Everything I Read in September-October 2024
I finished reading eight books in September and October, bringing my total for the year up to 43. (ICYMI: 11 of those books were really short stories.) Of the eight books I finished these past couple of months, four were nonfiction and four were fiction—and I listened to four books on audio, two of which were celebrity memoirs.
My 2024 reading goal on StoryGraph is to read 45 books and 13,000 pages. I’m definitely going to reach and exceed goal for the year, woohoo! I wonder if I can hit 50!!! If you’re also a reader, be sure to join the app and add me as a friend: my username is cottoncashmerecathair! And please share your favorite recent read(s) in the comments.
READ NEXT: Everything I Read in July-August 2024
Everything I Read in September-October 2024
Fiction
Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot
Royal Wedding is the 11th book in The Princess Diaries series, and I hadn’t read this one—the first book catered to (young?) adults—until now! I re-read books 1-10 on audio so I could remember the story from when I was younger. (There’s now also a 12th book about the COVID pandemic that I’ll be reading.) SO MUCH happens in this book that it’s a little overwhelming and sort of unbelievable at times, ha. By the title, you think it’s going to be one thing (Mia gets married, right?!), but there’s so much more, including Mia discovering a family secret that threatens everything. It’s fun but a lot!
A Home for the Holidays by Taylor Hahn
I received this book as an ARC (advanced reader copy) from the publisher through my NetGalley account, and I decided to read it earlier than I typically would so that you could pick it up for the holiday season if you wanted to! It was published on September 24th, so it’s available now, and I even saw it available through my library via Libby (the ebook and audiobook), so be sure to check yours.
This is a super sweet story that deals with grief (the main character, a wedding singer named Mel, loses her mother) and found family during the holiday season. Details of Mel and her mother’s strained relationship were woven throughout the book. I honestly wasn’t sure about the story at first, but I became hooked and was sad for it to end! I’d read a sequel, even if it focused on other characters in the book. It was set during December and the Christmas season, but it didn’t feel like there were too many holiday references to where you’d feel weird reading it at other times of the year; you could pick it up anytime during winter for the cozy vibes.
Nonfiction
Perfect 10 by Suzanne Yoculan
(Buy via Amazon)
Oh my goodness, it took me FOREVER to finish this book! I started it December 2022 and finally finished it, ha. It read a little bit too much like a textbook to me at times. As a women’s college gymnastics fan, I knew I had to read Suzanne’s book since she is one of the most well-known former coaches and led Georgia to 10 NCAA championships (the most of any school). I enjoyed the part about her trying to get people to actually attend meets and succeeding at selling them out. Someday, I’d love to see all the college gym teams in the country sell out their meets!
The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris
I’ve owned this book for a while now and decided to read it once Kamala became the Democratic nominee for President! I loved hearing more about her life and family, what drove her into public service, and how she worked her way up to serve as a Senator. The stories she told from her times meeting and chatting with the public directly (about immigration, women’s health, cost of living, and so much more) really broke my heart at times.
Audiobooks
Rebel Rising by Rebel Wilson
Rebel Wilson is candidly honest in her memoir! I really enjoyed listening to her tell her story (and is the main reason why I tend to listen to memoirs versus reading them with my eyeballs). I of course knew her from her roles in Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids but didn’t know how Rebel became the Rebel she is today. She had quite the interesting and somewhat frustrating upbringing, but she is so driven and I love that things are falling into place for her. I thought it was funny, vulnerable, and an overall enjoyable listen.
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz
I randomly selected this audiobook to listen to, and it was great timing during Hispanic Heritage Month! The main character, Cara Romero, is thrust back into the job market after losing her job during the Great Recession. She shares her story through sessions with a job counselor. This is a fun audiobook; it’s told from Cara’s perspective (and the narrator is excellent!), but there is a second narrator that describes what Cara is reading on the computer, like when she fills out forms. And there is background noise at the beginning/end of each chapter like you are in the sessions with Cara! It feels interactive, and I found myself caring so much about Cara and what she went through.
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
I’m reading through past Bad on Paper podcast picks, and this seemed like a good book for spooky season…only it wasn’t really that spooky! Ha. The cover is definitely scarier than it actually was; it’s actually a young adult mystery involving the high-profile Story family that fell apart when the matriarch disinherited her kids. I enjoyed listening to the audio version, which is narrated by four different narrators because it’s told from the perspective of the grandmother’s three grandchildren, and there are flashbacks to 1996 involving one of Mildred’s kids that she disinherited.
While visiting their grandmother, the cousins (who hadn’t been in each other’s lives) realize what really happened to make Mildred disinherit their parents, and they uncover more family secrets. I got confused at times by the number of characters, and the ending felt sort of unbelievable to me. It was good but not amazing and didn’t really have me on the edge of my seat.
Over the Influence by Joanna “JoJo” Levesque
JoJo was one of my favorite artists growing up. Get Out (Leave) and Too Little, Too Late are both classics from my junior high years and I still love them to this day! I was excited to read her memoir to learn more about her, especially because she reads it herself. I found myself most fascinated about the time when she got her first record deal and recorded and released Get Out (Leave), but I also enjoyed hearing about all of the issues with her label (not that it was a good thing, I just wasn’t aware of all that happened with that) and what she’s been up to since then. The ending was very profound to me. She struggled a lot in her teen years with substance abuse and with her parents, but she’s very self-aware about her issues, and I’m happy she’s doing better now!
