Books read in September

LOL this month's list is kind of hilarious because I was working through two series! Finished them both so #goals for sure.

Southern Reach Trilogy
Authority by Jeff VanderMeer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What...what just happened? Not sure what I can say about this book, it was a trippy experience. I made this my bedtime book so I could focus and avoid lunch time distractions, but didn't factor in how tricky this would be to digest to my end-of-the-day tired brain. Lots of rereading sentences and paragraphs to figure out what was going on (or a close proximity).





Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Epic finale to a mesmerizing trilogy. This was my first exposure to Jeff VanderMeer and I will definitely be picking up more. Mind-bending, surreal and hard to put down.




Revival
Revival, Vol. 4: Escape to Wisconsin by Tim Seeley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


One of the pro/cons with this series is how flawed all of the characters are. Sometimes, it makes them easier to connect with and at other times I'm annoyed. This is mostly with Em, but I think that part of it is because the artwork makes it hard to tell how old she is so I forget that she's supposed to be 19/20 rather than the same age as Dana?



Revival, Vol. 5 : Gathering Of Waters by Tim Seeley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Pieces are starting to fall into place about what is actually happening. Kind of. And, as usual with these kinds of stories, the "monsters" are scary, but the humans are starting to cause more problems than the revivers.



Revival, Vol. 6: Thy Loyal Sons & Daughters by Tim Seeley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


At this point, the trades have to be read in one sitting because with each chapter/issue, little bits and pieces fall into place and you just have to keep going to find out what happens next!



Revival, Vol. 7: Forward by Tim Seeley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Things are tumbling towards the end...seems a bit late to bring in a new character, especially one that clearly has a TON of backstory. Now the real question - can this have a satisfying ending?



Revival, Vol. 8: Stay Just A Little Bit Longer by Tim Seeley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


My biggest gripe with these last two trades was the introduction of characters that feel they should have been brought into the story much sooner. And I'm not sure I was sold on the whole reveal of what "caused" the entire thing, perhaps I missed something in the earlier issues but I didn't see the threads that they were tying together at the end for me.

Still, apart from these few missteps, it was a solid series and a unique story. Definitely will pick up more of Seeley's work later on.




ZOMG! A special guest from Adult non-fiction!

Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime by Ron Stallworth

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm shocked to discover that this book was originally published in 2014 because it felt like it was rushed to print due to the recent movie release.

Stallworth has an interesting story to tell, but while he is clearly a very good cop, he's not a writer. I'm not sure where the editor was for this book - stories are often told out of order, lines are repeated, and I know Stallworth really wanted to draw parallels between the 1970s and today's political climate but it was clear he didn't have an editor to help guide his writing.

I just feel like this book could have been so much more. But at least it is out there and books on similar subjects can draw from it for their research.




I'm still reading the second book in The Expanse series, Caliban's War and I just started Ghost Boys.

How was your reading this month?