Books Read in September
Every month I’m getting later at this. Oh well.
1. Dark Whispers (Unicorn Chronicles #3) – Bruce Coville.
In the much-anticipated third volume of the Unicorn Chronicles, Cara Diana Hunter journeys to the Valley of the Centaurs in quest of a mysterious lost story that could hold the key to the survival of the unicorns. But the price for that story may prove to be more than her heart can bear.
2. Perfume: Story of a Murderer – Patrick Suskind.
An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind’s classic novel provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man’s indulgence in his greatest passion — his sense of smell — leads to murder.
In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift — an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille’s genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and fresh-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the “ultimate perfume” — the scent of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brillance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.
3. The Princess Saves Herself in This One – Amanda Lovelace.
“Ah, life- the thing that happens to us while we’re off somewhere else blowing on dandelions & wishing ourselves into the pages of our favorite fairy tales.”
A poetry collection divided into four different parts: the princess, the damsel, the queen, & you. the princess, the damsel, & the queen piece together the life of the author in three stages, while you serves as a note to the reader & all of humankind. Explores life & all of its love, loss, grief, healing, empowerment, & inspirations.
4. Transmission and the Individual Remix: How Literature Works – Tom McCarthy (re-read)
Sub-titled “How Literature Works” this essay by the renown novelist is a provocative and entertaining work of postmodern theory that re-evaluates literature and literary meaning from Aeschylus to Kraftwerk. A VINTAGE EBOOK ORIGINAL.
Tom McCarthy is one of the most vital young voices in contemporary literature, and in this essay he identifies the signals that have been repeating, pulsing, modulating in the airspace of the novel, poem, play—in their lines, between them and around them–since each of these forms began. Tom takes us back to the Greeks and the origins of literary meaning to show that information, rather than being a natural or abstract phenomenon, is always based in artificial media–in ones and zeros, dots and dashes, signals and noise. He takes us through Ovid, Rilke, Conrad, Joyce, Beckett, and others to re-imagine the very idea of what a writer does, and what the act of writing is. Rather than praising individual creative genius, Tom re-tunes our ears to the crackle of information as it has passed through the feedback loop of literary culture.
5. Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) – Leigh Bardugo
Welcome to the world of the Grisha.
After pulling off a seemingly impossible heist in the notorious Ice Court, criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker feels unstoppable. But life is about to take a dangerous turn—and with friends who are among the deadliest outcasts in Ketterdam city, Kaz is going to need more than luck to survive in this unforgiving underworld.
6. Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew – Ursula K. LeGuin
Ursula K. Le Guin generously shares the accumulated wisdom of a lifetime’s work.
7. I See You – Claire Mackintosh
The author of the award winning, smash bestseller, I Let You Go, propels readers into a dark and claustrophobic thriller, in which a normal, everyday woman becomes trapped in the confines of her normal, everyday world…
Every morning and evening, Zoe Walker takes the same route to the train station, waits at a certain place on the platform, finds her favorite spot in the car, never suspecting that someone is watching her…
It all starts with a classified ad. During her commute home one night, while glancing through her local paper, Zoe sees her own face staring back at her, a grainy photo along with a phone number and listing for a website called findtheone.com.
Other women begin appearing in the same ad, a different one every day, and Zoe realizes they’ve become the victims of increasingly violent crimes—including rape and murder. With the help of a determined cop, she uncovers the ad’s twisted purpose…a discovery that turns her paranoia into full-blown panic. For now Zoe is sure that someone close to her has set her up as the next target.
And now that man on the train—the one smiling at Zoe from across the car—could be more than just a friendly stranger. He could be someone who has deliberately chosen her and is ready to make his next move…
Total books: 72
Loose reading goals:
Read more romance: none this month
Re-read some old favourites: Re-read Transmission for our theory class, but not sure I’d count it as a favourite…
Read more classics: Perfume
Continue to read diverse books/books by marginalised authors: Crooked Kingdom
Read nonfiction: Transmission, Steering the Craft
Read women: The Princess Saves Herself in This One, Crooked Kingdom, Steering the Craft, I See You
