8/3: What's Mine and Yours by Naima Caster (library, 2021) - Book club book for the month. It had an interesting premise, but I thought it could have been better. 3/5 stars
8/5: In the End (In the After #2) by Demitria Lunetta (library, 2014) - It was an acceptable end to a YA dystopia duology. Not great, not bad. 3/5 stars
8/8: The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward (library, 2021) - Very interesting thriller. The cat's point of view was marvelous. 4/5 stars
8/10: The Inheritance & Other Stories by Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm (library, 2011) - Short stories by an author I love. 4.5/5 stars
8/18: The Secret Place (Dublin Murder Squad #5) by Tana French (library, 2014) - Just terrible. 2/5 stars
8/18: The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore (library ebook, 2017) - Interesting non-fiction story of women whose bodies fell apart after using radium-based paint while at work. 4/5 stars
8/21: The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince by Robin Hobb (library, 2013) - I just love to be in the world of The Realm of the Elderlings. 4.5/5 stars
8/22: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty (library ebook, 2015) - Memoir of Doughty's first year working in the death industry. Thoughtful and humorous at the same time. 4.5/5 stars
8/26: The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett (library, 2015) - Three possible outcomes of a chance meeting at the side of the road. Interesting premise, less interesting execution. 3/5 stars
8/28: Jade City (The Green Bone Saga #1) by Fonda Lee (library, 2017) - A tremendous introduction to the trilogy in which organized crime syndicates have magical powers. 5/5 stars
8/30: Terrier (Beka Cooper #1) by Tamora Pierce (library ebook, 2006) - This book was far too long. There was a fun cat character, though. 3/5 stars
Total: 11 books
Average star rating: 3.95/5 stars
Did Not Finish:
The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa (library ebook, 2022) - The main character Solange was absolutely terrible and I wouldn't want to be her friend and I certainly didn't want to spend time with her. Romance novel fail. DNF at 33%.
Much Ado About You by Samantha Young (library ebook, 2021) - Strong start (there's a dog!), but she drinks too much in a foreign country and ends up in bed with a stranger. No, thank you. Alcohol abuse is a dealbreaker for me and I just shut the book and moved on with my life. I know that some people act irresponsibly, but this was just a bridge too far for me. Another romance novel fail. DNF at 19%.
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson (library, 2020) - I wanted to like this book with its premise of traveling between multiverses. Instead, I just kept falling asleep. DNF at page 142 (44%).
Well, you're pretty strict with your rating system, so I trust you to be honest. And you were right- I loved Assassin's Apprentice!!! I love how the magic is interwoven into the story in a subtle way, and of course I loved Fitz's connection with the animals. But, the part with Smithy.... SO heartbreaking!!! I read it late at night and couldn't sleep because I was so sad (but books tend to affect me like that.) Anyway, I'll definitely continue on with this series. Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, yay! I'm so happy you enjoyed Fitz. All the Robin Hobb books I've read have been so sad, but so well done. Can't wait to hear more of your thoughts as the series goes on!
DeleteGlad you had a number of 4-5 star reads! I think I would quit the Tana French series if I was you! I am not confident you'll like the book I liked best! I definitely want to read Smoke Gets in Your Eyes!
ReplyDeleteI'm hesitant about Tana French, but I'll probably get that next book in the series someday. I have quite a full selection of books to read right now, so it's not a priority, but I'll get there. My expectations for Smoke Gets in Your Eyes were pretty low and I thought it was a very good book - I was impressed with how serious the author was about a serious topic, but it was also pretty funny at times.
DeleteYou're hilarious! "This book was far too long. There was a fun cat character, though." You're so matter of fact about books and I LOVE it.
ReplyDeleteI listened to a podcast episode all about Radium Girls. What a crazy, horrific, sad (but VERY interesting) story...
I did write a much longer post about that book, but I try to be short and to the point in the monthly recap posts.
DeleteThe Radium Girls book was so sad. Corporate greed has been around for a long time is the lesson I learned from it!
Have you written about how you choose the books you read? Or your "system"? Do you just have a million books on hold at all times? You seem to read mostly all fiction, no? And it seems like you are not necessarily into the most "trendy"/ talked about books (does that make sense? I mean like the books that you hear about ALL over the place, that every book club is reading, the ones with the beautiful covers and all the hype...). I've usually never heard of most of the books you read, which fascinates me! (I don't mean that negatively at all- hope you get my gist. :) ) I'd be curious to know how you organize/ manage your reading lists, holds, book choices, etc., with the high speed of turnover that your reading life seems to generate! Do you ever just walk into the library and pick books off the shelf?
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting blog topic idea. I'll work on writing something up about it.
DeleteFor you, it's alcohol abuse. For me, it's drug abuse. I cannot read a book that has a main theme of drug usage, it doesn't matter if it's a healing memoir or what. I just can't do it. A friend had recommended a book to me and I got it from the library; I flipped through and discovered it was all about parenting WHILE BEING A DRUG ADDICT NO THANK YOU. That said, I don't think I read many books with alcoholism in them either. Someone gave me Lit, which is a memoir, and I don't think I made it past the first chapter. I don't think I'm being blind to problems, I just don't want to read about them.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, drug abuse is a dealbreaker for me, too. Remember when that memoir called A Beautiful Boy was all the rage? A dad watches movies with his drug addict son? I was NOT into that. I do understand that addiction is an illness, but just as you said, that doesn't mean I have to read about it!
DeleteWow! You had an excellent month of reading - a 3.95 average star rating?! That's so high for you! Woohoo!
ReplyDelete