August Wrap-Up (15 books!)

September is here and it's time for another monthly wrap-up. It's so weird to think that Halloween is next month. I mean, this year seems to be flying by so fast! 

So this month I read a total of 15 books. While I didn't read as many novels as I did last month, I read quite a few comics and a bunch of children books. And starting with these, we have...

The Children Books

I was tidying up the cupboard where I keep all my childhood books when I found the Enid Blyton novels I used to love as a kid. I don't have any full series of hers or anything but the ones I own are quite well-loved. Feeling a bit nostalgic, I decided to re-read a few of those books. The first two I read were story collections involving fairies, pixies, talking toys and lots of magic. While some stories have aged a little bit, Enid Blyton's writing remains as beautiful and addictive as ever. The collections I read were The Fairies' Shoemaker and Other Stories and The Smickle Smockle and Other Stories. I gave both 4 stars. The next Enid Blyton book I read was The Secret of Moon Castle. While their families are renting an old castle, a group of children stumble across a mystery and strive to uncover it, finding secrets and having exciting adventures along the way. I loved re-reading this one. I gave it 4 stars as well.  

I also read The Adventures of Miss Petitfour by Anne Michaels, which I gave 3 stars. While the illustrations were absolutely charming, the stories came off as a bit too naive, and that too, even for a children book. The illustrations are so gorgeous though that if I had to give a rating based on that alone, I would have given the book 5 stars. 

The Comics

I also read volumes 1-7 of Fables, written by Bill Willingham. OMG, this series. It started out just okay and turned out to be utterly amazing. I gave vol. one 3 stars, vol. two 4 stars and vol. three 3 stars. At that point I thought the storyline was rather unique and the characters quite interesting. Then I read vol. four and it BLEW ME AWAY. This one is called March Of The Wooden Soldiers and it's where the action really begins. So if you read the first volumes and aren't much impressed, do read on! I promise you won't regret it. I gave volumes four, five and six a rating of 5 stars each. Vol. seven wasn't my favorite and I gave it only 3 stars. I'm very eager to read the next volumes as soon as I get my hands on them though because this series in general is just fan-tas-tic! And the artwork, too, is really cool. 

The Classics 

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again..." This famous quote is the first line of Rebecca, the bestselling classic by Daphne du Maurier. While it took me a few chapters to really get into the story, this book ended up winning me over. It's a classic suspense novel with hints of romance and I had honestly never really read a novel like this before. A young, and rather naive woman arrives at the estate of Manderley as Maxim de Winter's second wife. While she's at first as eager as she is intimidated by her new life, she soon realizes that the shadow of her husband's first wife, Rebecca de Winters, lingers still in the great house. So strong is Rebecca's presence that though she's dead, she begins to unravel the new Mrs de Winter's life. I loved this book and gave it 4 stars. It has Gothic undertones and comes to a correspondingly befitting ending. 

I also read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and again, really loved it. I gave it 5 stars and devoured it over the course of a couple of days. It's a coming of age story that shows themes like racism and social acceptance through the eyes of a child. I loved it so much that I was actually a bit scared to read Go Set A Watchman. I'm reading it though and I'll be sharing my thoughts on it in my next wrap-up.

I also really enjoyed A Room With A View, by E.M. Forster. During her vacations in Italy, Lucy meets two men. One is a lower class young man who unexpectedly catches her attention and the other is the richer and more socially acceptable man she ends up getting engaged to. The other man's presence in her life however soon starts to change Lucy and the way she looks at the world. As the story unfolds, Lucy now has to choose between the man whom society would have her marry and the one she believes she might find true happiness with. 

This Month's Favorite

I can't believe I waited so long to read this book! The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is a book that will give you all the feels, gut you mercilessly and make you feel all warm and fuzzy again, all within a few pages. Henry has a rare disease that makes him uncontrollably travel back and forth in time. Clare is his soulmate. While Henry was 28 when he first met her, Clare actually met him for the first time when she was 6 when an older Henry time-traveled to her. This book brings a new take on the subject of time-traveling and shows how these two people fall in love, more than once, and move ahead despite the uncontrollable forces in their lives. A truly beautiful book that I would recommend to everyone. 5 stars, of course.

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Cover Art by Of Stacks and Cups via Pagemodo