My September in reading

Another light month—but I finally finished it! I finally finished what is widely considered to be the “first modern novel”—and more.

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Took me forever to read all ~1,000 pages, but I conquered Don Quixote in the end. I was curious to read it because I’d never come across it in school. And quite frankly, I enjoyed it. If you find 16th/17th century humor funny, then you’ll probably find this funny. I do have a hot take, however: the second part is better than the first part, windmills be damned. It’s much funnier when people in the story have heard of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, and use that knowledge to shape what happens to the characters. Plus, no unrelated mini-stories breaking into the plot. (I did enjoy how Cervantes made fun of himself for that in the second section.) Although I have to wonder—why is this all considered a single novel? It was published in two parts that appeared a decade apart. So why isn’t it a book and its sequel? Baffling.

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

During my Don Quixote adventure, I took a break to read the final book in Rowell’s Simon Snow trilogy. It didn’t disappoint! It’s so hard to end things well, and Rowell does it admirably. And who knew that Rainbow Rowell was going to write the great 21st century Facebook misinformation novel? Simon has to decide whether he wants to stick around with mages now that he has no powers—and that also means whether he wants to stick around with his vampire/wizard boyfriend Baz. Rowell handles his emotional grappling here very well. I hope she gives us the spinoff series about Penelope and Shepard in America that we deserve.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

After devouring Red, White & Royal Blue last year, I was excited to dive into McQuiston’s next queer romance. In One Last Stop, new-to-NYC August falls for Jane on the subway. Which is all well and good—until she discovers that Jane is time traveler from the 1970s, doomed to spend eternity on the same subway train. Or can August help her escape? This novel felt more sentimental than Red, White & Royal Blue—still had plenty of great sex scenes, though. (But don’t expect them right away! It’s hard to find the right time and place to have sex on the subway!) All the characters were wonderful. My only issue is that I was never concerned that things wouldn’t work out perfectly. At least in Red, White & Royal Blue, there were overarching geopolitical issues standing in the way of their romance; in One Last Stop, even time travel doesn’t strike me as a huge issue. I never worried for them. Still, I wholeheartedly enjoyed the book.

Agatha of Little Neon by Claire Luchette

I LOVED this novel. Love, love, loved it. Think Little Women vibes, but instead of sibling-sisters, you have religious sisters. Agatha of Little Neon tells the story of Agatha, who has spent her whole adult life living and working with her sisters Frances, Mary Lucille, and Therese. But when their upstate New York parish can no longer afford to keep them, the sisters move to Woonsocket, Rhode Island to run a halfway house. This is a quiet book, and definitely poignant; as Agatha begins teaching geometry at the local high school, she begins to struggle with her religious calling. But I don’t want to downplay how funny the novel is either. These sisters say the most hilarious things. I was reading this at the same time as two friends, and we kept texting quotes to each other. It really is a remarkable book—especially for a debut! Can’t recommend it enough.