september reads

here's what i read last month! i am completely taking advantage of the fact that i can still check out e-books on my Kindle from my local library, even while across the pond. in fact, i'm doing more consistent reading now than i had been for quite a while before we moved. thanks to Goodreads for keeping it all straight! (p.s. the following links are affiliate - meaning if you click through to purchase on Amazon, i will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you!)

1) Passing, by Nella Larsen. this book was a fascinating glimpse into a world i previously knew nothing about -- a world in which women of color would "pass" as white women, sometimes just for a day, sometimes for their entire lives. it's a quick read, but i'm still mulling over the implications of the story. (and the Kindle edition is on sale for 99 cents on Amazon, today!)

2) The Shoemaker's Wife, by Adriana Trigiani. this book follows a young Italian boy and girl from the same village from early childhood to adulthood. they both emigrate to America prior to World War I, and i really enjoyed reading about their perspective on the war. the character development is excellent.

3) The Tigress of Forli: Renaissance Italy's Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de Medici by Elizabeth Lev. this was my favourite book of the month. it's a fascinating biography of Caterina Sforza de Medici, who navigated the political intrigue of Renaissance Italy with cunning and bravery. while meticulously researched and couched in extensive explanations of the historical events of the time, it still reads like a novel and the author brings Caterina and all the other players (including popes, cardinals, and emperors) to life.

4) The Good Girl, by Mary Kubica. this book was pretty good for "fluff" reading, but especially after the masterful writing of The Tigress of Forli, the prose felt stilted at times and some of the characters' actions seemed hard to believe. it's a domestic thriller involving the daughter of a prominent judge who gets kidnapped, and it does have a good plot twist at the end. i enjoyed it but gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

5) Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World, by Anthony Doerr. oh, how i love this book. i read it last year and couldn't wait to re-read it, now that we are living in Rome too. Doerr is the author of All the Light We Cannot See, which he wrote while on a grant from the American Academy just down the hill from us here. he lived here for a year with his wife and twin babies, and i could relate to almost every single sentence, from his perfect descriptions of the neighborhood sights and sounds to his growth as a new parent. highly recommend!

6) An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green. another light, easy read. i was expecting a little more emotional punch from the author of The Fault in Our Stars, but it was a really lovely, funny, and lighthearted book. the protagonist is a child genius who has only dated girls named Katherine, and over the course of the book he matures in a very satisfying way.

that's it for the month! here's what's on my october bookshelf (so far):

-The Story of a New Name (The Neapolitan Novels, #2), by Elena Ferrante

-An Italian in Italy, by Beppe Severgnini

-Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson

-I Am Pilgrim, by Terry Hayes