Falling into a Good Book

September is always a bit of a strange month for me. It's still warm outside and I want to think it's summer, but fall approaches and I want that too, for the sweaters and the long, quiet nights cuddled up with a cup of tea and a good book. For the last couple of Septembers, I have been fighting the feeling that I should be somewhere else, getting ready to go back to school once again. Perhaps this is why I suddenly feel the urge to read (or to avoid reading) in September. Here are a few things I found last month. I hope that some of them will spark your interest. As always, let me know what you think of these, and give me some ideas for what to read next! Never the Bride by Cheryl Mckay and Rene Gutteridge.

Working at a library has its advantages, and one of them is coworkers who read and recommend books for you. This recommendation came from the same person who suggested that I read I Am the Messenger. I've come to trust her. So never mind that it was Christian fiction about a girl who really wants to get married but never seems to, then, God personally comes in human form and begins to talk to her. I gave it a try, found it incredibly funny and even thought provoking. In many ways, it also encouraged me. It was just what I needed.

I Totally Meant to Do That by Jane Borden

This was a humor book that is actually funny! I really enjoyed this book, even finding it sweet in parts. It was irreverent, and gave me a window into two worlds I’ve not known up close: North Carolina and New York, New York. I laughed, but was also left with an “ahhhh.....” Of course, I couldn't help but think of another of my favorite humor writers who also lives in New York: Sloane Crosley, who wrote I Was Told There'd Be Cake and How Did You Get This Number. There is something about being in your 20's and a writer in New York City. You attract humorous things.

The Trouble with Chickens by Doreen Cronin

A hard-boiled adventure for children about a former search and rescue dog, J.J. Tully who is retired in the country and is called upon to find two missing chicks for a worried chicken mother who annoys him considerably. The voice is delightful, the humor is subtle and grand. I read this book in one day using breaks from work alone. It reminded me a little of my time reading Nate the Great as a younger girl. Delightful! I want someone to read it aloud to at some point.

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

You may recognize this author from my previous post on The Invention of Hugo Cabret. That book, although a children's novel, won a Caldecott (a prestigious picture book award) for the amazing drawings the author used to suggest a film-like quality. This book plays with the same medium, however, I found the story even more compelling. The author seems to find things that he wants to study and then incorporates them into a story. This one is about a young man who is struck by lightning, then goes in search of the father he never knew after his mother's death. He spends a lot of time in a museum (another big theme in the book) and there are lots of wonderful nods to E. L. Konigsberg and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Additionally, there is a whole other plot regarding a young woman that weaves in and out. Pick it up, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean.

This month we begin and end with a dress on the cover. What can I say, some months are like that. This is a book I initially picked up because of the cover, started because the author happens to write the fabulous blog A Dress a Day, and finished because of the engaging plot and story and the feeling that I was surrounded by lovely vintage clothes. I have long believed in the power of clothing to transform a mood and help one to feel powerful, pretty and happy. This book is a little snapshot of that.

I hope you've enjoyed this trip through my September reading. Please comment with what you're reading and enjoying (or not) and what you think of any of the books featured here.