What did you read in August 2019?

[litskispeciality]

Hard to believe we're in Sept. already. Ratings, recommendations etc.? If you have a goal pls. feel free to share where you are with the goal after August's reads.

[litskispeciality]

I completed:

- Before We Were Wicked by Eric Jerome Dickey 3.5 - 4
- Two Can Keep a Secret 3.5 quick read, but the end left me a tad confused

- Read half of Bad Men and Wicked Women by Eric Jerome Dickey

15/24 for the year. Have 2 half finished so hope to finally get back to on track at the end of Sept.

[rainbowchip]

I read a lot this month!

P.S. I Still Love You and Always and Forever Lara Jean by Jenny Han - 4* each
These were fun and quick reads. Maybe a little forgettable.

Geekerella and The Princess and The Fan Girl - 3* each
These were nerdy fairy tale retellings which I usually love but these were only OK.

Elevation by Stephen King - 3*

Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic by Nick Carr - 3*
The narrator was fantastic and the story was OK.

I'll Be There for You: The One about Friends by Kelsey Miller - 3*
This is probably only really interesting to a Friends TV show super fan.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - 3*

Blood Truth (BDL #4) by J.R. Ward - 4*
The BDB formula with a little bit of mystery/who-done-it.

The Proposal and The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory - 4* each
These are nice romance novels that have less unbelievable stuff in them than some others.

I'm at 37/52 for the year. Goodreads says I'm 3 books ahead.

[meowmaps]

Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok 4*
Quirky/kind of awkward storytelling but interesting ride.

Recursion by Blake Crouch 4*
Took a while to grab me but ultimately, really cool.

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane 4*
I liked a lot about this book. The romance at the center of it was probably the least interesting aspect.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia-Moreno Garcia 3*

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes 3*

I'm at 48/60 so far. I'm eight books ahead so I'm hoping to hit 65 or more.

[just]

The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin 3*
Queenie, Candice Carty-Williams 3*
Asymmetry, Lisa Haliday 3*
American Spy, Lauren Wilkinson 4*
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Hank Green, 4*
Little, Edward Carey 4*
City of Girls, Elizabeth Gilbert 3*
Daisy Jones and the Six, Taylor Jenkins Reed 4*
The Heart's Invisible Furies, John Boyne 5* (reread from last year for book club)
Normal People, Sally Rooney 3*
The Power of Habit, Charles Duhig, 3*

61/100 so 5 behind schedule. Don't know if I'll catch up at this point, but it was a stretch goal.

[travella]

I'm in a reading funk. I didn't love any of the books I read last month. Hopefully this month is better. Goodreads shows I'm at 41/45, but I DNF two of the books so 39/45.

3*
Run Away by Harlan Coben
The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tale of Life on the Road by Finn Murphy

2*
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
Inheritance: a memoir of genealogy paternity and love by Dani Shapiro (1.5*)

1*
The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg

[mie]

Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid 4.5*
Neanderthal Marries Human by Penny Reid 4.5*
Friends Without Benefits by Penny Reid 4.5*
I'm enjoying this Knitting in the City series

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren 5*
Crashing the A-List by Summer Heacock 4*
The Way You Make Me Feel by Maureen Goo 5*
The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo 1* (I hated this one)

Sex, Lies, and Online Dating by Rachel Gibson 3.5*
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory 3*
The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory 2*
The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory 4*
The Lemon Sisters by Jill Shalvis 4*
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez 3.5*

[mrspez07]

Rainy Day Friends by Jill Shalvis 3*
-Quick Read

My Cousin Rachel - Daphne Du Maurier 3*
-slow read for me

Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall 5*
I found this to have a lot of beautiful language, some goodreads criticisms is a book about a black woman written by a white (a la The Help). I’d be interested in anyone else’s thoughts if they’ve read it.

A slow month (compared to the rest of the year), but typical of my non-audio reading. Been busy at work and haven’t been sucked in on an audio book. I’ve listened intermittently to Dearie about Julia Child but not close to finishing it.

[tacokick]

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman ****

Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett ****

Leaving the Witness by Amber Scorah ***1/2

My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues by Pamela Paul ****

Stone Cold Heart by Caz Frear ****

American Panda by Gloria Chao ****

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager ***1/2

The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth ***

Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language by Gretchen McCulloch *****

The Perfect Son by Lauren North *

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson ****

One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson ****

When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson ****

Let’s Call it a Doomsday by Katie Henry **

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett ***

No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale **

Katherine Hale is a Crazy Stalker by Katherine Hale **

What We See When We Read: A Phenomenology with Illustrations by Peter Mendelsund ***

Color Me In by Natasha Díaz ****

I’m Telling the Truth, but I’m Lying by Bassey Ikpi ****



I won the adult summer reading prize for my branch of the library! I think I read 32 books between mid-June and mid-August for it. Maybe 34. I read 54 between Memorial Day and Labor Day for another challenge online.

[ufcasey]

2 stars

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

3 stars

The Other Side by Kim Holden
Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean

The Nature of the Beast (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #11) by Louise Penny

4 stars

She Rides Shotgun Jordan Harper

5 stars

The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare

An Exaltation of Larks by Suanne Laqueur

I'm at 98 books for the year

[Vespasia]

Knife by Jo Nesbo (Harry Hole #12) 4.5 stars
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn 4 stars
The Presence by John Saul 2.5 stars


Knife was probably my favorite. It is the best of the more recent books in the series. It was a hard read though, because of what happens with some of the characters.

31/50 for the year.

[sarahswim]

Last month I read:

All The Beautiful Lies (Peter Swanson) ***

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (JK Rowling) ****

Blended (Sharon Draper) ****

Allegedly (Tiffany D Jackson) ****

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows (JK Rowling) ****

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (Gail Honeyman) ****

Where the Missing Go (Emma Rowley) ***

Daisy Jones & The Six (Taylor Jenkins Reid) ***

Eleanor & Park (Rainbow Rowell) ****

That puts me at 68 for the year. My goal is technically 100. I really enjoyed Blended and I couldn't put Allegedly down. As I've already lamented, I loved the Harry Potter series and was so sad to end it. I still can't believe I waited this long to read it. Already looking forward to re-reading it!

[msmerymac]

Hmm, not a lot. I'm in the middle of 4 books I'm toiling over right now.

Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas - ***, probably my least favorite of the series so far.
Shrill by Lindy West - ****, this was quite good, I'm looking forward to watching the show now

I guess that's all I technically finished, although I finished another book on 9/1. Huh. I'm also listening to an epic novel on audible, re-reading a favorite classic on kindle, and going through 2 hardcover books (one of which I want to pass onto my mom when she visits at the end of the month).

[wesleycrusher]

-The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast by Douglas Brinkley 4
-Broken Child Mended Man by Adam Starks 4
-How to Be Alone: If You Want To, and Even If You Don't by Lane Moore 3
-Charity: The Heroic and Heartbreaking Story of Charity Hospital in Hurricane Katrina by Jim Carrier 4
-Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren 3
-Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 5
-The Hunt (Project Paper Doll, #2) by Stacey Kade 3
-The Trials (Project Paper Doll, #3) by Stacey Kade 3
-Ship It by Britta Lundin 2
-Touching the Void by Joe Simpson 3
-I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir by Malaka Gharib 4
-Luna: Pittsburgh's Original Lost Kennywood by Brian Butko 3
-Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman 4
-Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker 2

@151 for the year so far. My reading always slows down around now every year with a 2 week vacation in August and September back-to-school craziness.

[abs]

The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory--4*
Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins-4*
Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton--4*
When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton--4*

I enjoyed them all for different reasons. The Wedding Party was the lightest and quickest read and also the strongest book in the series I think.

[minzy]

August was:

How To Give Up Plastic - A Guide To Changing The World, One Plastic Bottle At A Time - Will McCallum - 4 stars
Dave Grohl - Times Like His - Edwin James - 3 stars
Daisy Jones & The Six - Taylor Jenkins Reed - 4.5 stars
Refugee (YA) - Alan Gratz - 4.5 stars
Elevation - Stephen King - 3 stars

That makes 36/52, though I've since finished another one.

[minzy]

wesleycrusher, with your Katrina stuff, have you read Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink? It was recommended to me, and I'm only a few pages in so far.

[wesleycrusher]

Sept 5, 2019 13:27:24 GMT -5 minzy said:

wesleycrusher , with your Katrina stuff, have you read Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink? It was recommended to me, and I'm only a few pages in so far.

Yes I read it a few years ago! I LOVED the first half (I am a nurse) but the second half dragged for me because it is more legal and less medical.

After I read it I downloaded the book about Charity hospital, but it never made it to my kindle. I just got a new Kindle last month and re-downloaded and formatted everything so I finally read it (which then made me want to read more about Katrina, again, hence The Great Deluge).

[Gato]

I read:

Welcome to Lagos by Chibundu Onozo
Sabrina and Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin
Everyday People: The Color of Life - a short story anthology
Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

That's a very good month for me! I liked them all, although Fever Dream was very well done but like a nightmare. Toward my goal, I'm at 41 out of 50 for the year.