What I read in September 2024
If August was the month of buying many games, September was the month of buying many books. Went to a couple of London bookshops with my friends and found a bunch of titles I’d had on my wishlist for a while. Had to be done.
I still don’t feel like writing much fiction, but after a couple of weeks without any reviews in the diary, I’m feeling refreshed and pleased with the blog posts I’ve written for tomorrow and the day after.
The Cloisters, by Katy Hays - nice concept, dull execution, main character going to be very disappointed when she realises being an academic is actually just like any other job. 3*
Living is a Problem, by Doug Johnstone - 5*
The Rendezvous and other stories, by Daphne Du Maurier - 4.5*
The Once and Future Witches, by Alix E. Harrow - 4.5*
Intervals of Darkness, by Ray Newman - 5*
Daughters of Night, by Laura Shepherd-Robinson - solid, but a bit of a slog. 3.5*
The Birds and other stories, by Daphne Du Maurier - 5*
Arden, by GD Harper - 4*
Not the End of the World, by Kate Atkinson - 5*
Ghost Story, by Elisa Lodato - 4*
To Be Taught, If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers - my first Becky Chambers book, and I found it stunning. 5*
Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex, by Angela Chen - enlightening and extremely validating. 5*
Looking ahead…
It’s that time of the year again… I’ve just started Elemental Forces, the fifth of Mark Morris’ annual anthologies of superlative new horror, which are always a treat.
As this and previous round-ups may have indicated, I’m having a Daphne Du Maurier phase – actually my second, as I read some of her novels in my lost two years between undergrad and postgrad, more than a decade ago. I filled my boots in Daunt Books, so I have no excuse not to keep going!
I’ve been meaning to read Julie Sondra Decker’s The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality for some time, so I was more than happy to make it part of my Gay’s The Word haul!