Welcome to September! I hope everyone had a good month of reading.

I was hoping to have a good reading month. All my traveling was behind me, so I thought August was going to be nice and chill and lots of sitting out back reading and enjoying the nice weather.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. First, after being away for a couple of months, all those work items I had put on my backlog suddenly had to be prioritized, so I was very busy for most of the month.

Being out of the country for a bit also meant a lot of friends wanted to hang out and soak up the patio weather while it’s still nice out. Which was awesome, but with that and work, something had to be sacrificed, and it was mainly reading.

To make it worse, I put off The Odyssey by Homer for way too long. It took me until the middle of the month to start it. In my head, I kept considering it a “homework” level book – and although I loved reading, I always hated forced reading in school, and I think my brain associated it with that.

I’m glad I finally read it because it was incredible. Emily Wilson did a fantastic job of the translation, and I will no doubt read The Iliad before the end of the year.

I loved the adaptation as well. It hit that sweet spot: an excellent movie for the mainstream, non-reading audience, while also being a great adaptation for readers of the book. Highly recommended.

Funny, as after reading the book and watching the movie, I was still itching for more. I started up Assassin’s Creed Odyssey on the Xbox, and there’s just something cool seeing Odysseus mentioned and thinking “I know all about him!”. Heck of a game.

Speaking of adaptations, I re-read Gone Tomorrow, the book the new season of Jack Reacher is based on. It’s the third or fourth time I’ve read it. My original rating was a 9/10, but in the context of the Jack Reacher books, I’d have to go with a 10/10.

It was one of the best, with an excellent intro, and Lee Child really in the zone. Reading the older books, I see the big difference between him and Andrew; Lee is having so much fun writing Reacher and all of the altercations he gets into. Hopefully at some point Andrew Child figures that out.

I’ve enjoyed the two books he’s written solo, and he’s starting to get it. I hope so, at any rate!

It was interesting thinking about the rating, and how I actually rate books. That’s also why I don’t usually bother sharing actual book ratings in this newsletter unless there’s context for it.,

My ratings system isn’t some big catch-all ranking system; it’s contained within authors or genres. For example, I gave Gone Tomorrow 10/10 in the context of Jack Reacher, but I also gave 11/22/63 by Stephen King 10/10, and there’s really no comparing the two.

I read a lot of psychological thrillers. Again, I may give one of those a 10/10, but only within the realm of that genre; I’m not saying When I Kill You by B.A. Paris is on the same level as Replay by Ken Grimwood if I give both 10s.

I get asked a fair bit about providing ratings for books that I’ve read, so I decided to write up something I can refer back to when people ask.

And don’t worry; not everything I rate is 10/10! I read Mind’s Eye by Douglas E. Richards, and oh boy, was this one just terrible. To make it worse, it was my pick for our I Care About Books Book Club, so I had to go on there and eat some crow as it became our second-lowest-ranked book so far.

It’s a shame, too, because I have read prior books by Douglas and loved them. The premise for this one was great: a man wakes up in a dumpster with no memory, but he can read people’s minds and, from that, see the future. So as he goes to the bathroom to clean up, he reads the mind of a person who has shown up who is aiming to kill him.

But there was just so much wrong with this book. So much plot convenience for one. This man, who can read everyone’s minds, stumbles upon a random office building within a few chapters and finds the one person whose mind he can’t read? And she ends up becoming the love interest? Ugh.

Then the way he wrote about women. Quite a few of the characters were essentially described as ‘not really good looking, but I wouldn’t kick them out of bed’. It was just so weird, as like I said – I’ve read three of his books before this and there was nothing like that in there.

If you want to see full thoughts, you can watch the podcast.

I listened to Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards. Fun concept: 5 young strangers get stranded in an airport because of the weather and decide to rent a car and drive together. But then things on the road go from slippery to terrifying, things are going missing, and someone in the car is clearly lying.

It’s a YA Thriller. I really didn’t enjoy the narrator for this one – they made it a hard listen. Overall, it’s one of those books aimed at YA that couldn’t make the jump beyond that. Not one I’d recommend for adults. It also had one of my biggest pet peeves: when the protagonist decides early on that one character is the “bad guy” and then has blinkers on for the rest of the book toward that person. Always drives me up the wall.

I’m listening to Lies He Told Me by David Ellis right now, and started The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. I read my first Kristin book last year, The Women, and loved it. I was itching to read another, and really wanted to read The Nightingale, but with an adaptation forthcoming, I decided to wait. I’m only 20% of the way in so far but loving it.

I’m not fully sure of the source for this, but it was shared with me – a ‘Ber Reading Challenge’. It’s a bingo board covering September through December. Going to do this one with my family, I expect – always fun changing your reading for little changes like this.

That’s about it for me. As always, if you want:

  • 25x the authors as OrderOfBooks
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  • A Personalized Book Release Calendar
  • Track Your Reads and TBR
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  • And much, much more….
  • …then check out our sister site Book Notification

And exciting news as we launched our Games and Puzzles section today. Only the one game at the moment with two new games being added each week. I’m a big games/puzzle fan, so really looking forward to expanding that section.

Check out our first game – a word search finding the Top 10 Most Popular Authors!

Each month, we give away 5 $25 Amazon gift certificates to random subscribers.

To win, all you have to do is be a subscriber. Nothing more! When we click “Publish,” we take a list of all our subscribers, put them into a random draw, and those are the winners.

Our winners this month are:

Susan from Toledo, OH (email begins with sko3)

Jerry E. from Bessemer, AL

Miori from Centreville, VA

Karyn Ber. from Cincinnati, OH

Susan Led. from Cincinnati, OH

All of you have been e-mailed. If you don’t see anything, check your junk folder or contact me.

Hope everyone has a great September. My daughter is off back to University this weekend, and I’m training for a marathon, meaning I’m off the beer and bar food for the next few weeks, so it’s looking like a very quiet, dull and routine September all-round. Which is exactly what I want – lots of time to read!

Until the Next Chapter,

Graeme

OrderOfBooks.com

Book Shop Cats

I know a lot of the readers of this newsletter own and love cats. While in The Strand bookstore in NYC, I came across a book titled “Book Shop Cats”. The author’s name was Daphne Du Meowier. I thought – this would be perfect for the newsletter!

So each month, I share a picture of the cat from the book, followed by the excerpt they wrote. Hope you enjoy! If you like these, you can buy the book.

HUGO

AGE: Six
BREED: Domestic Shorthair, grey tabby
BOOKSHOP: Analog Books Inc., Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

ARRIVAL STORY: Hugo was a rescue cat who came to us at the beginning of the pandemic as we were fitting out Analog Books. He would join us at the store and loved spending time with the tradespeople, climbing ladders and snoozing in tool bags. Eventually he would cry when we brought him home at the end of the day, so he began his life full-time at the bookstore in the fall of 2020.

TEMPERAMENT: Besides being incredibly handsome, he absolutely loves the camera, and cameras (and their owners) love him. We estimate that Hugo is the most photographed cat in Southern Alberta, perhaps in all of western Canada. He will pose for the shot, literally, and presents multiple attitudes through various facial expressions. He absolutely loves his fireside bed and manages to wrap himself across the glass of the fireplace to the point where visitors fear he will spontaneously combust. If he reaches the point of needing a break, he’ll turn-butt and wander to one of his ‘safe-space’ hideouts. Those times tend to be short lived, however, as within minutes staff hear the common request: ‘Where’s Hugo?’ or ‘I’m just here to visit the cat.’ Treat packages are shaken, and Hugo appears out of his slumber to go to work.

In classic cat behaviour, Hugo will bestow the level of attention each customer deserves. Present a flying cat-toy feather and he will stalk like a lion and chase like a tiger. Approach him gently and calmly, and he will respond in kind. He’s patient with young kids, purring loudly as they stroke his amazingly soft coat. However, if he’s approached in a bombastic, loud manner, or if the crowd gets too large, he will quietly wander off to a safe spot and wait out the over-attention. (That’s when our second, younger rescue cat, Copper, takes over.)

FUN FACT: Hugo loves ladders. It is now an accepted fact that if you need to pull out a ladder for a job, you’d better pull out two since Hugo will beat you to the top every time.

Hugo also has his favourite customers. A select few find him on their shoulders within minutes of arriving in the store. Even though many try to persuade him to bestow that special affection on them, it must be earned over the years by regular visits.

LITERARY ALIAS: Think the classic literary butler, like P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves or Mr Stevens from Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day.

Hugo maintains an iconic feline dignified demeanour while showing unwavering loyalty to his endearing fans and the bookstore staff. He takes his job and position very seriously indeed.

A local artist created a portrait of Hugo that hangs above the fireplace, which captures that demeanour perfectly.

We are absolutely certain that Analog Books would not have grown into the much-loved community destination it has over the past five years without Hugo at the helm.

Book Recommendations

In this section, I give 3-5 random book recommendations from readers of the newsletter. They can be old books, they can be new. Feel free to e-mail suggestions to me. Just hit reply. If you wish to add a description for the book around the same size as the ones below that’d be great too! 

Two by Barbara Paul: Marlane wrote in to recommend a couple of the best books she had ever read, and listed two by Barbara Paul. Rather than separate them, I thought I would list both together:

But He Was Already Dead When I Got There: Human lie detector Shelby Kent helps the UN track whoever is selling defective weapons to rebels around the world, but her psychic gift may not protect her from the deadly truth behind the scheme.

Liars and Tyrants and People Who Turn Blue: When the ruthless lender threatening to ruin Ellandy Jewels is murdered, the store’s six associates become suspects and must uncover which of them can be trusted.

I will note that the latter is the author’s second most popular standalone on Book Notification.

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me By Ilona Andreas: The first book in the Maggie The Undying series. Toni wrote in the reader mailbag and mentioned this book, and I absolutely loved the premise. Definitely one I want to check out. Here’s what Toni wrote:

It is about a girl who wakes up and realizes she is in the world of her favorite series that she has read multiple times. I mean, really, how many of us wish we could step into our book and live it? Of course she uses the knowledge to get around, solve problems, and survive in this fantasy world. I’ve been mesmerized by this! To top it off, she can’t die! She knows the characters and how they think, and she finds out things about them that changes her perceptions of them. I can’t wait for the next book to come out!

Culpability by Bruce Holsinger: This one has been getting a lot of buzz – it’s on many ‘Best Book of 2025’ lists, nominated for some awards, and was an Oprah Book Club Pick.

Victoria wrote in to recommend it, writing:

‘AI dominates the news and our lives right now. Holsinger’s family is dominates by AI. After a family is in an accident in an automated car, AI affects everything that follows. Electronic warrants are issued to access all the family’s phones, the car’s computer system, and electronics in use in the car. An AI bot becomes a best friend. The vacation home where they escape is a smart home. They meet the man who’s responsible for much of the current AI tech. As they’re under scrutiny for the car accident, they can’t escape the electronic control in their lives.

The book is off putting and impactful as the reader realizes that the tech described is possible now.’

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan: Our good friend and regular contributor Keith listened to a lot of books this month. This one, the first in the Takeshi Kovacs series, was his highest rated. Here’s what Keith wrote:

“Altered Carbon” is #1 in the trilogy that inspired a Netflix series by Richard K. Morgan, expertly performed by Todd McLaren. A Sci-Fi / Noir Mystery / Thriller (everything I love mashed up) taking place in the twenty-fifth century, where humanity has spread throughout the galaxy under U.N. governance. Advanced technology allows those who can afford the procedure to have their consciousness stored in a cortical stack at the base of the brain and easily downloaded into a new body (a “sleeve”), with backup copies stored remotely. Also, prisoners are routinely sentenced to having their consciousness placed in cold storage for hundreds of years, leaving their bodies available for use as sleeves.

Disgraced ex-U.N. envoy (elite soldier / diplomat) turned private detective Takeshi Kovacs has been killed many times, only to wake up in a new sleeve to work for a new client. This time his consciousness has been sent 180 light-years from home to a dilapidated San Francisco and re-sleeved in the body of a brutal, corrupt former cop. His job is to uncover who murdered a (now re-sleeved) wealthy man. The investigation leads to a massive conspiracy that is vicious even by the standards of a society that treats existence as a negotiable commodity. All of Morgan’s novels instantly joined my TBR list and a great job by the reader! 8.5/10

A Death In Door Country by Annelise Ryan: Another one that Keith recommended.

“#1 in a series by Annelise Ryan, read by Susan Bennett. A young Wisconsin heiress, bookstore owner, and cryptozoologist is asked to investigate a series of deaths that might be proof of a fabled monster hunting in Lake Michigan. After growing up accompanying her parents while they hunted cryptids (mythical creatures whose existence is unproven), Morgan Carter is a scholarly, curious skeptic. When two men die by drowning but are found to have large bite marks on their torsos and internal organs crushed, police turn to Morgan for help. A decent “X-Files” worthy story marred by the author’s predilection for large and often archaic words, and a reader who often sounds like a nasally pre-teen girl. 7.5/10”

It’s really fascinating how a narrator can make or break a book. A good rating despite the narrator issues is a good sign for that book.

August Book Of The Month

We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman: The good news is we have a new Richard Osman novel this month – the bad news is it’s not a new Thursday Murder Club.

Still, it’s great news: it’s the sequel in the We Solve Murders series, and it releases September 15th, 2026.

In We Chase Shadows, Amy, Rosie, and Steve take on their first proper case after a body and a threatening note are found at an Italian villa, leading them on an international hunt for an elusive killer.

10 More Notable Books Releasing in September

Brought to you by BookNotification.com where you can get updated on all the upcoming books by your favourite authors with your own personalized calendar!

See a full list of the most popular book releases this month.

Pictures of the Month

Thanks to Carla.

Send in your own to site@orderofbooks.com or by replying!

Images, jokes, etc. We’ll take it all!

Your Thoughts!

Last month, we asked what book you had read in the last year that’s been living rent-free in your head. The answers are later in the newsletter.

For this month, I’m asking:

What book(s) have you read in one sitting?

I mean – I’ll allow bathroom breaks, dinner breaks, and so on. But you know what I mean – one of those books that essentially has consumed you from the moment you start it?

It happened recently with Lost In Time by A.G. Riddle for me. I started it at the beach at the cottage and got a sunburn because I couldn’t put it down. It was completely fast-paced, and I kept reading it while BBQing for our guests. I might have burned a couple of burgers as I was right at the ending and couldn’t put it down!

There are quite a few books like that; primarily thrillers if I start them early enough in the day. I do remember reading each Hunger Games book in one sitting. I read the first one on a Friday night, then the second one Saturday morning. I had a flight the Tuesday, so I begrudgingly held off on Mockingjay until then so it would keep me busy throughout the flight.

I still remember my friend Frank picking me up at the airport and me telling him I needed about 20 minutes of silence; 5 minutes to finish the book, and then another 15 minutes just to take in how it ended!

And I always go back to this memory – The Firm by John Grisham. I was only about 12 years old at the time. I started it one Saturday at 10pm and read until I finished at 6am. I slept, woke up in the afternoon, went to the shopping center, got myself chips and curry sauce, and rented the VHS adaptation. Just one of those lifelong reading memories I have.

What about you – what books have you read in one sitting?

E-mail us your feedback to site@OrderOfBooks.com or just reply to this e-mail, and we’ll pick the best comments and feature it in next month’s newsletter. Five people will also randomly win a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.

Reader Mailbag!

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