Here’s my reading list from September:

1. The Silver Branch by Patricia Kennealy-Morrison (407 p.)
2. The Copper Crown by Patricia Kennealy (444 p.)
3. The Throne of Scone by Patricia Kennealy (353 p.) The “core” trilogy of her Keltia books, and still my favorite. Sci-fi, and thes tory starts with an exploratory probe ship from Earth discovering an interstellar kingdom of … Kelts. As in, people who had left earth in the 5th century to settle out in space. (Yes, I know, with a description like that, it sounds absurd, but it’s good!)

4. Inspired To Knit by Michele Rose Orne (156 p.) A truly lovely book of knitting patterns. Full review is up here.

5. The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart (512 p.)
6. The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart (392 p.)
7. The Last Enchantment by Mary Stewart (439 p.) The story of King Arthur, as told by Merlin. This is the first “modern” telling (that I know of) that looks at the story from a completely new point of view, and it’s just fantastic. I discovered it when I was in high school and have read my copies into tatters. How can you not like these? (grin)

8. The Sable Moon by Nancy Springer (256 p.) An old, out-of-print fantasy, telling the story of Prince Trevyn, trying to save his kingdom from wolves … (also a dull description, but the book is fun, but since it’s hard to come by, why whet your appetite any more than I have to?)

9. Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery (339 p.)
10. Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery (325 p.)
11. Emily’s Quest by L.M. Montgomery (228 p.) A trilogy by the author of Anne of Green Gables, telling the story of Emily Starr, who dreams of becoming a writer. Sweet. Charming. Wholesome.

12. The Renegade Writer by Linda Formichelli & Diana Burrell (213 p.) Tips and tricks for freelance writers.

13. Classic Elite Knits by Classic Elite Knits (208 p.) 100 knitting patterns for the whole family–what’s not to love? Full review is up here.

14. Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart (224 p.) One of Mary Stewart’s genteel mysteries–Gianetta needs a break from her busy life as a fashion model, and to get out of a London that’s overcrowded for the Queen’s coronation, so on her parents’ advice, she heads to Scotland. Once there she finds that not only is her ex-husband one of the guests, but that there has been a ritualistic murder done up on the mountain…

15. Casual Elegant Knits by Faina Goberstein and Dawn Leeseman (96 p.) Some really nice knitting patterns. Full review is up here.

16. Thunder on the Right by Mary Stewart (255 p.) Another M.S. mystery–Jenny is off to the France/Spain border to see a cousin contemplating becoming a nun, but when she arrives, she’s told that her cousin is dead … but is she?

17. Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines: Patterns, Stories, Picture True Confessions, Tricky Bits, Whole New Worlds, and Familiar Ones, Too by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne (159 p.) Woo! Fabulous knitting book. And darn entertaining to read, too. Full review is up here.

18. This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart (254 p.) Mary Stewart, again … she’s delicious and addictive like chocolate. This time we have Lucy, an aspiring actress who goes to Corfu to spend time with her sister, only to find her stage idol living right next door, a tame dolphin, and, oh yes, another murderer….

19. Chalice  by Robin McKinley (263 p.) New YA fantasy by one of my favorite YA fantasy authors. Mirasol had been an ordinary beekeeper until she inherited the “gift” of being her country’s “Chalice”–a magical position designed to help tie the land to the Master, except their new Master has been a priest of Fire for the last 7 years and may no longer be acceptible to the land … or to the Overlord. Charming, as always, once I adapted to this whole, new world…

20. The Moon Spinners by Mary Stewart (223 p.) Yes, another Mary Stewart, and this has always been one of my very favorites (the appalling movie with Hayley Mills notwithstanding–and, I LIKE Hayley Mills). Nicola is on holiday in Crete when she finds upon a British tourist who’s been shot, and his brother kidnapped, when they stumbled across a murder… Really, I think this has one of the best stories of all her books. Not to mention beautiful scenery.

21. Starting Your Career As a Freelance Writer by Moira Anderson Allen (246 p.) Exactly what it sounds like.

22. Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart (255 p.) The last Mary Stewart for a while–this one involves a missing husband who’s supposed to be on business in Sweden but shows up on a newsreel from Vienna….

23. Understanding Shutter Speed by Bryan Peterson (159 p.) Photography, and good for what it was, but disappointing compared to his similar book on Exposure–that one was fantastic. This was just “good.”

24. The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast by Douglas Brinkley (624 p.) What a great book about a horrible event. Good, gripping story-telling with a balanced approach to the facts and follies of everyone involved. A deft touch on the massive human tragedy, and a fair look at the abject failures. And such a page-turner, though one of the saddest books I’ve read in a while, because while so many things could not have been helped or prepared for, there were so many things afterwards that could have been done differently. Fantastic book about an awful week.

25. Heart of Gold by Sharon Shinn (359 p.) One of my favorite Sharon Shinn books. This is sci-fi that takes place in a world remarkably similar to our own in terms of technology but very different in culture. The dominant race is matriarchal, and obsessed with manners, marriages, and inheritances; the less powerful race is fiercely patriarchal and adamant about standing up for itself. The main characters are neither one of them in the power circle–Nolan is an Indigo male and therefore on the submissive side of his race, but he is a scientist working at a Biolab, making him unique. Kitrini is an Indigo female and theoretically could be powerful, but she was raised among the Guldens by her anthropologist father. Throw in a disease targeted at one of the races … Honestly, next to Archangel, this is perhaps my very favorite book of hers. (I’ve read it 11 times since it came out in May 2000.)

26. Wings of Fire by Charles Todd (306 p.) Ian Rutledge mystery–this takes place just after WWI, when he, as an Inspector for Scotland Yard, is sent to Cornwall to investigate three deaths in one prominent family–especially when it turns out that one of them was a famous poet, who wrote meaningfully of a soldier’s experience in the trenches … even though she was a woman who never left England. Excellent. I’m enjoying this series of mysteries a lot. Thoughtful rather than bloody. Multi-layered rather than obvious (though I did spot the murderer in this one before the denouement). Enjoyable.

27. Houses of Stone by Barbara Michaels (384 p.) Fluff mystery. Our heroine comes across an unknown 19th century manuscript by an American Woman author and must keep rival academics from getting her hands on it, while fending off the advances of a prim landlady, a rival , and a shrieking ghost… Fun and pure fluff.

28. A Little Princess  by Frances Hodgson Burnett (240 p.) Possibly my very favorite childhood book, and one which I haven’t read in far too long. I’ve always admired Sara Crew–she’s imaginative, book-loving, story-telling, and yet so, so wise … her advice for controlling your temper was invaluable when I was little, too!

29. The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones (182 p.) Just a fun book–Casper and Johnny’s new stepfather buys them a chemistry set … and suddenly, strange things are happening. Things are floating, the pipe is alive, new step-brother Martin is green, no, blue, no, red…. It’s just a purely fun child/YA book by an author who has been a favorite of mine since my best friend gave me one of her books for my 12th birthday.

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Books Read in September //