What I Read: September 2023
So many great kid books this month! Plus Bookshop.org's reading challenge...
I’ll begin with an excerpt from my latest column for our church’s monthly newsletter:
“I am not a summer person. I don’t care for heat, water does not call to me, and I have no problem eating ice cream in January. Also? I like structure. And let me tell you: there is no siren song that rings louder for me than the call of a new school year. Those of you who bemoan the shortening days and the disappearance of warmth, step aside; I smell freshly sharpened Ticonderogas and just cracked the spine on a never-been-read textbook.
I look forward to September from June 1st. And October? Anne Shirley said it best: “I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
As I write this, we just came off of four (yes, four!) different trips to Urgent Care in three weeks with one member of our family or another. Our second year of school-at-home got off to a rocky start with me finally committing to a curriculum on Labor Day (Did I mention that August was also brutal? It involved ants. In our basement. Lots of ants.). There are too many things that need my attention and too many directions I and my family need to be going…”
That about sums up September. But look — October knocks, and with it, lots of chances for cozy reading. ;)
Before we move onto this month’s reviews, make sure to check out Bookshop.org’s Fall Into Reading Challenge, hosted on Beanstack. If you want to participate, create an account at Beanstack (you’ll need a new one with Bookshop.org; you can’t use one that’s already hosted by your library), and start logging tomorrow, October 1st! I sure will be. I earn nothing from this promotion, just eager for the chance to win book money!
Here’s What I Read in September:
The Lightkeeper’s Daughters: A Novel
by Jean E. Pendziwol
Someone’s pick for my neighborhood book club: A light-keeper and his family live on a remote island in the Great Lakes, and this story follows his one daughter throughout her life. This book picks up when she is living in an assisted living facility, and her father’s journals have just been found. A teen girl is doing community service at the facility, and she is tasked with reading the journals aloud to the aging woman, learning that their stories are connected in unsettling ways. This was such a compelling plot, but the multiple points of view were written from a jarring angle. I feel like the book could have overall used a solid copyedit, but I enjoyed the story and the Up North imagery in conjured. Would be a good vacation read, especially if you are heading anywhere with a lighthouse.
The Girl Who Stole An Elephant: A Novel {audio}
by Nizrana Farook
This was a failed read-aloud over the summer when my children just would not sit still long enough to complete a chapter book. I picked it up on audio so that I could hear how the story ended, and I found it enjoyable. Chaya is about 12, and serves as a sort of Robin Hood for her community in Sri Lanka. When one of her heists goes wrong, it has far-reaching consequences that will lead to her stealing the King’s elephant and going on a wild adventure. Probably best for ages 8+.
Goodreads | Bookshop | Libro.FM
The Ogress and the Orphans
by Kelly Barnhill
Lovely through and through. If Beth Silvers from Pantsuit Politics wrote a novel, this might be it. It’s thoughtful and kind and asks good questions, even if it doesn’t leave much to the imagination as the plot unfolds. Written for a YA audience, thoroughly enjoyable for an adult, and I think Arthur at 6 might even enjoy this one on audio.
Goodreads | Bookshop | Libro.FM
Ignore it!
by Catherine Pearlman, PhD, LCSW
The hunt for instituting some kind of reward system that resonates with my 6-year-old continues! Motivating him is hard, and this book was helpful in thinking through what kind of behavior out of him I can ignore, and how specifically to reward the behavior I want to see more of. Her delineation between punishment and consequences was definitely worth reading the book for, even if I thought the early chapters were a bit know-it-all for me (I felt the same about Oh Crap! Potty Training — the system was good, the author and I would never be friends.).
Handbook of Nature Study
by Anna Botsford Comstock
I also began reading Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, a hundred-year old book that is 859 pages long and will likely take me years to get through as we dip in and out of the sections on trees, flowers, stars, and animals in our wanders on this earth. Comstock was the founder of the Department of Nature Study at Cornell, and clearly a woman ahead of her time as she wrote about the world around us and how to look closely at it. I maybe should have purchased the version that separated out the different sections into slimmer volumes… perhaps I’ll splurge for a second, more portable copy if I end up wanting to carry it with me.
What I’m Reading with the Kids:
We fell hard for this series of early readers by David LaRochelle and Mike Wohnoutka.
And this book series by Torban Kuhlmann that my friend Marie told us about. Each one is about a famous historical figure… but told from the perspective of a mouse. The illustrations are exquisite!
We enjoyed these two “how-to” picture books immensely: How To Apologize by David LaRochelle and Mike Wohnoutka, and How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman.
And I cannot say enough good things about this short chapter book, which follows a mouse named Mona who stumbles upon the Heartwood Hotel while she is looking for a home. If you need a fall read, pick this up right now — the kids and I loved it, and it’s perfect for autumn. We’ll continue the rest of the series as the seasons change, too! These will be books we add to our permanent collection.
We also re-listened to Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman. A fantastic 1-hour audio book full of twists and turns. I’ve got a full review here.
What I’m Reading Next:
October calls for all the cozy reads, and while I’m not sure what I’ll dive into next, I do have these checked out from the library:
Henfluenced by Tove Danovich
The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews (a rec from Molly, who never steers me wrong)
Plus, I impulse-purchased a hardcover (!) of Lauren Groff’s newest, The Vaster Wilds, when we were at a bookstore to pick up the final book of the Vanderbeekers series. I really liked Fates & Furies, and I loved Matrix, both by Groff. They are not for everyone — definitely NSFMV (not safe for the mini-van) and I wouldn’t hand either book to anyone squeamish about sex — but Groff’s writing is sublime, and I appreciate her ability to mingle the lofty and the ordinary in her work.
I have added so many books to my holds queue now - thank you! There are also several you mentioned that we love. Heartwood Hotel is one of our favorite series. Thank you for the reminder about the Toben Kuhlmann books!! They're gorgeous. I also have the hefty Handbook of Nature Study and am very intrigued by their other options. I have similar feelings about summer and the arrival of fall. Lovely to read this today, thank you.