September Reads

Here we are at the beginning of October, exhausted and frazzled, but still reading. Here's what we knocked off our lists in September:

Katie

• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
• The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland - For a Little While by Catherynne M. Valente
• Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim vol. 1)
• Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

My top recommendation for the month: I loved The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, the first book in Valente's "Fairyland" series, as well as the novella side-story The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series. Me Talk Pretty One Day was my introduction to David Sedaris. I didn't fully get into his humor until a few chapters in, but once I did, I found it hilarious. I plan to read more of his work. I also started the Scott Pilgrim series... which I actually started fairly early this year, but I didn't really get into it and I set the first volume aside without counting it, since I didn't feel like I'd paid much attention while reading it. I randomly felt like picking it back up and starting again. This time, I plan to continue reading the rest of the volumes. I'll report back on my thoughts on those in a future post.

Currently, I'm reading a bunch of things: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson (one of the Barnes & Noble Classics), and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Sarah

• Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
• The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

For the time being, I decided to discontinue my reading of Scott Westerfeld books. I grow weary of the YA dystopian genre. Pretties became stereotypical and boring very quickly, and some of the world-building decisions were bothersome to me. After reading it, I felt a bit desperate to read a more substantial, satisfying book.
My feelings on The Catcher in the Rye are very mixed. I would certainly not recommend reading it if you are in a mental state of turmoil, but there were some redeeming passages, and even some that were enjoyable. Even though I cannot condone much of the content in the book, it kept my attention, and I finished it quickly with no trouble at all - aside from the emotional distress, that is. 
I am currently reading The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Happy October everyone! Have a great 500th anniversary of the Reformation!