Weekly News: My August Wrap Up and Still Deciding What to Read Now--Too Many Choices!

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz  where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

I am linking up Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.  

September always makes me think of autumn. I hope Mother Nature gets the memo soon. I think I say that every year and yet the heat persists. That's what I get for living where I do. This is the month my family and I will be seeing Hamilton at the Pantages Theatre. We are all very excited. And it's my birthday month. September is also a month of remembrance--for my grandmother, my dad, and my father-in-law. A mix of happy with the sad.  

My daughter has been at school for three weeks--almost a month already! Anjin and I attended her Back to School Night and got to meet all her teachers. I think this is the first year the classrooms weren't packed with parents. Maybe because it's 8th grade? Or perhaps parents were just unable to get away from work or other life obligations. The school year has gotten off to a good start, and hopefully it will be a good one overall.

Work has been keeping me busy. My hand and wrist have been giving me some trouble, and with the high workload only making it worse, I haven't been online much in my spare time to comment on blogs and prep blog posts. I also have a giant bruise on my arm from trying to bend my arm in a way it wasn't meant to bend when I tried to retrieve a washcloth that had fallen between the wall and washing machine. After about a week and a half, the bruise seems to be fading finally and it doesn't hurt as much when I accidentally touch the area. 

I am spending today catching up on laundry and overthinking what book I should read next. 

What have you been up to?

Books Read in August

I found myself immersed in many good books during the month of August. I finally got around to listening to Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes, which had been sitting on my phone for quite a while. It was such an inspiring read, not to mention I found Shonda Rhimes extremely relatable. Next up was Octavia E. Butler's Parable of a Sower, which I had started reading in July, finishing in August--a futuristic dystopian novel that had been published years ago, but is now set in present times. It wasn't a book I wanted to race through, and so I took my time. You can read my thoughts on it here. In the mood for a swashbuckling historical pirate tale of one woman's rise to becoming a captain of her own ship, I read Briony Cameron's The Balland of Jacquotte Delahaye, which I enjoyed (see review here). I also stepped back into Amari's world in the second book of B.B. Alston's middle grade fantasy Supernatural Investigations series, Amari and the Great Game. This installment was just as good as the first book. I can't wait to read the third book! 

Many thanks to everyone who voted in August's TBR List poll. I read the winner The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava and loved every minute of it. I don't think a romantic comedy novel has ever had me feeling so anxious for the heroine--and the ending was so good. I hope to post my review of it soon. I followed it up with Celestine Martin's Kiss and Spell, a romantic comedy paranormal novel, which was delightful in every way. I really liked Martin's first novel, Witchful Thinking, which I read last year. I am ready to move to Freya Grove. My husband surprised me with a copy of Spy x Family, Vol. 12, one of my favorite manga series, and, of course, I loved it. It had quite the cliff hanger at the end though so now I am impatiently waiting for the next volume. 

Wanting to try something a little less romantic, I decided to try You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto. I really like other books I have read by this author, but this was my first thriller of hers. The writing instantly hooked me, although I did feel it was off to a slow start. Social Media Influencers at their worst! It was quite the reading ride, and I ended up really liking it. So many twists! 

My mom loaned me a copy of You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey, and I decided to squeeze that in with my August reading. Amber Ruffin is a writer, performer, and comedian by trade, and she is joined by her sister in writing this book. I read the physical copy, but I bet the audio version would be even better. It has a very conversational style, with the two authors going back and forth throughout. The authors addition of humor throughout are what make this book funny at times, but the real life scenarios they describe are not (seriously, what is wrong with people?!). I found this to be a worthwhile read and am glad I read it. I ended the month with one of August's TBR runners up, The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. I am still trying to wrap my head around this amazing book. There was so much to it. This was my second Louise Erdrich novel, the first of hers I read being LaRose, which I loved as well.

I was really surprised to see my total books read in August come out to 10 books. I hadn't realized I had read so many. 

(courtesy of Storygraph)

• The Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes, narrated by Shonda Rhimes
• Parable of the Sower (Earthseed #1) by Octavia Butler
• The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye by Briony Cameron
• Amari and the Great Game (Supernatural Investigation #2) by B.B. Alston
• The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
• Spy x Family, Vol. 12 by Endo Tatsuyo
• Kiss and Spell (Elemental Magic #2) by Celestine Martin
• You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto
• You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar
• The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

My August 2024 Reading Moods (according to Storygraph)

What was your favorite book read in August? Did you have a good reading month?

Here it is September 1st, and I haven't yet picked up another book after finishing The Sentence yesterday. I am not sure what I will read next. Sometimes when I finish a book, I am so excited I cannot wait to dive into another book right away. Other times, I need time to sit with the book I just finished because of the impact its had on me. 

There's a few books I am considering: there is the book my mom loaned me; the cozy mystery with a school setting that is perfect for this time of year; that road trip romance I wanted to read this summer that I never got to; the next book in the urban fantasy series I told myself I would catch up on before the year is out; and the third book in a YA fantasy trilogy I have been putting off but know I'll love when I finally do read it. 

Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson

It's Elementary by Elise Bryant

Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun

Million Dollar Demon (Hollows #15) by Kim Harrison

The Golden Enclaves (Scholomance #3) by Naomi Novik

Then there are also these I am considering for this month:

A  Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon (book club pick)

James by Percival Everett (book club pick/I won't be able to attend this meeting, but I still want to read the book)

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

I am terrible about sticking to a TBR list so these are all just options--along with the rest of my TBR books because who knows what direction I will decide to go. Maybe three of these will pop up on next weekend's September TBR List poll! Or maybe not, as often I change my mind. 

Have you read any of these? If so, are there any you think I should read next? 

New to my shelves (recent book purchases):

Two of these I got in anticipation of this month's book club reads at the local independent bookstore (the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Book Club and the Historical Fiction Book Club), but, wouldn't you know it, they've switched out the fantasy option to a book I do not have, and so I will just be checking out the Historical Fiction Book Club this month (if I don't chicken out). So, The Tainted Cup may have to wait a little longer to be read, but I am looking forward to it! The third book, And So I Roar, is a much anticipated book by an author who wrote one of my favorite books, The Girl With a Louding Voice.  

The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon

And So I Roar by Abi Daré 

Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think? 

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!

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