Reading Recap - September

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal of reading 70 books.  Within that total, I wanted to expand my reading horizons a little by including one memoir/biography, one classic, and one blog reader recommendation each month.  I'm providing a round-up of these reads at the close of each month.

This month's selections ...

Memoir/Biography

A Stolen Life

by Jaycee Dugard

I remember hearing about Jaycee Dugard's rescue, but I didn't really delve too deeply into her story at the time. When I saw this book in our library, I decided to change that. This audiobook was my commute companion for a few weeks.  Listening to Jaycee talk about her capture and all she endured during that time was unbelievable. I can't imagine going through all of that and still having any sanity -- or trust in people -- left.  I will say that Jaycee kind of sounds like a child in the recording and I kind of wonder if that's because her childhood was essentially stolen from her. Either way, it was a very interesting read/listen.  

Classic

On The Road

by Jack Kerouac

My friend, Meg, suggested this one to me when I was fishing for book ideas. It's the first stream of consciousness book I've read in a long time. I'm used to reading works that are written in third person, but this one is in first person and reads exactly like we're inside the author's head. And his head (and body) certainly go a lot of places in this book.  It kind of made me want to go on a no-agenda road trip. Kind of. I'm too much of a planner for that, but the concept is intriguing. By the way, I'm counting this one as a classic (some lists I found label it a "modern classic) and a recommendation (I need to do two this month since I didn't read one last month).

Blog Reader Rec

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

by Avi

Kristin recommended this one to me and even though it's juvenile fiction, I really enjoyed it. It was a nice break from the other serious books I read this month, although it was plenty serious in its own right. There's lots of suspense, and the story moves along very well. It looks like this is a popular book in schools, and I'm trying to imagine reading this as a teenager. I think I would have read it much differently.

Bonus Reads

 The Zookeeper's Wife

by Diane Ackerman

I needed another audiobook companion once Jaycee Dugard's story was done. I'd been looking at this one for a while and finally took the plunge.  This is a non-fiction book that reads like fiction. Even though it's a true story, the author wove the tale like a novel. I never thought much about what non-Jewish people went through in Poland during the Holocaust and this gave me great insight. The setting and main "characters" were even more interesting because they had a zoo -- an actual zoo -- on their land.

Magic Kiss

by Melanie Shawn

This was probably my only lighthearted read of the month. Whew.  This team of sisters is among my favorite authors, and they definitely didn't disappoint with this book.  Lots of tension and chemistry along with the unforgettable town characters I've grown to love during this series.

+++++

What have you been reading?