September 2024 reading wrap-up

September was a somewhat mixed reading month. I read a total of 7 books, finally breaking that ceiling of 4 books a month that I’ve been hitting since May, but some of them were just about average, which was a pity. The handful of interesting books more than made up for the disappointment of the damp squibs, though, which is always a silver lining when it comes to books and reading.

Without further ado, let’s jump into this month’s reading wrap-up!

(Click on the book covers to purchase the book on Amazon.)

Reading wrap-up for September

Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It by Ian Leslie

Everyone is born curious. But only some retain the habits of exploring, learning and discovering as they grow older. Which side of the ’curiosity divide’ are you on? In Curious, Ian Leslie makes a passionate case for the cultivation of our desire to know. Curious people tend to be smarter, more creative and more successful. But at the very moment when the rewards of curiosity have never been higher, it is misunderstood and undervalued, and increasingly practised only by a cognitive elite. Filled with inspiring stories, case studies and practical advice, Curious will change the way you think about your own mental life, and that of those around you.

For a book that advocates for curiosity, this tome by Ian Leslie was incredibly boring! There were some good bits, to be sure, some interesting history, too. For example, did you know that much of the ancient Greek philosophy was driven by a sense of curiosity? And that our ability to Google everything actually kills curiosity? {I’m not so sure about this one, to be honest.} However, there were entire chapters that belabored the same points and long tangents into unrelated diversions. For a book that tells us our future depends on curiosity, one would imagine Leslie would dedicate more time discussing how we can cultivate curiosity, but what he offers are just a few guidelines on how we can be more curious and keep our curiosity alive as we age towards the end of the book. Overall, it was a pretty disappointing read.

The Atlas series by Olivie Blake (The Atlas Six, The Atlas Paradox, The Atlas Complex)

BookTok viral sensation Olivie Blake’s Atlas Series, starting with The Atlas Six, pits six magicians against each other in a battle to win one of five spots in a prestigious magical society. Libby Rhodes, Nico de Varona, Reina Mori, Parisa Kamali, Callum Nova, and Tristan Caine each have their own powerful abilities, but who will come out on top when a place among the Alexandrians is at stake? Romance, murder, betrayal, and of course, magic, will hook lovers of dark academic and urban fantasy into this explosive series that gained a cult following on social media.

What’s not to love about magic and libraries? I mean, libraries — and books — are their own form of magic, aren’t they? And then you have the premise of the Atlas novels — the Alexandrian Society, which houses all the lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity, are the foremost secret society of magical academicians in the world. Those who earn a place among the Alexandrians secure a life of wealth, power and prestige beyond their wildest dreams, and each decade, only the six most uniquely talented magicians are considered for initiation. After a year, only five will remain. But the Society is headed by a man whose plans to change life as we know it are already under way, and the latest round of Society recruits will have to determine what they’re willing to betray for limitless power ― and who will be destroyed along the way. This trilogy had all the elements to be an intense, explosive read, with some fascinating discussions on time and quantum mechanics and philosophy and power. And that’s where it stumbled. The first book, The Atlas Six, felt a bit dense, but was interesting enough to make you want to move on to The Atlas Paradox. While it was an improvement on the first book, it still felt a bit lacking. To me, it felt like Blake can vividly see the characters and the story she’s trying to tell, but she doesn’t quite know how to show it to us. But once you’ve read two books in a trilogy, you may as well read the third one, right? Well, The Atlas Complex was a disaster! By the time this book takes place, none of the characters know what they want anymore. They’re lost and confused; they don’t understand each other, heck, they don’t even understand themselves and their own emotions! So what we have are pages and pages of these characters stumbling around completely confused, with Blake belaboring the same arguments about power and quantum mechanics ad infinitum, and telling us in a thousand different ways how villainous Atlas Blakely, the current Caretaker of the Alexandrian Society is. Do yourself a favor and skip this series entirely!

The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson

Mabel Beaumont’s husband Arthur loved lists. He’d leave them for her everywhere. ‘Remember: eggs, butter, sugar’. ‘I love you: today, tomorrow, always’. But now Arthur is gone. He died: softly, gently, not making a fuss. But he’s still left her a list. This one has just one item on it though: ‘Find D’. Mabel feels sure she knows what it means. She must track down her best friend Dot, who she hasn’t seen since the fateful day she left more than 60 ago. It seems impossible. She doesn’t even know if Dot’s still alive. Also, every person Mabel talks to seems to need help first, with missing husbands, daughters, parents. Mabel finds her list is just getting longer, and she’s still no closer to finding Dot. What she doesn’t know is that her list isn’t just about finding her old friend. And that if she can admit the secrets of the past, maybe she could even find happiness again…

It can be somewhat difficult to find books with older characters, so whenever I do, I promptly add them to my TBR. I’ve found some gems over the years, and this is one of them. It’s always interesting to see how authors portray older characters, the traits and quirks they choose to give them, and the ways in which they portray them keeping up, or not, with changing times. There is one trope in these novels I’ve often noticed, though, and that is how often the protagonist is a closeted lesbian. It makes sense in a way, since same-sex relationships were criminalized in the 60s and 70s. But it would be refreshing for there to be no “old, lost love” angle {A Man Called Ove} or to highlight some other social aspect of that time period {The Vanishing of Margaret Small} or even for protagonists who find their footing after years of feeling tied down or trapped in a small marriage (Britt-Marie Was Here}. Still, this is a beautifully heartwarming novel, exploring themes of loneliness and loss, friendship and marriage, that I really enjoyed.

Wizard of Most Wicked Ways – Whimbrel House #4 by Charlie N. Holmberg

Whimbrel House is changing. Merritt and Hulda are raising a family. Owein has signed a marriage contract with the magically compatible Lady Cora, a heavyweight of British nobility who’s an ocean away. And the lovely shape-shifting druid Fallon makes a distractingly fetching friend for Owein. But another change is in the air, and this time it’s something wicked. The greatest wizard of the millennium, Silas Hogwood, is back—after five years dead. New body, same foul scent, and driven by madness and revenge. Owein, fearing he isn’t strong enough to fend him off, seeks Cora’s help and influence in England. Alarms ringing, Queen Victoria dispatches her League of Magicians to aid in Owein’s defense. As magic, both good and evil, converges on Blaugdone Island, Owein realizes how harrowing the forces against them are. Combating them will require some digging—literally—for half-formed secrets of magic Hulda doesn’t want him to have. But no promise, lock, or government red tape will keep Owein from doing what’s necessary to protect those he loves; one way or another, Silas will only take Whimbrel House over Owein’s third dead body.

I came across the Whimbrel House series at the start of 2023, and fell instantly in love with the characters, the story, and the system of magic. So when I saw an ARC for the fourth installment in the series on NetGalley, I pounced on it! And it did not disappoint. Though Hulda and Meritt take a bit of a backseat to Owein’s story, I love how Holmberg wove together Owein’s child-like aspects with his very old aspects. I won’t say too much more about this book at the risk of giving away spoilers. If you’re in the mood for a cozy thriller {I never thought I’d put those two words together, and yet, this series is a fantasy/thriller mash-up} with an element of magic pick up this series; you won’t be disappointed!

Expected publication date: 4 March 2025

They Called Me A Lioness: A Palestinian Girl’s Fight for Freedom by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri

“What would you do if you grew up seeing your home repeatedly raided? Your parents arrested? Your mother shot? Your uncle killed? Try, for just a moment, to imagine that this was your life. How would you want the world to react?” Ahed Tamimi is a world-renowned Palestinian activist, born and raised in the small West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, which became a center of the resistance to Israeli occupation when an illegal, Jewish-only settlement blocked off its community spring. Tamimi came of age participating in non-violent demonstrations against this action and the occupation at large. Her global renown reached an apex in December 2017, when, at 16 years old, she was filmed slapping an Israeli soldier who refused to leave her front yard. The video went viral, and Tamimi was arrested. But this is not just a story of activism or imprisonment. It is the human-scale story of an occupation that has riveted the world and shaped global politics, from a girl who grew up in the middle of it. An essential addition to an important conversation, They Called Me a Lioness shows us what is at stake in this struggle and offers a fresh vision for resistance. With their unflinching, riveting storytelling, Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri shine a light on the humanity not just in occupied Palestine but also in the unsung lives of people struggling for freedom around the world.

I picked up this memoir for the Book set in Palestine Book Bingo prompt. Reading it against the backdrop of the ongoing genocide in Gaza that shows no signs of stopping any time soon, and Israel’s escalating conflict with Lebanon, made it even more heartbreaking. That Israel has been flouting international war and committing war crimes in Palestine is not new; it has been getting away with all of its brutality against the Palestinian people since the 1948 Nakba, with the full and complete backing of the US and Europe. Despite multiple petitions at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and before the UN over the years, Israel has never been held accountable for its actions. And it is continuing down its path of depravity and destruction with continued impunity, despite the ICJ finding that Israel is enabling a genocide in Gaza.

In the light of this reality, reading Ahed Tamimi’s story of a family dedicated to non-violent protests and her resolve to study international law so that she can advocate for the rights of Palestinians is even more heartbreaking. Tamimi tells the story of her childhood in the small village of Nabi Saleh in Palestine’s West Bank, of the games they played as children and the trauma they lived with all their lives, as they watched their parents, relatives, and neighbors get arrested and shot at for simply carrying out a peaceful march to protest the damning up of the spring that runs through their village and waters their farms.

In dispassionate prose, Tamimi recounts Israel’s many violations of international law and tells us about the lead-up to the slap that made her go viral. Being pushed into the international limelight led to her arrest and incarceration in an Israeli jail, which ignited her resolve to continue to fight for the rights of the Palestinian people. Tamimi does an excellent job of explaining Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine and the history behind it. Her tenacity and optimism despite the many injustices she’s been through shines through on the pages, as does her compassion and her clear-eyed thinking about the way forward for both Palestinians and Israelis, while making some important distinctions between the Jewish people and the political Zionist movement {similar to Hinduism and Hindutva in India}.

I also liked the fact that Tamimi tells us what she would like us to do: Not to pity the Palestinians, not to simply have a bleeding heart, but to take action to boycott companies and organizations that support Israel, to educated ourselves and others to help stop the erasure of Palestine and its people. This is essential reading for anyone who is still trying to “both sides” this conversation, if they are willing to have an open heart and mind. And if you would like to educate yourself further about Palestine, here’s a handy list of books about Palestine.

Free Palestine!

Over to you! What was on your reading list this month?