The End of Summer

photograph by me

 The leaves are tinged crimson and gold. The evenings are becoming crisp and autumnal. Everywhere the wind is whispering of apple cider, scarves, cinnamon & nutmeg, and football. This is the first week of autumn. I’m a bit reluctant to say goodbye to summer. But, hey— God created four seasons for a reason and Vivaldi didn’t do so shabby as a result.

 Before I admit how many books I managed to read this summer, I’d like to quickly explain why I fell off the face of blogosphere last week. Last Monday (the 14th) after I finished working, I came down with a bug and spent the next couple days in unpleasant misery until I settled into a cold. I still have the cold but I am definitely much more clear in my thoughts.

 Now, my fellow bibliophiles, to business.

 I started out my summer of with a list of thirty-one books/series I wanted to read. Needless to say, I didn’t stick to that list. One look at my Goodreads shelves would prove that. I ended up reading twenty-five books. Roughly, about eleven of them were actually on my list when I put it together in May.

 Instead of listing off the titles of all the books I read, I would like to focus in and mention several of the ones that really jumped out at me.

 Pied Piper by Nevil Shute. I love this book. Dearly. The characters, the setting, and the story are incredible. I wrote a review here.

 Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. Oh, Dickens how I love you! I snagged an audiobook of this off Audible for my free trial and it was a masterpiece. Narrated by David Timson, this story came alive and I quickly found myself deeply invested in the characters and the story. It was a fantastic reminder as to why I love Dickens so much and I highly recommend it. By the way, his commentary on London society is brilliant.

 Cards On the Table by Agatha Christie. My favorite Hercule Poirot mystery to date, this one is very much worth reading. I would elaborate more but I'm afraid of giving out spoilers. I should hate to spoil it for you.

 The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff. I read this in August during a read along with Annie Hawthorne of Curious Wren. An excellent piece of historical fiction, Sutcliff's rich writing and historical detail in this is matchless. Britain during the Roman Empire truly comes alive under her pen.

 The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse. I set forth on a great hunt to find a copy of this book after Annie lauded its praises on Goodreads. It was hilarious, my dear fellow bibliophiles. Never has a cow creamer had so many intrigues and attempted robberies surrounding it.

 The Prince of Fishes by Suzannah Rowntree. I had the grand opportunity of reading this and writing a review of it for its release. People, buy it. It is gold. You can read my review here.

 Some Christmas Camouflage by Elisabeth Grace Foley. I picked up this gem while on a Kindle book shopping spree. It was utterly delightful and even topped O.Henry's famous Gift of the Magi in my personal rankings. And it's only 99 cents! You should definitely pick up a copy of this to read during the Christmas season.

What were your favorite reads of the summer?