This month was a little more on the realistic side than in months past, because this month’s theme was ‘Best Contemporary Novel!’ And boy did we have quite a few books to pick from. I think… this might have been our best month for participation yet, but don’t take my word for it! Check out the picks yourself! (If this is your first time hearing about Calendar Girls and are interested in finding out more, you can read my info page about the blog event here!)

– Best Contemporary Novel –

Melanie –  Lost Girls by Merrie Destefano
Flavia – When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Katie – Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
Sophie – Making Faces by Amy Harmon
Thai – Pretty Face by Lucy Parker
Mandy – Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
Adrienne – The Future She Left Behind by Marin Thomas
Alex – A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman
Lauren – Royal Street by Suzanne Johnson
Deanna – A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Dawlyn & Krista – The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Well, then. I mean, I knew contemporary fiction was quite the popular genre, but look at all those different choices! Fluffy. Dark. Older. Younger. What’s more is that the actual definition of contemporary seems to be up for debate, but isn’t that what makes reading so much fun? That everyone sees it a little differently? That everyone can read the same book and envision something else? While these might all be contemporary fiction, this is definitely a list full of variety. Anyone brave enough to attempt reading such a diverse set of stories?

By the way, if you haven’t had the chance to comment and discuss with other Calendar Girls about their pick, you can go and do so now. Just click a book cover or link above and it will take you right to that blogger’s post where you can leave a comment!

Remember: It’s never too late to discuss books!

– Most Popular Pick –

Holy woah! So many choices to pick from this month! Thank you to everyone who voted in the September poll! While there were a couple of contenders, there was most definitely a unanimous winner for ‘Best Contemporary Novel!’ And without further ado, here is the winner by popular vote…

*drum roll*

I hope you weren’t expecting a light-hearted, fluffy story for this month’s pick (despite how that seems to be the case with most contemporary fiction), because this is not one of those stories. Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia sounds like it deals with some pretty heavy topics. What’s more, I think that many of us bloggers could relate to the boat rocking that would ensue if our online lives collided with our real lives. Perhaps not quite as volatilely as Eliza’s, but having a secret can be a big thing. Check out this book if you’re looking for a new contemporary. I hear it’s popular.

– #CGBChat –

On Sunday, September 17th, some lovely ladies joined us on the hashtag to discuss what exactly is the contemporary fiction genre and boy was that a discussion! It took us almost an entire hour just to come to a consensus and there still might be a few details up for debate. Haha! In fact, we were having so much fun that Melanie and I couldn’t bear to cut you lovely bloggers off after just one hour. But don’t take my word for it, check out the chat through storify here.

Miss this month’s #CGBChat? No worries! There’s another one coming up on Sunday, October 15th at 8PM EST where we’ll be discussing paranormal novels, their unique aspects, and perhaps even why the genre has a bit of a bad rep! We really hope to see you there.

P.s. We have a Calendar Girls Twitter Group Chat and would love for you to join us! If you are not part of it already, tweet @FlavBibliophile or @NoellBernard to be added! Hope to see you there!

– Readalong –

Thank you to everyone who participated in July and August’s read-a-longs. Unfortunately, as many of you saw in our poll last week, there will not be a read-a-long again in October. Melanie and I are still, unfortunately, both very busy at the moment (#RealLife/#Adulting/#PhDLife) and cannot guarantee we’ll have enough time to devote to reading and hosting discussions for another book on top of our current reading schedules. We are sorry for this inconvenience and hope to clear our schedules to host a read-a-long in November!

– October’s Theme –

Please remember that the September theme is:

💀  Best Paranormal Novel 💀

And we look forward to seeing the books you will all
be choosing in your reveal posts on October 2nd (this coming Monday)!

– Thank You –

That’s all for September! Thank you so much for participating again this month. Calendar Girls wouldn’t be here without you and we hope you’ll join us again for October! We also hope you had so much fun that you can’t help but wrangle up a few more friends to join because I think we can all agree that bookish discussions are way more fun with more people, right? To help spread the word, please use the hashtag  #CalendarGirlsBooks on Twitter & Instagram, and feel free to use the Calendar Girls logo. Click here for the url.

P.s. Just because it’s called Calendar ‘Girls’ doesn’t mean only girls can
join! Invite everyone you know, whatever gender they may be!

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN CALENDAR GIRLS! THIS EVENT WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT ALL OF YOU! SO THANK YOU, AND WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL STAY WITH US AS 2017 CONTINUES! FOR THOSE OF YOU THINKING OF JOINING, OR WHO HAVE JUST HEARD ABOUT CALENDAR GIRLS, WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL JOIN IN THE FUN AND ALSO PROVIDE ANY FEEDBACK AND/OR SUGGESTIONS! FEEL FREE TO CONTACT EITHER MELANIE OR MYSELF, OR LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!