Best Books of August
As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she reads that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better at doing this.
So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.
These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from August.
The Bright Sword (Lev Grossman): This is a book you need to own, not borrow, because you will want to take your time with it. It is slow and beautiful, almost a lament to Arthur. I’m a casual Arthur fan, so I imagine a true lover of the Arthurian legends would be over the moon with this book. But I am a Lev Grossman fan, and any story in his hands becomes beautiful.
I Hope This Finds You Well (Natalie Sue): A cute workplace romance (kind of)? It wraps up super neatly, which is why I may be thinking of it as a romance more than straight fiction (plus, crush). Loved the interactions with her mother. It was just a much sweeter book than expected from the opening. I thought it was going to be like Green Dot, but after that Green Dot-y opening, it veered more into romantic comedy territory.
The Wedding People (Alison Espach): Yes, it was sometimes unrealistic (sure, send the 11 year old off with a stranger to run errands despite all of the family there) but the writing and ideas were lovely. It’s about finding reasons to live every day. And it made me want to plan a trip to Rhode Island.
A Talent for Murder (Peter Swanson): If you read The Kind Worth Killing (and enjoyed it), you’ll like this one. It was another great creepy read from Swanson. His books make you squirm a little inside while reading them. And, as always, Lily and Henry are fantastically grey together.
The In Crowd (Charlotte Vassell): Sometimes I was laughing. Sometimes I was just appreciating the writing. I loved Vassell’s first book, and this is a connected story, sharing many of the same characters. There are two related crimes, one has a great twist and the other is a bit of a dud, but the book is so much more about the main characters and their relationships. I love the writing so much.
Death at Morning House (Maureen Johnson): I think I may have emotionally aged out of Maureen Johnson books. I know they’re for teens, but they were enjoyable reads for adults, too. I’m listing this book here because if I was a teen, I would have loved this book. And if you like Maureen Johnson, this has a similar feel to the Truly Devious series.
What did you read last month?
3 comments
I’ve heard lots of good things about “The Wedding People,” and it’s high on my “want to read” list.
I have been struggling a bit with all my book club/readalong obligations recently, and am a little behind on my Goodreads goal for the year. I got 2 books read in August, both of them book club selections, both reviewed on my blog, as well as on Goodreads & StoryGraph:
* “Swing Time” by Zadie Smith. Two little “brown girls” become friends through their dance class in London. As they grow up, their lives go in very different directions. One pursues her dancing ambitions, while the other — much to the chagrin of her activist mother — winds up as the personal assistant to a world-famous pop star, who has elaborate philanthropic plans to open a school for girls in West Africa. The quality of the writing was top-notch, and there were some interesting observations & themes explored — but honestly? This was kind of a slog to get through. The plot meandered (I felt like the book was longer than it should have been), and I didn’t really find the characters that interesting or sympathetic. Things did pick up a bit towards the end, but it was too little, too late. 3 stars.
* “Code Name Helene” by Ariel Lawhon. Fortunately, this was a much faster-paced and more captivating read (which got faster and more captivating as the book went on…!) — and all the more interesting because, amazingly, it’s a true story (!). Nancy Wake was an Australian freelance journalist turned British Special Operations Executive (SOE) operative, who parachuted into Nazi-occupied France during World War 2 to aid the resistance movement — and seek a reunion with her French husband. My book club co-host (who is British) described this as “an absolutely cracking book!!!!” I agree! 🙂 I did have to put the book down and take a break, every now & then — despite my desire to find out what happened next! — because (as you might expect from a WW2 story — some sections were pretty tense/intense! (But still, really good!) 5 stars.
I read Just for the Summer by Abby Jiminez – probably not your favorite genre, but it dealt so well with fragile people dealing with their family issues that I think anyone can relate a little bit. It was also pretty funny.
Also, I have aged out of all the YA, I think. I’m slogging through a Rainbow Rowell and will probably abandon it due to the main character annoying me. It makes me sad because I loved a couple of her books.