September Reading Wrap-Up+

Autumn is here and the weather in this area is starting to feel like the season. And after moving to our house sometime in May, we have, I believe, finally found all of the boxes of books. That's exciting, after having kept them in boxes for almost 2 years. Also, I'm pretty sure there was some book multiplying happening because how do we have so many books? I'm not sure. I've also realized just how many built ins our previous townhouse has and I really took those for granted. 

This is just one of our bookshelves (I guess the floor counts as a shelf) and it is very indicative of what every bookshelf in the house looks like. And this is a new bookshelf. Someone in the house (ahem, me) suggested perhaps just one new bookshelf would not be enough but it's fine. I'll be ordering more soon now that the reality of the situation is clear. It's a good thing I started using the library as much as I do now, though of course I also bought a new book yesterday. Two actually cos the little monster got one as well.

Now, let's take a look at those stats. 

Number of books read

4

Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick by Maya Dusenbary

Butter by Asako Yuzuki

Shit Actually: The 100% Definitive Guide to Modern Cinema by Lindy West

The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan

Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick by Maya Dusenbary

A re-read while I waited for library holds to come in (in particular the next one which I had pushed back at least 5 times). Really frustrating (though slightly repetitive) coverage on all the ways the healthcare system fails women. Whether its not taking their medical complaints seriously, or just not studying them at all, it's one thing after the other. The book does start to make the same points again and again which made it a little hard to focus on at times

Rating: 3.5 stars

Butter by Asako Yuzuki

I have been trying to figure out what to say about this book even before I finished it. And I don't think I'm any clearer on it. The book is a bit slow and not a lot happens for a while. But also a ton happens. It hops from one genre to another at times, but the storytelling always feels consistent. I was on multiple times surprised with the direction the story took. I was also bored at times, but also really wanted to know where this was going. I'm saying all this cos I don't know if I can describe the plot. A woman who works at a men's magazine in Tokyo finds herself becoming obsessed with this woman who is currently in jail for killing a number of former lovers (though she proclaims her innocence) and who had a great appreciation for food, especially butter-heavy French cooking, slightly unusual for Japan.

Rating: 4 stars

Shit Actually: The 100% Definitive Guide to Modern Cinema by Lindy West

Another re-read while I again, waiting for the library hold timing to line up. I've read/listened to this a few times and of course the titular "Shit, Actually" review of Love Actually is a classic that I think about whenever the movie comes up. Some of the reviews made me laugh, some made me cringe, some made me roll my eyes. I think I've enjoyed it more in the past but it still entertained me, moreso when she's talking about the movies she enjoyed (The Fugitive) than the ones she didn't (Love Actually notwithstanding) 

Rating: 3.25 stars

The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan

I'm not even 100% sure where I heard about this. I may have been browsing the library app for titles that were available right then. Or I was looking through books that were on sale and decided to see if the library had a copy. However the way, the library did have a copy of this murder mystery available right away and I love a murder mystery. A ghostwriter (who I am confirming now remains unnamed throughout the book, something I did not realize until I just went to name her) gets the opportunity to write the memoir for former Senator and failed Presidential Candidate Dorothy Gibson, a not-especially-subtle Hillary Clinton-inspired figure. Before they can do much in the way of memoir discussing, Dorothy's neighbor turns up dead and for reasons that are never explain, Dorothy decides she wants to investigate the case. The mystery itself, very Agatha Christie-esque is fun and has your colorful suspects with lots of motives. But why have the political candidate angle? I have no idea. I kept assuming all would be revealed at the end and nope. It never came up. But if you sort of ignore that part (it can be hard at times, I acknowledge) it's fun mystery.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Total pages read

1,472

Fiction

50%

Female authors

75%

BIPOC authors

25%

US authors

75%

Rereads

50%

Translation

25%

Format

audiobook - 100%

Where'd I get the book

Kindle/Audible - 50%

Library - 50%

Decade published

2010s - 50%

2020s - 50%

Resolution books

25%

Butter is by a Japanese author and is a translation