Challenges and goals update: How did I do in September?

September turned out to be a better reading month that I expected, and once again I’m surprised since I’ve been almost living in the lab lately. At the same time, that means a lot of commuting time, so yeii for public transportation reading! So what exactly did I read in September? Well, I started 11 books, DNF only one of them and another one I am loving but to be fair I started it on the 28th, so I haven’t been able to finish it. So I’m going to do stats only on the 9 books finished. Let’s see:

Diversifying 2015: Of the 9 books I read this month, 2 had a POC author and both had POC main characters. This pushed my percentage to under 30%, but I’m still happy with it, I want it to be at least 30% by the end of the year. The books I read were: Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson and The Round House by Louise Erdrich. The book I DNF was Origins by Neil de Grasse Tyson, but it turned out to be way too much physics for me. My boyfriend read it and loved it though.

Read Harder: For this challenge I tackled the "A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture" part with The Round House by Louise Erdrich. I enjoyed it quite a bit, albeit sometimes it felt a bit slow for a mistery.

My goals:

Read at least 1 POC author per month: As I mentioned, I read 2 this month.

Read at least 1 book in Spanish per month: I read Lo que escondian sus ojos by Nieves Herrero. It was interesting as I learned some about the Franco era in Spain, but it was oh so slow! The subtitle is The hidden passion of the de Llanzol marquess but the romance part took forever to actually develop and even then things kept going to a glacial pace. I guess it was just not for me.

Read CanLit book per month: The Hello Hemlock book club chose Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson for this month read, and I have to say, I wasn’t sure what to expect with it, but I was pleasantly surprised. More of a fantasy set in a dystopian (?) Toronto it was also full magic.

Read at least 1 book of nonfiction per month: Headstrong by Rachel Swaby. This book was an amazing even if it infuriated me several times; reading about so many women disregarded in science was not easy! I am working on the review and should be coming soon.

Finished series: The only book I read (well listened to) this month was The Heir by Kiera Cass, which makes part of the Selection series. As always it was a bit predictable, but entertaining even if the characters get my eyes rolling on constant bases. It was perfect while taking a bath though. As it turns out, it's not the end of the series but a new spin for a trilogy.

Read more already owned books: Off the 9 books I read this month 6 were my own, the other 3 came from the library.

Read the picks of the month for each book club: The Sword and Laser pick for this month was A Canticle for Lebowitz by Walter M Miller. Since it’s an old SciFi book there’s some parts that felt dated but I liked what he did with the story and how he depicts humanity. However the first part was very slow-paced and at times I considered quitting it. I am happy I didn’t! As I mentioned, the Hello Hemlock book club chose Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson for this month read.

Besides the books I already mentioned I also read Life of Pi by Yann Martel and I have to say I was disappointed. I don’t know if it’s a book that suffers from all the hype it got, but I was left with a “meh” feeling by the end of it. I also read Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger and again, was disappointed. I liked The Time-Traveler’s Wife, but this one had way less whimsy and the end was unsatisfying. I finally got my hands on Ms. Marvel Volume 3. Amazing as always. My last read of the month was Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell and that one was fantastic. It’s her debut novel and I am looking forward reading more from her; it was the perfect read for the Readers Imbibing Peril X challenge.

Well that was it for September. How was your reading?