August was kind of a weird month in relation to reading. I hit a really major reading slump, which is kind of unusual for me. It just felt like every book I picked up was very meh. So then I started reading just random fluff books, and all of those were also very meh. It made for boring times reading and boring times blogging, and also explains why most of my book reviews this month were two-paragraph minireviews that basically said, “This book was quite meh.”
However, I have had two solid reads in a row, and am working through two books that also have started quite well, so I’m hoping that I am back on track. It hasn’t helped that I’ve also been working quite a bit, have had a very busy month in my Etsy store, and had my brother come to visit from Seattle for a long weekend. Lots of life happening!
Still, while I didn’t get a lot of awesome books read in August (or July, if I’m honest), I did work through a decent quantity. So I am actually six books ahead of my Goodreads goal for 160 books in the year, aided by some shorter reads.
Favorite August Read:
I saved the best for last, I guess – Uprooted was my final August read, and it was FANTASTIC. It’s made me believe in the concept that there are actually some worthwhile books out there. It’s a really well-written fantasy novel that I would have gladly awarded five stars to if not for this one random and far-too-detailed sex scene out of nowhere. Still, with that caveat, I highly recommend this book with great world-building, interesting characters, and a perfect ending.
As an aside, I think that that cover is gorgeous, but I can’t find anywhere for cheaper than around $60! I really, really love simple covers without a lot of writing on them. In my mind, a cover should have the title and the author’s name (preferably with the title in larger letters) and not a lot of other writing. I hate it when covers are covered in random quotes and reassurances that I will LOVE THIS BOOK or THIS IS NOW AN AWESOME MOVIE – the cover art and title should speak for themselves. This cover alone would make me way more likely to pick up the book than its current cover with a girl and a bunch of quotes on it. Anyway.
Most Disappointing August Read:
I think The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler. I enjoyed the earlier Phillip Marlowe books so much that this one came as a bit of a shock. Unlike the earlier books, it was almost completely devoid of humor, and instead felt dark, depressing, and hopeless. Later, I read that it took Chandler a long time to write this book, and his wife was dying (of cancer? I can’t remember) basically the whole time, so I guess that all makes sense. But it definitely made me take a break from the Marlowe series.
Other August Reads:
- The Cat-Sitter Mystery by Carol Adorjan – 4/5 – a old childhood favorite that was still pretty fun as a reread.
- A Dark Lure by Loreth Anne White – 3/5 – I paid $0 for this book, and that’s about how much I got out of it.
- Fatal Trust by Todd M. Johnson – 4/5 – if I hadn’t read Uprooted right after this book, Fatal Trust would have been my best read of the month – engaging, perfectly paced, and just twisty enough to keep me guessing.
- The High Window by Raymond Chandler – 3.5/5 – fun and engaging, but not brilliant.
- The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler – 3.5/5 – a little more graphic than the earlier books, but still quite solid.
- Mail-Order Bride by Debbie Macomber – 3/5 – a good concept that set up well, but then got really sloppy.
- Mind Your Manors by Lucy Lethbridge – 3.5/5 – an interesting nonfiction book about old-fashioned cleaning methods, but not as practical as I had hoped.
- Nimona by Noelle Stevenson – 4/5 – a really delightful graphic novel that completely engaged me – the artwork is amazing and the setting fantastic.
- Once Upon a Kiss by various authors – 2/5 – an overall rather weak collection of YA fantasy short stories, several of which I didn’t even bother finishing.
- The Story of Amelia Earhart by Adele de Leeuw – 3/5 – a nice children’s biography but a bit scattered.
- Summer of Lost and Found by Rebecca Behrens – 3/5 – just a little too disjointed for me to really enjoy.
- This Love of Mine by Miranda Liasson – 3.5/5 – a fun little fake-relationship trope story.
- This Loving Feeling by Miranda Liasson – 3/5 – a pleasant story but nothing exciting.
- This Thing Called Love by Miranda Liasson – 3/5 – a decent start to an average contemporary romance trilogy.
- The Whisky Wedding by Elizabeth Ann West – DNF – just why.
- A Year of Weddings Novellas: Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn – overall 3/5 for the collection. Some were better than others, but only one or two were complete lemons.
In Augusts Past…
Now that I’ve been doing my Rearview Mirrors for two years, I thought it would be fun to see what my favorite and least-favorite reads were from those years.
Interestingly enough, August 2015 was a bit of a reading slump as well, which I was also slowly working my way out of by the time I wrote the Rearview. My favorite read that month was a Wodehouse gem – Ice in the Bedroom. My least favorite that month was a book that I think turned out to be my least favorite read of the entire year – the incredibly creepy Zel by Donna Jo Napoli, a book that still makes me a nauseous if I think about it.
In August 2016, my favorite read was another Wodehouse! This time Money in the Bank took the place of honor. And in a weird turn of events, my most disappointing read that month was actually from one of my favorite authors – Agatha Christie’s Destination Unknown, which had much less plot and much more lecturing than her stories usually do.
TBR Update:
Well, due to the reading slump, an ambivalent attitude towards blogging, and a lot of life craziness, I haven’t done many of my Tottering TBR episodes recently. But items do keep going on and off the lists, so I’m actually intrigued to see where things stand…
For those of you who don’t know, I’m weirdly obsessive with organizing the TBR, and have it on a spreadsheet divided into five different tabs:
- Standalones: 802 (up twelve!!! Oh dear)
- Nonfiction: 79 (holding steady)
- Personal (which includes all books I own (fiction and nonfiction), but lists any series I own as only one entry…): 598 (up two)
- Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 226 (up four)
- Mystery Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 103 (holding steady)
Well, could be worse… I think… ;-)
Awaiting Review:
I’m actually caught up on reviews right now! Madness!
Current Reads:
- The Light Between the Oceans by M.L Stedman – so far a really good story, but kind of stressing me out because I hate it when people are living a lie and the consequences are just slowly looming over them like a giant wave and I have to keep waiting for the crash!
- The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler – I decided to try the next Marlowe story and see if it was better than The Little Sister. So far, so good.
- An Unlikely Duet by Leila Silver – my current P&P variation read. Alright, but honestly just kind of boring.
- The Iliad by Homer – technically I’m still ‘reading’ this, but I haven’t actually read much of it at all this month. I’m hoping to pick this one back up soon.
Approaching the Top of the Pile…
The probable next five reads:
- Playback by Raymond Chandler – the last Marlowe book he wrote, although someone else has finished his partial manuscript, so I may read that as well.
- The Noble Path by Peter May – I’ve had this one from the library for a while and read about one chapter of it a few weeks ago and just wasn’t feeling it. I’m going to give it another go now that I feel more like reading in general.
- A is for Arsenic by Kathryn Harkup – I read a review for this nonfiction book about the poisons in Agatha Christie’s books a while ago and it really sounds intriguing.
- Indian Paint by Glenn Balch – my next book in my personal collection is another Famous Horse Story!
- Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars by Daniel Pinkwater – Pinkwater has long been a favorite of mine, but he’s a very prolific author so I’m still finding and reading random books of his. For me, his books are either so funny I can’t stop snickering the whole time, or they make no sense at all, so we’ll see where this one falls.
Happy September!!!
The Aroma of Books 