Sunday, October 06, 2013

Sunday Salon: July to September Reading Reflections

I am not quite sure how this has happened, but I haven't actually done a monthly reading wrap up since June! I know why I didn't at the end of August (because I was busy recapping my Melbourne Writers Festival sessions) but have no clue as to why I didn't post one in July. I am relieved to see that my blogging seems to be working a lot better than it was at the moment although there is still room for improvement. At least it doesn't feel as much like a chore as it was a few months ago!

Three months of reading wrap ups means that this post is going to be a bumper list of books read, so I best get on with it!

July reads

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid 4
Duet by Kimberley Freeman 4 (audiobook) ***
Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt 4
The Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O'Neal 4
Zoe's Baby by Alison Roberts 3 ***
Looking for Alaska by John Green 4.5 (audiobook)
Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole 4
A Gentleman Never Tells by Juliana Gray 4
Written in Red by Anne Bishop 4.5
The Provence Cure for the Broken Hearted by Bridget Asher 4.5
Almost French by Sarah Turnbull 4 ***
Anybody But Him by Claire Baxter 3.5 ***
The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan 4
The Duchess War by Courtney Milan 4
A Kiss Before Midwinter by Courtney Milan 4
The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan 4
Persuasion by Jane Austen 4 (audiobook)
India Black an the Shadows of Anarchy by Carol K Carr 4

August Reads

The Cowboy, the Cheat, His Ex-Wife and Her Vibrator by C C Coburn 3 ***
The Tudor Secret by C W Gortner 3.5
Fables 10: The Good Prince by Bill Willingham 4
Taking Chase by Lauren Dane 4
The Tudor Conspiracy by C W Gortner 4.5
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green 3
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell 5
Cake by Lauren Dane 3.5
Game of Thrones by George R R Martin 4.5 (audiobook)
The Sum of all Kisses by Julia Quinn 4
Must Love Kids by Jackie Braun 4
Gold Dust by Kimberley Freeman 4 ***
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid 4
The Returned by Jason Mott 4

September Reads 

The Garden of Happy Endings by Barbara O'Neal 3
Deranged Marriage: A Memoir by Sushi Das 3.5
On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta 4.5 (audiobook) ***
His Last Mistress by Andrea Zuvich 3.5
Since the Surrender by Julie Anne Long 3
On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta 5 (audiobook/reread) ***
Saving Francesca by Marchetta 4 (audiobook) ***
Lilla's Feast by Frances Osborne 4
French Milk by Lucy Knisley 3.5
The Arrangement by Mary Balogh 4
Fables: War and Pieces by Bill Willingham 4
Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford 3.5

All grades are out of 5 and all books marked with asterisks *** count for my participation in the Australian Women Writers Challenge.

Currently reading

The Longing by Candice Bruce, Weak at the Knees by Jo Kessel, The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova and I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert

Up Next

Colussus: Stone and Steel by David Blixt and The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta


6 comments:

  1. I bet you feel happy now that you have caught up. Lots of four and four-plus ratings in there. That's good reading.

    Here's my Sunday Salon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for your wrap up list. I am amazed that you've read so many books!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's a lot of reading. Wish I could read that fast!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'd say if you feel better about your blogging that in itself is a huge achievement! :--)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks like some good reading. Eleanor & Park had a lot of buzz at the library conference I just went, too -- and more because it's a great book than because it was challenged in Minnesota.

    I just finished French Milk because of your review. It's going to help me with my memoir project on the blog this week where I'm going to explore my relationship with my mother.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice wrap-up list! I'm wondering a bit if the Reluctant Fundamentalist is fairly readable. I have that one sitting around. thx

    ReplyDelete