Everything I read in September
The good, the bad and the comfort reads
I read nine books in September and enjoyed them all. The word that encapsulates my reading in September is probably comfort. The leaves changed, the rain fell pretty consistently (in Glasgow at least), and I spent the first two weeks of September alternating between my bed and sofa. I may have read nine books, but it feels like I had nine million migraines. Here are the stats*
Fiction: 8
Non-fiction: 1
Favourite book of the month: Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises (but The Wedding People was a very close second).
*I’m not doing star ratings because I honestly don’t see the point. Rating a book three stars doesn’t really tell me a thing about what you actually thought about it and this is a hill I will die on.
Ok, time for some mini reviews. Sit back with a beverage of your choice and dive in, girl!
Book 1: Salems Lot by Stephen King
I loved the first 250-ish pages of this. Stephen King writes beautifully about small towns and their nuances; there’s lots of gossip and feuds and curtain twitching. King does place very well, always, and I loved how clearly drawn some of the minor characters were. At one point, a guy remarks:
“The sandwich he made was bologna and cheese, his favorite. All the sandwiches he made were his favorites; that was one of the advantages of being single.”
This killed me. It was so good I texted it to my boyfriend. Salem’s Lot is full of great little observations like that. And it’s a vampire story! I love fiction about vampires, and these are the best kind; proper ghoulish, fanged, garlic-fearing monsters. There’s also some interesting chat about fear; where it comes from and how it manifests. I liked all of that, but the back half kind of lost me. King writes long books, and I usually vibe with that (See: The Stand, which I fucking adored). Here, I was a little bored towards the end, and I think it might be because I didn’t enjoy reading about the main character that much. Sorry Ben. Is his name Ben? I actually can’t remember, which doesn’t bode well.
Book 2: Sandwich by Catherine Newman
I loved everything about Sandwich. I read it in an afternoon when I wasn’t feeling well, and it made my heart feel very full. Funny, moving and honest, I would recommend this to people who like Nora Ephron, but like actually, because I feel like Ephron comparisons get thrown around a lot and are often undeserved. But Sandwich is actually funny and actually good. I bought a copy to give to my mum because it’s a story about connecting with your grown up kids and I want to see if she thinks the observations are accurate. Also I know that it will make her cry.
Book 3: On writing by Stephen King
Did I mention I’m writing a novel? This was a re-read, and although I remember disliking it the first time (when I was a teenager and therefore stupid) I really enjoyed it second time around. I listened to this as an audiobook because I like hearing writers narrate their own books, and I honestly found this half-memoir half-writing manual both comforting and enlightening. I made my boyfriend read it right after me and we’ve been talking about it loads. (Sorry I keep mentioning my boyfriend but we live together and I’m self-employed so I only talk to like two people regularly). There’s great advice for writers at any stage of their hashtag journey, I would say. And some very quotable quotes, especially (on passive verbs):
“I think timid writers like them for the same reason timid lovers like passive partners. The passive voice is safe."
Book 4 (and 7 and 9): 28 Summers, Swan Song + The Matchmaker all by Elin Hilderbrand
Reviewing these next three in a chunk because that’s how I read them. I can get a bit obsessive with reading, especially if I’m looking for comfort when my mental or physical health is bad. I read a book I like and then I become consumed with the desire to read every other book in that genre, or the whole of an author’s back catalogue. It’s a weird coping mechanism, but as it goes, I’ve had worse. Over the last few months, I’ve taken it upon myself to read every single Elin Hilderbrand book ever written because I have fond memories of my mum reading them on childhood holidays. And the way Hilderbrand writes is just so soothing. Almost all of her books are set in the same place and feature a broad cast of characters who all live/holiday on Nantucket. They aren’t quite ensemble books, and each one can be read as a standalone, but the same faces do crop up from time to time. This, along with her beautiful descriptions of Nantucket and repeated themes of escapism, secret lives and cosy mystery, makes reading her novels feel like coming home. I would recommend these for holidays or staycations, or just anytime you need something to soothe and not stimulate. Also: I don’t think Elin Hilderbrand gets enough credit (despite her crazy popularity) for being a very good writer. A lot of books of this ilk are quite poorly written, but that is not the case here. Swan Song is supposed to be Hilderbrand’s last Nantucket based novel, but I would definitely recommend dipping into her back catalogue if you want to be charmed and delighted.
Book 5: The Wedding People by Alison Espach
I bought this book after Caroline O'Donoghue recommended it on her Instagram (she does the Sentimental Garbage podcast and her literary recommendations are always winners). I hadn’t seen a thing about this book before Caroline’s rec and like, why???? I am finding it hard to put into words how fun and clever and moving The Wedding People was. I would compare Espach’s writing to Katherine Heiny, who I absolutely love. The premise of the novel is about a woman who books a stay in a hotel with plans to commit suicide and then ends up getting roped into a very boujee wedding weekend. It’s quite heavy at the beginning, but so life-affirming. Everything I wanted to happen, happened. Honestly it was great. No notes.
Book 6: We all want impossible things by Catherine Newman
When I saw that the author who wrote Sandwich had written another novel and it was on a kindle deal, I snapped it right up. I actually remember seeing We all want impossible things kicking about when it was first published a few years ago, but I didn’t pick it up because the title wasn’t really speaking to me (remember that weird time in 2021/2 where every book was named something like this. It’s so vague and off-putting to me). BUT, this book was incredible. Very short and very very moving, the story follows a woman caring for her dying best friend in a hospice. Despite the premise, it’s also quite funny, and Newman has a real talent for writing character. I cared about everyone in this book and I felt like they were all real. Unsurprisingly, there is a lot of death chat in this novel, but it isn’t cliché or saccharine, it’s just gorgeous and profound. The kind of book you finish and want to reread immediately.
Book 7: Fiesta: the sun also rises by Ernest Hemingway
At the beginning of the year, I decided I wanted to read more novels written by men. I know that sounds weird but stay with me. I’ve spent most of my adult reading life getting very comfortable in my specific niche; melancholy, intellectual - usually short -fiction written by women. The novels are usually character focused and light on plot. Think Lorrie Moore, Sally Rooney, Laurie Colwin etc. And don’t get me wrong, I still love love love these kinds of novels; I love them so much that I wrote my own homage to them with Gender Theory. But this year I wanted to challenge myself by reading outwith my niche. I spent a lot of time in uni taking classes that were called things like ‘Queering the literary canon’ and ‘Focusing on the other’, and it recently dawned on me that I should probably read ‘the canon’ before I start deconstructing it. So without further ado…… my first Hemingway.
Reader I loved it!!! I was put off this one for a long time because Derek Shepherd (the villain of Grey’s Anatomy) said that it was his favourite novel in like episode 4 of the first season. Lol. I feel ashamed to write that down but it’s true.
Anyway, this is by no means a hot take, but Hemingway is a really gorgeous writer. The language and sentence structure he uses is simple, almost deceptively so, and the majority of the feeling is hidden between the lines. I don’t know how he does it and if I did I would be a better writer. Example:
“It was like certain dinners I remember from the war. There was much wine, an ignored tension, and a feeling of things coming that you could not prevent happening. Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling and was happy. It seemed they were all such nice people.”
Hemingway has a reputation as being ‘for the boys’ so imagine my surprise when I realised that this book is about partying your way around Europe and yearning after your ex-girlfriend who is very sexy and posh. Very Brat Summer. There’s so much passion and jealousy and mediations on meaning that really sneak up on you in this bad boy. I am still kind of surprised at how much I loved it, both from a writing perspective and on a story level. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to be abetter writer, but it isn’t a slog by any means. Read Fiesta: the sun also rises (btw why do people only ever refer to this novel by its subtitle???) if you’re interested in: expats in the 1920s, getting lots of taxis, Paris, Spain, bullfighting, fishing, drinking A LOT of wine, impotence that might be psychosomatic, hating your ex-girlfriends new boyfriend, age gap romances, being down bad for your cold-hearted ex who says things like ‘give my love to all the chaps’.
So, there it is!!!! Everything I read last month. Did I manage to sell you on any? I’m away for a week in October so expect another round up of ‘everything I read’ holiday edition coming very soon. Now, for your enjoyment, a selection of bad piccies and screenshots. I should probably have interspersed these throughout the post and written captions for them but I didn’t. ok bye! <3
