September was not a great month for books for me. I read quite a few, but none made that big of an impression, so it was hard to get motivated to blog about them, especially when I had so many other things to do. Like grade. The grading never ends.
Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge: I won this graphic novel from Vasilly, host of the Graphic Novels Challenge. It was, by far, my favorite of this batch. Not only does the book win for having a protagonist named Paige Turner (her parents love books!), but I loved the illustrations and the storyline. Paige moves with her family from Charlottesville, VA to Brooklyn, NY and has to learn how to navigate the big city and make new friends. There’s a great mix of styles, the characters are ace, and Paige, of course, comes of age with aplomb.
YA Reading Challenge: 28; Graphic Novels Challenge: 8/10
Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler: I won this a book in a contest hosted by Sara Zarr. I was going to say that she sent it to me because we’re besties, but, unfortunately, that’s a lie. She has commented directly to me on her blog, though. I’ll take what I can get.
But I digress. The point is not my fictional friendship with Sara Zarr. The point is this book! Which I thought was just okay. I liked the exploration of family and family secrets, but I found all of the characters pretty flat and didn’t feel like I even know/understood the main character that much and hers is a first-person narrative. I was also disappointed in the way the relationship with the mother was handled. Elements of the book are great; I just wish they had been executed better.
YA Reading Challenge: 29; Off the Shelf: 10
I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron: A collection of essays about aging that I picked up at the library book sale because I saw it mentioned on a few blogs. This one was strictly a bathroom book. Though, I did love the essay about purses. And this quote:
Every so often I look up from the book and see a roomful of people waiting for me to make a decision…and I can’t believe they don’t understand that what I’m doing is Much More Important. I’m reading the most wonderful book.
Off the Shelf: 11
Workin’ It! RuPaul’s Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style by RuPaul: This book is worth it for the pictures alone. Seriously.
I wanted to like it more than I did. Ru focuses on how to look and feel good. He also tells his beauty secrets and! I learned how to tuck. Which I don’t need to know, but, you know, for those who wonder. The big issue I have with the book is that it’s kind of all over the place. Is it how to be the best drag queen? How to have confidence out of drag? The secret of Ru’s success? All of those things but in no real cohesive style or order.
Fun fact: Ru refuses to dress up for Halloween on principle. Because why is it not okay every other day of the year? Love.
Like I said, the pictures are fantastic. Get it, Ru!
Support Your Local Library: 32; POC Reading Challenge: 18
The Englishist 