September Recap and October's TBR

Can you believe it's already October? More importantly, can you believe that I actually got this post done on time? I can't believe either of those things, but, as it is, I am glad 2020 is on the downhill swing.  I have some interesting things planned for next year and can't wait to share them!

Here's a quick recap of September: 

For September, I had a hefty (for me) reading list of 8 books. I finished off Dragons of Spring Dawning, which was ehhhh, although it was technically started in August.  Since I finished it in September, I'm counting it.

I also finished Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry and I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid in rapid succession.  Lost Boy is probably my favorite retelling of Peter Pan. It was dark, it was a little twisted, and Henry made Neverland her own with her own set of rules.  I'm Thinking of Ending Things was probably my top pick of the month.  If I'd have done a five star prediction last month, I certainly wouldn't have picked it, but that's what I ended up giving it.

The next book I read was another retelling of Peter Pan.  Peter Darling by Austin Chant is about Peter, who is actually Wendy, but runs away to Neverland as his parents don't accept him for being transgender.  It's really a love story between story between Peter and Captain Hook. The first half was meh at best, the second half saved it and I really enjoyed the read. It was was the September Queer Books club pick in Caravan.

Throughout all of these shorter books, I was also reading The Dragon Reborn.  Yes, another Robert Jordan book.  This is quickly becoming my favorite series and I finally got a Mat POV.  Yes, I am still fangirling over him.  He is just so... Everything! If only he existed in real life. Him being a fictional character is his only fault. Sigh...

My middle grade pick this month was Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo.  From an adult perspective, it had flaws, but it was enjoyable none the less. I will be continuing the series, but not for the month of October. 

I did get to my bonus read book of American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I listened to the 10th anniversary full-cast edition on audible.  To say the least, I can see why the book is so divisive.   I am of the opinion of low-key hating it up until the last hour and a half. The end I liked, it was just excruciating to get there. That was the longest 19 hour audiobook of my life and I am pretty sure I zoned out for half of it. I will not, however, be deterred from reading more Neil Gaiman as I knew this going into the book.  

I was a little late starting To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, and I did not finish it before October.  I'm struggling with it and am not impressed with what I have read so far.  This is a huge disappointment as I was so excited for this book.  It may be a DNF, but for now I'll try to power through. 

Now time for my October TBR:

Now its time for a quick rundown of what the plan is for October! Again, I have eight books this month, and two of them are really long.  

First up is Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson.  This book has been on my TBR for so long that I couldn't even remember what it was about.  According to Goodreads, I added it in 2017.  It's definitely well passed time to check that off the TBR.  

I will naturally be continuing on with the fourth installment of the Wheel of Time Series (WoT). The Shadow Rising is one of the two really long books I have planned.  It is the longest WoT book by word count, although it is slightly shorter than Lord of Chaos in pages.  I am super excited for this book. It's a combination of how the third book ended and the cover has fascinated me since the first day I say it.  But then again, it's my boy Mat on there so I'm really not surprised.  I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I will try to stop with my fangirling. 

 

Next up will be another nostalgia read.  This time it will be Magyk, part of the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage.  This is another series that I had started years ago, but never finished. In this case, it was because of a massive reading slump. So now it's time to finish this series once and for all--after I reread the first books of course.

 

Some of the other members on Caravan and I are also doing a buddy read for the month of October for the book This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. This is a super short book at just 209 pages.  I'm intrigued by this book, and don't know what to expect.  We'll see in the up coming weeks...

 

The other massive volume I am planning to read is The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas.  This is another Caravan read.  I never read this in high school or college and its been a long time since I read a classic anything, so we'll find out if I can make it through over 1,300 pages classic literature.

 

I added All Systems Red because I wanted more sci-fi.  It's a pretty short read. As Murderbot is scornful of all humans and I am predicting to really identify with it.  

 

After hearing people rave about Piranesi, I am adding it to my October TBR as well. The story of Pan's labyrinth has always been a fascinating one, so I am escited to see where this story goes. 

The final book on my October TBR is City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I have read The Mortal Instruments before along with the first two books of The Infernal Devices, but I DNF'd (did not finish) the series after book four or five because I could not stand Clary and Jace.  I liked everyone else and loved Alec and Magnus, but I could not stand those two and got burned out. I just found out that there is a spinoff series focused on Alec and Magnus, which is what I always wanted. Therefore, I am motivated to give it another go.

And that sums up my October TBR!

Five Star Prediction:

This month I am going to try and predict if one of my picks will end up being a five star read.  I think it will be The Shadow Rising, because it is often one of the highest regarded WoT books and I have already been so tempted to give the the second and third books five stars. We'll see if this one makes the cut!

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Title: American Gods

Author: Neil Gaiman

Narrator: Ron McLarty, Daniel Oreskes, full cast

Genre: Adult Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

I purchased this audiobook and chose to do an honest and unbiased review.  The author and HarperAudio neither requested nor are associated with this review.

Goodreads Description:

Days before his release from prison, Shadow's wife, Laura, dies in a mysterious car crash. Numbly, he makes his way back home. On the plane, he encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America.

Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm of preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break.

Scary, gripping and deeply unsettling, American Gods takes a long, hard look into the soul of America. You'll be surprised by what - and who - it finds there...

 

 
Here's What I Thought: 

This was my first encounter with a Neil Gaiman book.  He is often revered and I was excited to read this book.  Especially since it strongly reminded me of The Library at Mount Char, which I loved. I purchased the 10th Anniversary full cast production version on Audible, thinking that having a full cast would give me the best experience, and that wasn't quite what I got.

This book was excruciating to say the least.  I have never been so bored in my life.  Seriously. People talk about how slow the Wheel of Time books are, but at least stuff happens to break up the slow parts. In American Gods, NOTHING HAPPENS! For like three fourths of the book, nothing happens.  Shadow and Mr. Wednesday drive somewhere talk with a god. Drive somewhere else, talk with another god.  Wednesday tells Shadow to lie low somewhere, then they take off again and talk to another God.  That's it.  That's all that happens. Driving and talking and sitting and waiting for 17 hours of this 19 hour audio book. Honestly, the parts I enjoyed most were when Shadow was lying low in Lakeside. I liked that little town, but maybe it's because I'm from the Midwest myself. 

I know the people that love this book really love this book and say it's about so much more than a road trip and the gods and Shadow. It's much deeper than that.  And yeah, that may be, but I was too bored to notice much beyond them driving back and forth across the country talking to people.  I am pretty sure I zoned out for most of this book, and yet so little happened, I was still able to know exactly what was going on. 

The one and only redeeming part of this book for me was the ending. Up until the end, I was set on a whopping one star.  The end, however, caught me by surprise (and no its not because I wasn't paying attention) with a big twist that did actually make me glad that I finished it as I was on the verge of DNF'ing, but felt like I already wasted 12 hours of my life, I have to finish it.  I truly did enjoy the ending and if the first chunk of the book could have been condensed into two hours worth of the audio book (you really could fit most of the book into two hours and still hit everything that happened) instead of 17, I probably would be giving this book 3 or 4 stars.  I enjoyed the ending that much.

Be that as it may, the book remains excruciatingly long and is tedious to get through.  Therefore, I give this book two stars.  I did go into this book knowing that it was one of Gaiman's more divisive books and you either loved it or hated it.  I was in the later.  I will not, however, let it deter me from reading other books by him as many who hate this book do, in fact, love his other books.  I feel the need to put a disclaimer here to take my review with a grain of salt.  As so many love this book and it is so divisive, you should try it for yourself before passing judgement for taking it off your TBR.

 

Any Thoughts?

Did you love it or hate it? Why? Drop a comment below and we can discuss.

About The Author:

 

I make things up and write them down. Which takes us from comics (like SANDMAN) to novels (like ANANSI BOYS and AMERICAN GODS) to short stories (some are collected in SMOKE AND MIRRORS) and to occasionally movies (like Dave McKean's MIRRORMASK or the NEVERWHERE TV series, or my own short film A SHORT FILM ABOUT JOHN BOLTON).

In my spare time I read and sleep and eat and try to keep the blog at www.neilgaiman.com more or less up to date.

Links: 

 https://www.neilgaiman.com/