What I Read: August

Once school started, my reading really dropped off. The start of the school year is a mental exhaustion that I really can't explain. The first full week of school, I'd lay in bed "reading" for 30 minutes but only make it through about 10 pages because my comprehension level was causing me to have to slow down my reading and I was struggling to keep my eyes open so I'd have to go back and re-read large sections! The first part of August before school started I read enough that you don't really see a significant decline in number of books for this month.

Books:

• The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas- Our local bookstore had an author event for this book, but I wasn't able to go. I saw a signed copy at the store when we went on my birthday and decided to get it. I liked the book even more than I expected!

• When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller- The kids and I read this one together. When we got close to the end, Elise didn't want to read it anymore because she didn't want to finish it. We all loved the book and I especially liked the Korean fairy tales included in the story.

• Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson- The 2nd book in the Good Girl's Guide to Murder series. I liked this one even more than the first one!

• The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle- I randomly chose this one because I wanted a fantasy book and I liked the cover. It was so weird and not what I was expecting/looking for.

• Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez- Goodness, do I love Abby Jimenez! The first book of hers I read was my least favorite, but still really good. Every book since then has been such a ray of sunshine. I'm a little sad I only have one book left to read and then I'll have to wait for her to release a new book.

• Maud's Line by Margaret Verble- I went to an author's event with Verble at the library by our house. Afterward I was kicking myself for not buying this book and having her sign it, since it's her book that was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. On my birthday I came across a signed copy at Magic City Books and bought it and I was so excited to read it. It was really good, but When Two Feathers Fell From the Sky is still my favorite book of hers!

• Life's Too Short by Abby Jimenez- This was my last Jimenez book left to read until her newest comes out in April. I was so sad to be finished with her books, but I'm super excited for her newest book to come out!

eBooks:

• The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce- This book was from Queenie in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry's perspective. I loved Harold Fry and did not like this book at all. I started it and stopped it quite a few times as a regular book and finally finished it out as an ebook. It was one of those where it was hard to believe they were both written by the same author. 

• As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson- The 3rd book in the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. The 2nd one was my favorite in the series.

• All Roads Lead to Here by Abby Jimenez- This was a little bonus chapter that took place before her book, Part of Your World. I got it emailed to me when I signed up for her newsletter and I saved it for when I finished Life's Too Short and was sad I didn't have any more of her books left to read. It was really cute and I loved the characters whose lives we got a little glimpse into!

Audiobooks:

• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt- I'd had this on my reading list for a while when my aunt recommended it to me. Then the next time we had book club, one of the members recommended it as an audiobook because there were different narrators. It was so good. It was one of those where I wanted to do chores so I could keep listening! 

• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros- This was recommended to me by a friend in my book club. I started out loving it, it was exactly the kind of fantasy book I was in the mood for. Then it turned a little bit too much into a romance book for me. I would have rather skipped over all that and had the book focus more on the dragons and magic, but I still really liked it and will definitely read the sequel.

• Happy Place by Emily Henry- I liked this one, but it wasn't nearly as good as Book Lovers. We read it for book club. It was mixed with about half of us somewhat liking it and the other half not liking it at all.

• Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur- This was the 3rd book in the Written in the Stars series. I didn't like it that much, but that may have been more due to the fact that I really wasn't in the mood for this kind of story once I got into it. I was wanting a nonfiction audiobook, but none of the ones I wanted were immediately available. I got this while I waited for what I really wanted to come in on hold.