Excellent holiday reading.
September was a great reading month because I had a 5-6 day holiday with nothing to do but relax in the sun, read, drink piña coladas, and do a little swimming! THE DREAM! I read 2 more New Zealand authors, and they were both total bangers! (I’ve learned this year that Kiwi Lit is where I need to be looking). I’m now getting into my Angela Carter zone for the next few reads, most likely anyway – unless I feel like I need a break from her fucked up imagination!
3 ebooks, a paperback and an audiobook
This was aprox. 1,724 pages and 10 hours (of finished books).
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick⭐⭐
My fifth and final PKD for the year. It was my least favourite; I remain confused about what the heck was going on, but this time not in a fun way. Still, I did – as ever – have a good time thinking and writing about it afterwards.
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow ⭐⭐
This one pissed me off. It’s been a month, and I am still annoyed about it, and I don’t understand why people hype it… I guess a lot of people are impressed by empty sentimentality and are happy to fill in all the gaping holes themselves? (Also see: The Song of Achilles, and The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue 🤷🏻♀️). This one really frustrated me because the premise is so good and it could have been incredible… but it was all just pissed away. I do not want to see you under that fucking yew tree.
Wise Children by Angela Carter ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I absolutely loved re-reading this! This was the book I studied at A Level that really cemented that I wanted to study English Lit at uni – it’s clever, it’s referential, and it’s so much fun to read! Re-reading it 20 years(!) later, I’m struck by how much life is in it! It’s a wild ride; if you’re only ever going to read one Angela Carter, make it this one!
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I’m very proud of myself for reading this 850-page beast, and I would not have been able to do it without 4 days in Majorca on a sunbed, intensively reading! It is an impressive literary achievement (disgusting from a 28-year-old, honestly!) and I really enjoyed thinking about it after reading and writing about it.
If you’re going to tackle it, I’d recommend you go in with an open mind and be prepared to sink some time into longer reading sessions to really get into it.
The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I also loved this alternate history speculative fiction novel, but by another New Zealand author. Exactly the kind of thing I vibe with, and it’s a proper page-turner! I will absolutely be looking for more books from Catherine Chidgey.
The New Zealand authors are absolutely killing it; I’ve definitely found a rich seam of weird and literary fiction coming from there (Gideon the Ninth, Isobar Precinct, The Luminaries and The Book of Guilt)!
Marvel Unlimited
I didn’t read any comics in September! I must get back to Carol in Captain Marvel.
Currently Reading
I just finished the audiobook of Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake and am most of the way through Titus Alone (the final book) thanks to spending most of sunday tidying my craft desk. I’m slowly getting through The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter, a book I’ve read previously for Uni, but it requires a degree of attention that I’ve not really had left at bedtime in the last week, so I’ve only been managing about 4 pages before sleep.
I am also reading a chapter a day of A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny, along with my husband. Each day is a chapter in October, so that’s fun – though taking some willpower not to race through because it is really fun so far!
Adding to TBR
I went a bit mad again in September, thanks to a lot of things on my wish list popping up on 99p deals! All the Solvej Balle ones are on my literary list for next year! (Also, all of them are only about 200 pages).
- On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle (translated by Sophia Hersi)
- On the Calculation of Volume II by Solvej Balle (translated by Sophia Hersi)
- On the Calculation of Volume III by Solvej Balle (translated by Sophia Hersi)
- On the Calculation of Volume IV by Solvej Balle (translated by Sophia Hersi)
- Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
- The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino
- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
I also got some new paperbacks from Bookshop.org, two nice editions of my favourite PKD’s for my library (my ‘trophy’ copies!) – so next time I re-read them, I can annotate. And the Zelazny book!
- A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
- Ubik by PKD
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by PKD
I’ll soon do a Law of Fives Q3 report! Only 3 months left of the year- how?!
In other news, I’m now on Bluesky, getting a feel for whether there is much action on the #BookSky – it’s very quiet over there, but I don’t mind it!
