My September 2018 Reading Summary and a Look at October

It's been raining all day and Jo and I are hunkered down watching curling... yes! Curling even though it's still September for a few more hours! I finished one last book today so, since I won't complete any more before tomorrow, I'm going to do my monthly update.

Sep 2018
I am 83% of the way to meeting my 2018 Goodreads reading goal of 110 books for the year. If I can read 9 books a month in the next three months I'll complete with room to spare. I've already selected 27 books to read before the end of the year. They currently reside in my night stand beside my bed.. :0)

General Info            Sep            Total
Books Read -            10                91
Pages Read -            3200          29300

Pages Breakdown
    < 250                    2            29       
250 - 350                  4            27
351 - 450                  3            21
   > 450                     1            14

Ratings
5 - star                      0            5
4 - star                      8            56
3 - star                      2            29
2 - star                      0            1

Gender
Female                     2            27
Male                        8            64

Genres
Fiction                     2            18
Mystery                   4            51
SciFi                        1            13
Non-Fic                   3            5
Classics                   0            2
Poetry                      0            2

Top 3 Books
 I had no 5-star books this month. I think I might be somewhat harder on my ratings than past years. Below are my top three. The reviews for each can be found in previous BLog entries if you feel like searching through..

1. Margaret Millar - A Stranger in my Grave (4 stars)
2. David Frum - Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic (4 stars)
3. Graham Greene - Loser Takes All (4 stars)

12 + 4  Challenge (completed 13)
Completed no books in this challenge although 2 currently on the go.

New Series (completed 23)
1. Jason Matthews - Red Sparrow (4 stars)
2. T. Frank Muir - Eye for an Eye (4 stars)

Ongoing Series (completed 18)
3. Peter James - Looking Good Dead (4 stars)

Decades Challenge (completed 22)
4. Hans Helmut Kirst - Last Stop Camp 7 (3.5 stars)
5. Colin Wilson - The Space Vampires (3.5 stars)
6. David Frum - Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic (4 stars)
7. Graham Greene - Loser Takes All (4 stars)
8. Katie Tur - Unbelievable - My Front - Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History (4 stars)
9. Bob Woodward - Fear: Trump in the White House (4 stars)'

Canadian Content (completed 14)
10. Margaret Millar - A Stranger in My Grave (4 stars)

Oct Books

Currently Reading

1. Anthony Trollope - Can You Forgive Her? (12 + 4 Challenge) I've been reading this since Aug 21 but it's a long 'un. Really getting interesting now though so I should finish shortly
2. Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game (12 + 4 Challenge) I'm enjoying. It's not necessarily a quick read
3. Craig Johnson - Death without Company (Ongoing Series) I like the folksiness of this one
4. Jake Tapper - The Hellfire Club (Decades Challenge) I haven't got too far into this one yet but I like the style
5. Marina Endicott - Good to a Fault (Canadian Lit) Just starting this one.

In the Mill

1. Hilary Mantel - Wolf Hall (12 + 4 Challenge). I've had this one for a few years. It will be my last 12 + 4 challenge book.


"England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk, and later his successor. Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages."

2. Robert B. Parker - The Godwulf Manuscript (Spenser #1) (New Series). I'm looking forward to trying this series.



"Spenser earned his degree in the school of hard knocks, so he is ready when a Boston university hires him to recover a rare, stolen manuscript. He is hardly surprised that his only clue is a radical student with four bullets in his chest.

The cops are ready to throw the book at the pretty blond coed whose prints are all over the murder weapon but Spenser knows there are no easy answers. He tackles some very heavy homework and knows that if he doesn't finish his assignment soon, he could end up marked "D" -- for dead."

3. Hugh Howey - Shift (Ongoing Series). I enjoyed the first compilation in the Silo series, Wool, very much. I've had this for awhile and have been looking forward to it.


"In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platform that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate. In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of extreme trauma. A simple pill, it had been discovered, could wipe out the memory of any traumatic event. At almost the same moment in humanity’s broad history, mankind had discovered the means for bringing about its utter downfall. And the ability to forget it ever happened. This is the sequel to the New York Times bestselling WOOL series.

Contains First Shift, Second Shift, and Third Shift."

So there you go, folks. Another month almost past. I'm looking forward to the last quarter of reading! Enjoy your week.