hid them for a lucky reader to find! It was my first time putting together a series for a bookfairy drop and I was really excited to share a series with someone.

6. The Young Queens by Kendare Blake

I love the Three Dark Crowns series. The Young Queens is a related novella. I have read a similar side story for a series before and it was short and fun but not really great. This was definitely a better experience. I liked seeing a bit into the beginning; before the Ascension, before the story I love started. It helped explore the bond the sisters had before they were separated and even a little more insight into the way each was raised. I think most telling was the short but memorable depiction of their mother, the queen before.

7. The Oracle Queen by Kendare Blake

Another novella for the Three Dark Crowns series. This one, though short like the The Young Queens gave me so many emotions! It was a little strange reading a story where you sort of already know the ending. It made me super anxious. Such a short story! So many feelings! The final book in the series was out in September and though I pre-ordered it (something I don't often do for books) I unfortunately didn't get to it. Reading these novellas was a good way to ease back into the series and get excited all over again!

In addition to the books above I participated in two blog tours!

You can read my review for The Unadjusteds here, and for A Convenient Marriage here!

Who's looking forward to curling up with some more books in winter??