September Reads

I am really excited for this blog-tember challenge prompt because it means there will be lots of recommended reads in the link-up.

This September my reads have included:

• The Opposite of Loneliness  Essays and Stories by Marina Keegan

This book has been on my list for a long time. Then one Saturday I was in Chapters and decided to read a few pages. It was an hour later of reading when I decided I needed to buy this book. It is bittersweet reading knowing her life was cut short by a car accident.  Before the foreword are haunting lines from a poem she wrote, "Do you wanna leave soon? No, I want enough time to be in love with everything...And I cry because everything is so beautiful and so short." These essays and short stories were gathered together by her family and professors. The essays and short stories are so vivid and heartfelt. If you haven't picked up this book yet you really must! 

• Paper Towns by John Green

This was my selection for a novel set in high school. It was an enjoyable read but all along I kept thinking Margo should have just finished up the last few weeks of highschool. I didn't really like the character of Margo. The whole mystique of Margo was lost on me--but it rang true of a crush on someone that is unattainable. Quentin rather is endearing, and I was happy with in the ending he took his own path. I rather enjoyed the ridiculous road trip he and his friends took. I am curious now to watch the film. 

• The Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel

This is another of the books L found in that box of giveaways in our condo hallway. I do hope the individual that gave away all these books has some new giveaways soon as his/her reading selection is fascinating. Olivia, the daughter of a minister, finds herself pregnant after falling for a WWII soldier. Her dreams of finishing her Masters in Archaelogy are snuffed when her father arranges a marriage for her to a quiet rural farmer to prevent disgrace. In her loneliness she befriends two Japanese American sisters living in an internment camp and becomes an accomplice to a crime. This was a quick one day read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I thought from the excerpt on the back cover that the crime would be of greater magnitude but really it just wraps up the novel conveniently near the end. 

• The Cake Therapist by Judith Fertig

I've just started this novel. I picked it up this summer based on the cover. So far Claire has opened a cake shop in her home town after leaving New York and a failed relationship. She has made arrangements to make a wedding cake for a young socialite wearing a beautiful ring. The novel flashes back to an earlier time period which seems disconnected until a slight mention of a ring lost and then found. I hope the novel will get more interesting as I read further.

As far as my Reading Challenge I started at the beginning of this year I am not sure that I will be able to finish within this year's time. It was likely too ambitious of a goal for me but I've definitely read more this year than in previous years.

Some books that are on my list to be read include:

• Love Anthony by Lisa Genova (another from the box in the hallway & my reading selection for a book from an author you haven't read yet...a very vague category)

• The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood. I've read the first book in this trilogy and this summer Kobo had a special where all MA books were $1.99 so I picked up the next two books in the series. My brother B recommended this series.

• Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard. I've seen this book on a few lists and thought it would be a great selection for A Place You've ALways Wanted To Visit. Plus it has recipes and I'm a foodie at heart.

Now for recommends, I hope you all can help me out with recommendations for:

• A mystery or thriller... not to scary my friends ...maybe a mystery comedy
• A Pulitzer Prize winner
• A book that is over 100 years old
• A book set during Christmas
• A love triangle 

Now I'm excited to hear what you all are reading.