Monthly Wrap-Up by A Book Wanderer

September 2021 Monthly Wrap-Up

Hello Readers! Who else feels like we were just talking about the end of 2020 (and how happy we were to see it) and here we are quickly approaching the end of 2021?! My September flew by, but I did manage to read eight books, totaling 3,295 pages! That’s a rather good month for me, an average-speed reader. When I looked back at My September TBR, I was happy to see I’d read 6 of the 7 books I’d planned, plus 2 more I’d originally planned for October, getting a head start on the many ARCs I have for this month.

I celebrated my 2nd Blogiversary with a giveaway. Congrats to Alex J for winning! Thank you to everyone who has joined me on this journey so far. It’s been a blast! I look forward to many more years of discussing the books we love. <3

Let’s see what I managed to read in September!

Be sure to check out The Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction!

September Wrap-Up

(Link to synopsis on Goodreads through the book title.)

I started the month commemorating the 20th anniversary of 9/11 by reading a more uplifting option, The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim Defede. I thoroughly enjoyed this true story about the selfless people in Gander.

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When I was invited to read Qian Julie Wang’s memoir Beautiful Country, I couldn’t say no. Not only is it an eye-opening account, it’s a love-story to books. So well-written and inspiring.

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My Review

I was finally able to cross off the final book in The 5th Wave series. The Last Star by Rick Yancey has some mixed reviews, but I was satisfied with the ending. I wasn’t excited about getting to this one because we’re already living in what feels like an apocalyptic situation, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Maybe reading about how things could be worse was comforting?? I gave this one five entertaining stars, and I think it’s a series I would reread again.

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One of my most anticipated books for the year was Lia Louis’ Eight Perfect Hours. Her previous book Dear Emmie Blue was one of my favorite reads last year, so I was thrilled to be approved for the ARC of her latest book. And it did not disappoint. Lia Louis has stolen my heart again! I also enjoyed my first buddy read with Carla @ Carla Loves to Read. We both gave this one five stars! Check out her review, as well.

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My Review

My husband recently read Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry and wanted me to read it, as well, so we could watch the adaptation. While it didn’t really fit in to my “planned” tbr, I couldn’t say no because my husband doesn’t read books very often anymore and I wanted to encourage his rediscovery. (He’s read one other book since this one. Yay!) So I decided to squeeze in this 960 page epic. I alternated between the audiobook (signing up for a free trial of Audible) and the physical book to speed up my reading of this one. If you caught my post last month Should I Give Up on Audiobooks, you’ll be happy to hear I enjoyed this one. It also helped that my husband often listened along with me. But, I could definitely read it faster than I could listen. And yes, I did turn up the speed to a manageable pace. 😉 While I enjoyed the book, the brutal treatment of women was HARD to read. Especially so quickly. I don’t recommend reading this one in a few days. McMurtry’s masterpiece still gets five stars from me, but I probably won’t be continuing the series.

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When I picked up an ebook of Beth O’Leary’s The Road Trip on sale recently, it moved up my tbr. It also helped that I’d recently read and enjoyed The Flatshare. I knew this one had mixed reviews, but as someone who loves the road trip trope, I couldn’t resist it. While it wasn’t perfect, I still enjoyed this one. But it did break my five-star streak for September.

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My Review

I had planned to read Practical Magic in early October, but when I’d read almost all the books I’d had planned for September, I decided to get a jump on October. I suddenly got approved for several ARCs in October and the publishing date for one of my ARCs for November moved up to October, as well. I’d never read Practical Magic despite having read The Rules of Magic (Practical Magic, #0.2) and having seen the adaptation of Practical Magic a few times. When I was approved for the concluding book in the series, The Book of Magic, I knew it was time to finally read the book that started the series. (Each book can be read as a stand-alone, as well.) This one also crossed off a harder prompt on my Popsugar Reading Challenge: A bestseller from the 1990s.

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After I finished Practical Magic, I continued on to the concluding book, The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman. Don’t worry if you’ve never read any of the other books in the series, each one can be read as a stand-alone. This was a perfect fall read, plenty of magic and the sisterly love fans adore, with some romance to round it out.

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My Review

In case you missed it…

Highlights from elsewhere…

How was your reading month? Have you read any of these books? Did you add any of them to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!

20 thoughts on “September 2021 Monthly Wrap-Up”

    1. You’re very welcome! 7 books is great! I don’t know how other bloggers manage 20+ books a month. Ha! But I wish someday I could accomplish that. 🙂 Happy reading in October to you, too!

      Reply

    1. Thank you!! 5 reads is great, too! That’s closer to my normal average. But I’m always intrigued by the bloggers who manage to read 20+ books a month. How do they do it??? Haha! Happy reading in October!

      Reply

  9. Great month Dedra. I enjoyed our buddy read as well. After reading about The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland, I requested it from the library and finally got it this week. I am sure I will love it.

    Reply

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