Favourite book of September

Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos and Saving the World by Julia Alvarez - two novels completely different in style, setting and plot.

My Side of the Mountain. It was my first time reading it, and it's the reason I went and found my copy of SAS Survival Handbook for my current read. Excellent story!

I have a few I have to mention for September:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Another Time and Place by Samantha Grosser

Two 10/10s for the month though:

The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition by Stephen King
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman

The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson

Definitely Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb. I don't hand out many five-star ratings, but it definitely deserved one.

In the Name of Salomé by Julia Alvarez. Historical fiction. Wonderful intertwined stories of mother (poet Salomé Ureña) and daughter from the Dominican Republic.

My favorite so far is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.

I loved the beautiful story of two women's special friendship as well as learning about the customs of 19th century China. I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction, but this book grabbed me right up!

Wow, hard to decide, but I think Spanish Lessons by Derek Lambert was my fave this month. Light-hearted and entertaining from cover to cover. It's a non-fiction travel journal that was so fun to read.

Crime and Punishment. I can't believe I waited so long to read it! I was also incredibly impressed by the book " The Quilter's Apprentice"

I haven't finished it yet but it looks like The Companions by Sheri S Tepper will be getting 5 stars. I'm really enjoying this book so far. Also worth mentioning is Kushiel's Avatar by Jacqueline Carey at 4.5 stars. Both authors have done some serious world building and sucked me right in.

Icelander was great fun and made me smile with many, many references to some of my favorite things.

The Welsh Girl was beautiful and I thought very satisfying as well.

Jamestown would probably have been a stand-out in another month, I enjoyed that one too.

This has been a great reading month, so it's hard to limit it to a single favorite, but I'll go with The Road.

I am currently re-reading one of my favorite books ever, Dune, so that will be my favorite, I am sure. I have read some good stuff, but that is such a great book!

Oklahoma, I read Crime and Punishment in high school and enjoyed it--maybe I will have to re-read again sometime.

Kell, I really need to re-read To Kill a Mockingbird and The Stand, too! Such great books, but it has been so long that I more remember that they *are* great than I remember their greatness.

Two books stood out this month. The Secret River by Kate Grenville and old Filth by Jane Gardam. I loved them both.

It has to be either Find Me, the latest (and perhaps last) Mallory mystery by Carol O'Connell or A Moveable Feast by Hemingway.

Two others that came close: The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay (fiction) and Stiff by Mary Roach (non-fiction).

*Edited to add A Moveable Feast.*

September was a good month! I think I would have to say Snow Flower and the Secret Fan but I am still reading Arthur and George, so this might change ??

September hasn't been the best of months for me, book-wise. Two of the books I read this month I have been severely disappointed in (The Riddle of the Wren by Charles de Lint and Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley, which I just finished and haven't posted about yet), and a third I liked very much, up until the end, which I found frustrating and unsatisfying.

I believe my favorite book for this month is one I haven't finished yet, and for the first time I'm picking a nonfiction book: You're Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop by John Scalzi. I am about 2/3 of the way through it, and it is truly a pleasure to read.

Though it's hardly surprising that I like it - it is mainly excerpts from his blog, which I have been reading for several years now (since before I read any of his books, in fact).

One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

My top pick for September is Her Majesty's Dog Volume 7 which I loved and keep re-reading parts of.

Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger was fantastic. I am just finishing Raise high the roofbeam, carpenters and Seymour: an introduction also by Salinger which I suppose may yet challenge it, though I am finding the introduction less rewarding than other mentions of Seymour.

Atonement by Ian McEwan was my favorite book from September, but Good-Bye To All That by Robert Graves was a very close runner-up.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls hands down this month for me.

I was really drawn in by A Million Little Pieces...

Also, Seven Japanese Tales was great. Tanizaki is a genius.

those are my two favorites for September.

The Master, hands down. I read it for a class, and now I need to go acquire more books by Colm Toibin.

Re #15, I just finished A Moveable Feast by Hemingway and am torn between that and Find Me.

Argh! Decisions, decisions!

#25 erelsi83: The Master was one of my Top 3 last year - I adored it.

Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler (touchstone not working). I'm a sucker for stories set in totalitarian regimes; I also enjoyed its philosophical explorations.

A definite, clear winner for me: Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

#27 amandameale: Have you read any of Toibin's other books? If so, do you have any recommendations of where to go next?

#30 erelsi: I have Mothers and Sons which is a collection of short stories, quite different to The Master but very good. I want to to read This Side of Brightness eventually - it's supposed to be good.

Read several good books, but when Jane Eyre is one of them it's not really fair for the rest of the field. Runners-up: Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan and Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin.

#7 SqueakyChu and #16 judylou - I read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan in August and loved it! Glad you enjoyed it so much.

#13 sussabmax - Yes, DO re-read The Stand and To Kill a Mockingbird - I think you'll find they're every bit as great as you remember!

#32 citygirl - I don't blame you - Jane Eyre is a wonderful book, and another that I only recently read for the first time. I do believe I'll read it again and again in the future though!

I will have to edit my original pick (message 6) and add Snow Flower and the Secret Fan as a tie with In the Name of Salome. I didn't expect to finish Snow Flower in September but zipped right through it. It was wonderful.

Touchstones are taking a break, apparently.