SEPTEMBER 2021 WRAP-UP
September was another great reading month, with progress on my own challenges:
- I have already reached my reading goal for the year, which was 120 books. Seems like I need to raise the bar every year!
- I’m almost done with listening to all of Hercule Poirot
- Which allowed me a little break in my audio program: I then listened to a French audio, a long sequel I was really looking forward.
- And I even just started listening to The Thirteenth Tale.
This is actually BIG for me, as it is the title that has been for the longest time on my Goodreads TBR. When I say longest, I really mean it. This is the first title I added to my TBR 10 years ago, when I joined Goodreads. My goal is to focus more and more on these titles that I have meant to read for so many years - I posted my review of Lessons From Walden, so I now only have one review late for books I requested a year ago (through Edelweiss). Alas, there are many books I have read this year and never wrote a review for them, but at least I’ll be caught up soon with the books I had requested.
- And yesterday, I celebrated my 11th blogiversary. Didn’t do anything special, beside preparing this post!!
These goals actually are not really reflected in the number of pages I have read this year. The reason being I’m currently reading two massive books (one is 900 pages or so), and I’m not done. So numbers of pages will be high next month when I’m done with these two books.
📚 Here is what I read in September:
12 books:
6 in print
= with 1,590 pages, a daily average of 53 pages/day
6 in audio
= 48H05, a daily average of 1H36 (which is almost 20 minutes more than last month. And the reason being a lot of work in the garden, especially picking a lot of green beans, cutting them, and blanching them. Perfect activity for audio time!
5 in mystery:
- After the Funeral (Hercule Poirot #33), by Agatha Christie
- Hickory Dickory Dock (Hercule Poirot #34), by Agatha Christie
- Dead Man’s Folly (Hercule Poirot #35), by Agatha Christie
- Cat Among the Pigeons (Hercule Poirot #36), by Agatha Christie – these first 4 were as audiobooks, for The Classics Club
- Rider on the Rain, by Sébastien Japrisot – for the Books in Translation Challenge and for The Classics Club. My review will be live on October 4
2 in science-fiction:
- The Islanders, by Christopher Priest
- Constance, by Matthew FitzSimmons – read to prepare for the Virtual Crime Book Club (Zoom discussion on October 11)
2 in YA/Children’s Book:
- Les deux châteaux (N.E.O. #2), by Michel Bussi – French audiobook
- Kaleidoscope, by Brian Selznick
1 in historical fiction:
- Les Évaporés, by Thomas B. Reverdy – in French with one of my students
1 in literary fiction:
- Rue des boutiques obscures, by Patrick Modiano – in French another of my students. This is a reread
- Les Mystères de Paris, volume 1, by Eugène Sue – French audiobook, for The Classics Club.
MY FAVORITE BOOKS THIS PAST MONTH
READING CHALLENGES & RECAP
Classics Club: 80/137 (from November 2020-until November 2025)
Japanese Literature Challenge: 12 books
#20BooksofSummer21: 37/20 books
Total of books read in 2021 = 125/120 (104%)
Number of books added to my TBR this past month = 39
OTHER BOOKS REVIEWED THIS PAST MONTH
And two short reviews:
GIVEAWAYS
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MOST POPULAR BOOK REVIEW THIS PAST MONTH
click on the cover to access my review
MOST POPULAR POST THIS PAST MONTH
– NON BOOK REVIEW –
Top Ten Books on my Fall 2021 To-read List
BOOK BLOG THAT BROUGHT ME MOST TRAFFIC THIS PAST MONTH
Caffeinated Reviewer
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Come back on October 5
to see the books I plan to read in October
📚 📚 📚
How was YOUR month of September?
Nicole at Feed Your Fiction Addiction
has created a Month In Review meme
where you can link your monthly recap posts
Thanks Nicole!
Words And Peace 
Congrats on reaching your reading goal for the year!
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Merci Angela
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A good month – lots of lovely Christie! I had a good September too, though with a couple of duds. Looking forward to October reading, though! 😀
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The Islander was a major dud for me! Haven’t had one like this for a long time
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Happy belated blogoversary!!!!!!!!!!!
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Merci Freda
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Congratulations on meeting your reading goal!
Lessons from Walden sounds fascinating. It’s been many years since I read Thoreau and was thinking maybe it’s time to read him again.
Have a wonderful October!
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Thanks, you too! This would be the perfect book to revisit Walden
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It looks like you’ve had a great month! Congrats on reaching your Goodreads goal so early. I read Constance this month too! I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great October!
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Constance was enjoyable. I am looking forward to my online group discussion. And looks like there will be a sequel as it is announced as a series
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I enjoyed it too, especially the interesting perspective of Con coming to terms with being a clone. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where the series goes next.
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Along those lines, I liked all the questions around identity and self
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Another busy month! I feel like reading every single book on this list, but I think Village of Eight Graves is what appeals to me the most — my mind is already whirling with possibilities about the plot!
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Well, you are in for quite a ride on this one, crazy plot!
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You’ve had an amazingly successful year with all your challenges it seems. I’m lagging behind on mine a bit but there are still three months to go so I might just make it
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It seems to work better if I make my own challenges. Good luck on yours!
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I keep changing my mind – sometimes I want to do challenges and then other times they are the last thing I feel like…
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I guess you just need to find the ones that work best for you. In the younger years of my blog, I used to do around 10 challenges a year! Now I prefer for the most part to focus on my TBRs
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I’m only doing challenges where I can draw from my TBR.
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Great idea!
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Happy blogiversary and congratulations on meeting your goals!
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Thanks so much. How are things going for you?
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Wow on 120 books…congrats!!
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Happy Reading this month!!
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Thanks. Happy October reading as well
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What a great reading month and congrats on the 120 reaching of a goal. Love your taking up The Thirteenth Tale on audio.Hope its turning out well for you.
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Thanks. Yes, The Thirteenth Tale is fabulous. I guess the house will be cleaner these weeks, as I’m looking for more house chores as excuse to listen to it, lol
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Happy 11th blogiversary. I am a year and a half behind you. I am still enjoying blogging. So rewarding.
Congratulations on reading 120 books plus, you read a great variety of books. And I love that you keep up with your challenges. Maybe I need to stick to fewer challenges.
— TracyK at Bitter Tea and Mystery.
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In my younger days, I signed up for tons of challenges. I guess wisdom comes with old age, lol
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Getting older hasn’t worked for me, as far as signing up for challenges. I bet I am at least as old as you are.
Also, I hope to hear what you thought of The Thirteenth Tale. That book has been on my TBR for a long time too (physical copy), and I really should read it soon.
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This is a riot! What makes you think I am that young? I’m in my mid 50s!
The Thirteenth Tale is fabulous! I can’t believe I waited that long to listen to it.
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Mid 50s is young to me. I will be 73 in early November.
I am glad to hear that The Thirteenth Tail is good. I will try to read it before the end of the year.
I do think your approach of making up your own challenges and focusing on your TBR books is the best. I have a lot of TBR books.
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This is so encouraging to meet a blogger in her 70s. Good for you! I hope I can follow in you steps
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I love that you read the first book from your Goodreads list! I don’t think I even know what mine is, I started so long ago.
Congratulations on your blogiversary! Eleven years is a huge accomplishment!
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Thanks. For Goodreads, easy, you just click on the arrow on ‘Date added’ on your shelf “Want to read”, and you can see what you added first
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The Thirteenth Tale is really good. I need to re-read it.
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Try the audio, excellent narrators (two)
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