Written by Mina

Reading Roundup for September 2022

Welcome to September’s Reading Roundup!

In September 2022, I read three novels, one novella, one short story, one nonfiction book, one graphic novel, and two comic collections. I got these titles from six library systems, and Patreon.

Enjoy!

“Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust”

“Victories Greater Than Death”

“The Love Hypothesis”

“With a Mind to Kill”

  • Author: Anthony Horowitz
  • Author URLs: https://anthonyhorowitz.com/ and https://mobile.twitter.com/anthonyhorowitz
  • Acquisition Type: Borrowed from Library
  • Acquired From: Sno-Isle Libraries
  • Acquisition URLs: https://www.sno-isle.org/ and https://twitter.com/snoislelibrary
  • Format: Ebook
  • Related Works: “With a Mind to Kill” is the most-recent James Bond novel. It follows directly after Ian Fleming’s Bond novels, and forms a loose trilogy with IF’s last two Bond novels (“You Only Live Twice” and “The Man with the Golden Gun”); so, you may want to borrow those two from your library, before diving into this one. A small heads-up for fans of the movies; the movies are different than the books with the same titles, so if you’re familiar with the films but not the books, then things mentioned in “With a Mind to Kill” that took place in the previous two books may not be familiar to you (hence my suggestion about reading those books). (The one big exception to the films being different is “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” which follows the book closely.)
  • Notes: My Father is a fan of both the James Bond books and movies, and so my love of Bond began as something shared between us. I’ve read all the books (and there have been a lot of them over the years, by various authors), and seen all of the movies.

“America Chavez: Made In The USA”

  • Author: Kalinda Vazquez
  • Author URLs: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalinda_Vazquez and https://mobile.twitter.com/kalindavazquez
  • Acquisition Type: Borrowed from Library
  • Acquired From: Multnomah County Library
  • Acquisition URLs: https://multcolib.org/ and https://twitter.com/MultCoLib
  • Format: Ebook Comic Collection
  • Related Works: This book collects a five-issue mini-series. It includes a number of flashbacks that give us America Chavez’s childhood and origin story, so you don’t need to know anything about the character before reading this book. America Chavez is a character in the Marvel comics universe, which means that she connects to a number of other characters; both Hawkeye/Kate and Spiderman appear in this book.
  • Notes: As a Latina, it was a joy to read this book and see so many things familiar to my life experience. Having heroes that reflect and represent us is important; and in this story, the Latine elements felt like they grounded the fantastic elements. While the super heroics may be the “cool factor” that draws us in, I believe it’s the humanity of the characters that has us return to them, as is expertly done here.

“Ms. Marvel: Beyond The Limit”

  • Author: Samira Ahmed
  • Author URLs: https://samiraahmed.com/ and https://twitter.com/sam_aye_ahm
  • Acquisition Type: Borrowed from Library
  • Acquired From: Multnomah County Library
  • Acquisition URLs: https://multcolib.org/ and https://twitter.com/MultCoLib
  • Format: Ebook Comic Collection
  • Related Works: Ms. Marvel is a character in the Marvel comics universe, and there are a couple of heroes that either have supporting roles or cameos in this collection. This book collects a five-issue mini-series.
  • Notes: Kamala Khan (aka Ms. Marvel) is highly-relatable character; her quirks and self-doubts are part of what make her a great hero, and “Ms. Marvel: Beyond The Limit” is ultimately about what it means to be a hero and how we recover from (sometimes tragic) mistakes. It’s also about chosen-family; Kamala’s friends support, humanize, and assist her. If this review accidentally makes this book seem too serious, I’d like to rectify that by noting that Ms. Marvel stories have a light and warmth to them, even when dealing with big issues.

“Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend”

  • Author: Alys Arden
  • Author URLs: https://www.alysarden.com/ and http://twitter.com/alysarden
  • Acquisition Type: Borrowed from Library
  • Acquired From: Multnomah County Library
  • Acquisition URLs: https://multcolib.org/ and https://twitter.com/MultCoLib
  • Format: Ebook Graphic Novel
  • Related Works: This is an origin story for Zatanna, set when she’s a teenager, so you don’t need to know anything about the character before reading this. (Zatanna is a character in the DC comics universe, but there’s no mention of the wider universe in this book; it’s self-contained.)
  • Notes: Zatanna is raised by a family of illusionists, and as we’d hope for a story set in the world of magic, there’s misdirects, twists, and things not being what they first appear; the story teases our brains to try to puzzle-out events and people before the reveals are given to us. Family is important to this story, as are questions about the nature and bonds of family.

“The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner”

  • Author: Stephenie Meyer
  • Author URL: https://stepheniemeyer.com/
  • Acquisition Type: Borrowed from Library
  • Acquired From: King County Library System
  • Acquisition URLs: https://kcls.org/ and https://twitter.com/KCLS
  • Format: Ebook
  • Related Works: This novella is part of SM’s Twilight Saga, and events in it overlap with events in the third book, “Eclipse.”
  • Notes: Every September, I reread a book by SM, to celebrate Stephenie Meyer Day (September 13; Bella’s birthday). This novella is my favorite volume in the Twilight Saga, so it’s the title that I’ve reread the most.

“With Sweet Peace“

And that wraps-up my Reading Roundup for September 2022. I’ll see you again for October’s!

Love,
Library Girl (aka Mina)

https://library-girl.com and https://twitter.com/librarygirl/

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