Hey guys, this is Abi here,
And I'm here with a (slightly) late wrap up, due to a two day trip to Lincoln.
But I'm here, and I will be posting both this and an Anticipated Releases post for the last three months of the year- in due course.
Without further ado, here is a breakdown of the books I finished in September.
1. Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernadette Evaristo
Girl, Woman, Other is a compilation of short stories, from the POV of 12 different characters. There are three stories to a section, and each of those characters cross paths in some way or another.
I actually found with this book, that even though I absolutely adored each and every story, I struggled to stay engaged to it. Thus, why it took me the best part of three weeks to finish it.
These characters were from a variety of ages, sometimes through generations in a family, sometimes the interaction came from a school setting, but they were all powerful stories, moving and heartfelt in a way that you rarely see in the Fiction genre these days. They each had their own challenges, their own obstacles to overcome and it was interesting to read and find out how they dealt with their own individual situations. I have been wanting to read this for the longest time, and I was so happy when I was given the chance to.
Of course, you find out each character's ending in one ending paragraph, at the afterparty of the first story's theatre premiere- coming full circle, and it was a good ending to a brilliantly thought-out tale.
2. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The Graveyard Book tells the story of Bod, whose taken in by two ghosts in a graveyard, after he escapes the assassin that killed his entire family. It's a short novel, not even 300 pages, but you read about Bod from the age of 2, all the way to when he's a young man, seeking a future outside of the graveyard, but unable to leave, because of the hunter, still hell-bent on his murder.
For me, the first few chapters felt unconnected. It was like each chapter was a whole new story, and was unrelated to anything I'd read previously. Other than the introduction to a new character, whose relevance I couldn't see at the time, a lot of the chapters almost fell flat (despite me liking reading them at the time). Then I reached a point, maybe 100-120 pages in, that it felt like the story finally came together.
From that point on, you could say that I was a bit more anxious to find out what happened with Bod, and the killer that wanted him dead.
The second half of the book is enough to struggle through the first part in my opinion.
Overall, lovely, whimsical writing, a very unique story, that should not be underrated. I would say with some certainty that this is on my top three Neil Gaiman books.
And I'm not done yet.
3. Fence, Vol. 6: Redemption (Fence #6), by C.S. Pacat
4. Fence, Vol. 7: Challengers (Fence #7), by C.S. Pacat
God knows there aren't many sports book series, much less fencing, but that's why this series is such a standout. Amazing, adorable characters that I love so much, so intense, I practically bite a nail off after every graphic novel, just an amazing, fast paced story- you must understand, I've never had withdrawal symptoms like I have for this series- ever.
SO I NEED THE NEXT VOLUME.
Okay, so those are the books that I read in September! Right now I'm working Great Expectations, and have been for a while- which is why there aren't anymore books on my Wrap Up for September.
I'm very much hoping to finish it before I holiday to Dubrovnik next thursday, but we'll see how we go.
Anyway, that's all I have for you today- as always, feel free to comment what you got up to in September, and I'll be posting my Anticipated Releases as soon as I can!
I hope you have a good morning, afternoon, or evening- wherever you are!
Byeeeeee!
-Abi xxxxxx
