Reading Lately – September 2018

Can you believe it’s time for another reading round up already? I’m sharing a little early again this month as the last few days before the calendar turns are always a busy time. I’ve just started Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard but I know I’m not going to get it finished before the month ends. Thankfully, I do have three other brilliant reads I did manage to finish to tell you about. In a bookish kind of a way, September has been perfectly compact and bijou 🙂 .

My first book for September was The Child by Fiona Barton. I had this in my to-read pile for ages before actually getting around to picking it up.  I read several thrillers earlier in the year and really enjoyed them (although ‘enjoyed’ never seems like the right word when discussing thrillers as by nature they generally tend towards the darker side of life). Lately, I’ve wanted to stay out of that bookish dark zone – but in truth: I’d had this on loan from the library for too long. So I hiked it up on my list and started reading. And to be honest, once I started reading, it was very hard to stop.

The story centres around the discovery of a baby’s remains in a housing estate and a decades-old mystery. The book is told from the point of view of several characters who all have their own attachment to the case. It’s fast-paced, well written and will have you repeating ‘oh go on then, just another chapter….’ (rather a lot in fact). Admittedly, it’s a dark one, but if you’re up for that kind of thing it’s also very, very good.

My second book for September was Brené Brown’s Braving the Wilderness. As much as I love Brené’s writing, I find it hard to sum up in a couple of paragraphs what said writing is actually about. I just know it always has me nodding along in agreement and wanting to read more from her. Connection, authenticity, and finding your own voice – it’s all there on the page. I love her mantra ‘strong back. soft front. wild heart.’ and her words about being true to yourself, even when it’s uncomfortable. This is proper soul food for modern living. If you’ve enjoyed any of Brené’s other books then I think you’ll like this too.

My third and final book for September was How to be Happy by Eva Woods. I picked this up purely because I liked the cover and oh, I’m so happy that I did. It’s a lovely story about a woman befriended by a terminally ill cancer patient. As depressing as that sounds, it’s a really upbeat, inspiring book. The pair embark on a ‘100 days of happy’ project and along the way forge the most unusual of friendships. It’s a fantastic story of life, loss, love and healing, with a little bit of romance (and one very cute dog) thrown in. It’s one of those books that leaves you part sad, part happy, but feeling grateful that you read it. If you’re looking for a sweet, funny read this Autumn, I’d definitely pick it up.

So that’s my round up of my life in books for September. I’ve already got my eye on some great-looking reads for the rest of the year so I’m excited about that. Here’s to plenty of Autumnal evenings curled up with a book while listening to the wind howl. I’ll see you again in a month or so. Till then – happy reading, bookish friends!

G x

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links which means I will receive a small commission should you choose to purchase something via them.

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