October1
It was a busy, busy month and my list of books read includes a couple of slim volumes, and one book with loads of photos. Again this month, like last, nothing reached and grabbed me even though much of what I read was very enjoyable. What was the best book you read in September?
1. Henrietta’s War
by Joyce Dennys
From 1939 to 1942, Dennys wrote a series of weekly columns in the form of endearing letters purportedly written to a friend at the front in France at the beginning of WWII. From the Devon countryside, she writes of news of the home front, the refugees from London, and her family. Warm, engaging, humourous and touching. I was sorry when the book ended, and think I must pick up the second volume that covers the remainder of the war.
2. The Guide: A Novel
by R. K. Narayan
A released convict takes refuge for a few nights in an abandoned temple and is mistaken by a peasant for a holy man. Gradually he takes on the role. Sly humour and a look at peasant life in modern India.
3. The Barn
by Randy Leffingwell
Traces the evolution of the American barn from early beginnings with Northern European influences through technological changes, fads, and changes to barns as settlement spread westward. Scores of photos. Beautiful to look at, fascinating to read.
4. One Good Dog
by Susan Wilson
Adam March, a powerful executive & millionaire has a come-apart at work and loses his job, his socialite wife and princess daughter. While performing his mandatory community service at a homeless men’s shelter, his path crosses that of Chance, a pit-bull struggling to leave the fight circuit. In alternating chapters with narration of Adam’s story, Chance tells his tale in his own words, which lifts this book above standard Grisham/Steel fare.
5. The Tiger’s Wife
by Téa Obreht
Set in war-torn Yugoslavia, The Tiger’s Wife follows a young doctor who, while on a mercy mission to immunize orphans, hears of the death of her beloved grandfather. 
Oddly enough he died in a village close by the orphanage and she retrieves his belongings, while unraveling the story of his childhood. It was then that a tiger escaped from a zoo during World War II bombings and wandered deep into the woods, settling just outside his peasant village. It terrorized the town, the devil incarnate to everyone, except for her grandfather and ‘the tiger’s wife’. Lots of imagery, fables, almost magical realism.
6. A Red Herring Without Mustard
by Alan Bradley
The third in Bradley Flavia deLuce series, and highly and widely lauded. I love Flavia and really enjoyed getting more of the flavor of her relationship with her father in this book, but I thought the mystery was convoluted and, in places, contrived. I’m swimming against the current in this opinion, so make your own decision. Besides, Flavia is fun to read even when the mystery isn’t up to par.
7. Following Josh
by Dave Norman
Author Dave Norman meets an old high-school friend in Seoul and travels with him across China, Mongolia & Russia by train. This is the story of that trip – and of Dave and Josh’s dramatically changed relationship. This book is being released today, October 1st.
8. Alone in the Classroom
by Elizabeth Hay
The latest by the renowned Canadian author, Alone in the Classroom spans several decades – from a Saskatchewan classroom of the 1930s to the present. The narrator uncovers the story of her father’s sister, her Aunt Connie, and of her mother and her family. Although it contained much beautiful writing (as I expect of Hay), overall the book seemed disjointed and unresolved, and disappointed me.
9. The Edge of Ruin
by Irene Fleming
First in the Emily Weiss mystery series. Set in 1909 during the very early days of moving picture making, it’s a clever look at the history of the time when screenplays were dashed off in an evening and given to the actors the morning of the shoot. But the murderer was too obvious and Emily just too perfectly competent. Although the setting is interesting, I doubt I’ll be spending any more time on this series.
10. One Night at the Call Center
by Chetan Bhagat
Set in a Delhi call center in modern India, and a best-seller in that country where it was originally released. One of those unfortunate times when I kept reading because I know someone (who? I can’t remember!) recommended it to me and so it must get better, but when I finished it, thought “Why did I waste x hours of my life on that?”
Links for my Canadian readers:
Henrietta’s War
The Guide
The Barn
One Good Dog
The Tiger’s Wife
A Red Herring Without Mustard
Following Josh
Alone in the Classroom
The Edge of Ruin
One Night at the Call Center
I first became interested in non-fiction (outside of post-secondary education) in my mid-twenties when, quite unusually for my age, I became interested in tracing my family history. I devoured genealogical research and social history books, and those, along with biographies & memoirs are my preferred NF read to this day.
