September Reads

This was one of my busiest months of 2016, but because I traveled so much I read a ton! Reading is my favorite pastime in airports.

The Last Painting of Sara De Vos: Matthew bought me this book for Easter, but since I hadn’t heard of it I left it on my shelf for a few months. I hate that I waited so long to read it. It goes back and forth between multiple periods including the 1600s, the 1950s and present day and follows the story of painting made by a female Dutch artist during the Golden age and an art historian and curator. Fans of historical fiction like Girl With the Pearl Earring will love this book.
4.5 stars

Love Warrior: Glennon Melton Doyle’s new memoir and Oprah’s 2016 book club select does not disappoint. Glennon shares her heartwrenching story of bulimia, drug addiction and abortion all before getting married in her 20s. She then turns her life around, gets married and becomes a mother of three. With three young children, her marriage unravels when she learns of her husband’s multiple affairs throughout their marriage. I read Love Warrior in 24 hours and was blown away by Glennon’s vulnerability. Love Warrior is one of the best memoirs I have ever read.
5 stars

Sold: I listened to the audio book of this and was mesmerized by it. Sold tells the story of Lakshmi, a girl from Nepal sold into prostitution in India. Meticulously researched and so sad, this is an eye-opening book I think every person to listen to. I really enjoyed the Indian accent that the narrator had on the audio book.
5 stars

Dark Matter: This book is totally NOT a book I would normally pick up, but after repeatedly seeing people raving about it, I decided to read it. (It was a Book of the Month select a few months ago.) I am SO glad that I read it. I devoured it, reading it in 2 days. A science-fiction story about what life would look like if you had went a different path. I can’t do it justice, but trust me, this is a book you want to read.
5 stars

The Couple Next Door: This was my August BOTM select and I read the whole thing in 24 hours. When Anne and Marco go to a party next door and leave their baby sleeping in their home, they expect all to be fine. They have their monitor and check on her every 30 minutes. Of course, as a thriller would have it, they get home and the baby is missing. The twists and fast and shocking. I loved this book.
5 stars

The Butterfly and the Violin: This book was a happy accident. I think I bought it because it was on sale for Kindle and then adding the Audible narration was a few dollars more, so I added that too. This is a Christian fiction book that takes place during present day NYC and WWII Nazi Germany. It follows the story of a painting of a famous Austrian violist who is sent to a concentration camp after trying to help some Jewish people escape Austria. While I enjoyed the story a lot, I found that the Christian themes came across a bit forced.
3.5 stars

The Boston Girl: I can’t remember who recommended this on their blog, but I know that I headed to Amazon and bought a used copy immediately. Written by the author of The Red Tent, it is a first person story of a Jewish woman’s life growing up, working and falling in love in Boston from the early 1900s through the 80s. It was a great story and an easy read, but definitely not The Red Tent.
3.5 stars

Two new books that released in September that I have yet to read, but am excited to do so are Mom Boss: Balancing Entrepreneurship, Kids & Success and Falling Free: Rescued from the Life I Always Wanted.

I’m also excited about the October Book of the Month picks:
The Wonder By Emma Donoghue
The Mothers By Brit Bennett
Good as Gone By Amy Gentry
The Fall Guy By James Lasdun
The Wangs vs the World By Jade Chang

I think I am going to get The Mothers, but The Wonder is tempting. If you have yet to sign up for Book of the Month, they are offering a 12-month subscription for just $11.99 a month, which is a fantastic deal for 12 hardback, newly released books: Sign up here. You can also try just a single month for $5 with the code BOOK5.

WHEW! That’s a lot of books. What did you read in September?