Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined them chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the second day of the month is "Entertainment."
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This month's reading started out strong and ended with a bit of a whimper. Oh, well. On to great books in August.
7/1: O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker (library ebook, 1991) - Weird book about a weird girl in a weird place. 4/5 stars
7/1: Closer to Home (Valdemar: The Herald Spy #1) by Mercedes Lackey (library, 2014) - Mags is back in Haven and there are political machinations and Companions to heed. Fun world, but I don't love Mags as much as Lackey does. 3.5/5 stars
7/2: In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children #4) by Seanan McGuire (library audiobook, 2019) - Beautiful entry into this series about a lonely girl who has to make a choice between a world of imagination and a world with her family. 5/5 stars
7/2: No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister (library, 2023) - If you identify as a writer or a reader, this is a must read. 4.5/5 stars
7/6: As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner (library, 2018) - Historical fiction about a family in Philadelphia during the war and flu pandemic. Lovely meditation on grief. 4.5/5 stars
7/8: Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan (library, 2023) - Bad romance novel. Bad. 2/5 stars
7/9: Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan (library, 2015) - Lovely historical fiction YA. 4.5/5 stars
7/13: Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach (library ebook, 2021) - Good book about how to deal with the increase interactions between wildlife and humans. 4/5 stars
7/17: Come Tumbling Down (Wayward Children #5) by Seanan McGuire (library audiobook, 2020) - Not as good as the previous entry in this series, but good enough for me to immediately download the next audiobook in the series. 3.5/5 stars
7/17: The Fellowship of the Ring (Lord of the Rings #1) by J.R.R. Tolkien (book I own, 1954)- So boring. So many male characters. So much time in the woods. 2/5 stars
7/20: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (library, 2022) - Book club book. It was fine. Absolutely fine. 3.5/5 stars
7/24: Across the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children #6) by Seanan McGuire (library audiobook, 2021) - Unicorns and centaurs! If you like horses, this book might be your jam. If you're not into horses, this might not be the entry in this series for you. 3.5/5 stars
7/24: We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (library ebook, 2003) - Interesting and important topic, but not always the most riveting. Very long. 3.5/5 stars
7/25: A Duke in Disguise (Regency Imposters #2) by Cat Sebastian (library, 2019) - Boring book, this one. I contemplated DNFing it, but then I found the word hat and kept reading. The second half was a bit better, but I can safely say that this author is not my jam. 2.5/5 stars
7/26: Montana 1948 by Larry Watson (library, 1993) - Short little novel about a boy watching his extended family disintegrate around him in one summer. 4/5 stars
7/28: Closer to the Heart (Valdemar: The Herald Spy #2) by Mercedes Lackey (library, 2015) - Why so much Mags? Why so much kirball? 3/5 stars
7/29: Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley (library, 2023) - Pretty okay. I love the upper Michigan setting. 3.5/5 stars
7/31: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer (library ebook, 2012) - There's a lot to like about this retelling of the Cinderella story and I really enjoyed the first part of the book. It lost me in the last half and the abrupt ending. 3/5 stars
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Average star rating: 3.53/5 stars
Did Not Finish:
Genealogy of a Murder: Four Generations, Three Families, One Fateful Night by Lisa Belkin - I heard this author on the Longform podcast and thought it sounded like a good story. It turns out that the few minutes she talked about it on the podcast was enough for me. Going back three generations was unnecessary to tell this tale and while I admire the breadth of research that went into this, I just couldn't bring myself to actually read it. DNF at page 16.
Oh yay! So glad you liked Montana 1948!
ReplyDeleteIt was such a lovely little book! Thanks for the rec!
DeleteI'm adding No Two Persons and As Bright as Heaven to my (mental) TBR.
ReplyDeleteWhen you DNF something at page 16 you know it's bad...I've had a few books like that where I'll read a few pages and just be like "nope".
Those two books were really good and I think about them a fair amount. I don't know if I really gave Genealogy of a Murder a chance, but I knew right away that it was going to be a slog for me, so that's on me. I'm sure it's a fine book.
DeleteI plan to read No Two Persons! It's on my libby hold list. I DNF's "We need to talk about kevin" when I tried to read it years ago. The writing style was not at all engaging for me!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you like my reading recaps and especially the children's book part! I love reading to the boys and really hope they remember all the time we spent reading but I think they will. It's such a part of our identity since we go to the library every week! Paul is learning to read and it has to be related to how much we've read to him. He loved books from a very very young age - like 6-9 months! Will was slower to like books but now he loves them, too.
Apparently I have read Let's Talk About Kevin twice. I didn't love it either time. LOL.
DeleteI do love hearing about children's books! It's just so beyond my experience, but sometimes people ask me about kids books and I just read your book reviews!
I love your book lists-- so many that are not on my radar
ReplyDeleteWell, I am heavy into backlist, not new releases. I can't get the new releases from the library in time to be part of the early discussion, so I tend towards books that are older. I definitely don't have your library game!
DeleteSo I guess you're not going to continue with the LOR books? Ha ha. I can't believe I read all of them. I'm currently in the last book of the Ender saga, and then I can finally branch out. I want to read No Two Persons!
ReplyDeleteI am bound and determined to finish Lord of the Rings. The second book in the trilogy is on my list for August. I mean, we'll see if I can slog through!
DeleteCan I say I envy you for – obvisiouly – reading so fast. Man... I wish I'd be able too.
ReplyDeleteI loved the LOR books and often think about rereading them. I loved the way the language flowed. Sure its been lots of males. I guess it was the time. I always try to remember when a book was written. Times change. Books are a snapshot of that time.
I wish I loved LOtR like everyone else. LOL. But it's just not my jam, so I have to deal with that. I do think Tolkien was brilliant and the reason so much of fantasy is written the way it is today is because of him, so I respect these books, even as I don't care for them much.
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