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 read that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better about 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.
Blue Ticket (Sophie Mackintosh): You may have noticed that I’m a tad obsessed with this book. It’s not just the best book I read in August—it’s up there within the top tier of books I’ve ever read. Very high praise. Like Handmaid’s Tale, I could see myself reading this one again and again. I have her other book on my TBR pile, and she has earned an eternal free pass—regardless of what future books are about, I’ll give them a chance because I love her writing that much.
How to Be an Antiracist (Ibram X Kendi): Kendi is really good at distilling racism into easy to remember statements, which is important if you are carrying with you the desire to do better every single day. Sometimes I wish he’d unpack his examples a little more—he relies heavily on superlatives to describe people who are important to understanding his story—but it is a straightforward, important read and a good place to dive in if you want to understand your place in a larger system.
Seven Lies (Elizabeth Kay): This was such an engaging thriller—totally creepy—and I couldn’t wait to get back to it every night and read the next lie. It has a great framing, too—you don’t realize it until you’re close to the end, and then the whole book comes together. Very well done.
Rodham (Curtis Sittenfeld): I went back and forth on whether to include this book. Here’s the thing, there were parts I really enjoyed, especially early in the book. And I may have felt differently about this book if I read it when we weren’t in the middle of an election season. It turned me off to the real and fictional Bill and fictional Hillary Clinton (real Hillary managed to remain beloved in my heart because I held the book at arm’s length). Trump is always a turnoff everywhere, and his inclusion ruined parts of the book for me. I decided to include it as a book in this list because the last line made me sob.
Camp (Lev Rosen): This was such a sweet book that would have meant so much to me if I had read it as a teen. It made me miss camp, even though I definitely don’t miss that stage of trying to figure yourself out. It’s about a camp for LGBTQ+ teens, and how the narrator changes himself to attract his crush. Did I mention it’s so sweet? It was a joy to spend time with this book with all of the crap in this world.
The Lion’s Den (Katherine St. John): This is one of those books that I liked and liked and liked and then I LOVED. I didn’t see the end coming at all, which made it such a delicious twist. Like you think you understand where things are going, and then you realize that you knew nothing and the story was so brilliantly put together that if this book were a casino, the dealer would definitely win. And you wouldn’t mind because you’d be so impressed.
What did you read last month?
2 comments
I look forward to these posts! Here are the books I read in August:
My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren. This author’s books have been perfect for this season of life for me! This read was quick, light and fun.
Like Brothers by Mark & Jay Duplass. I listened to this on audiobook borrowed from the library and got about 2/3 of the through before it expired. I heard about the book on a podcast and was intrigued. Maybe more from fans of the Duplass brothers and their work (I’ve never watched a single thing they’ve made).
Dating You, Hating You by Christina Lauren. Gradually working my way through her catalog. Another fun, light read.
Atomic Habits by James Clear. Useful but basic. Probably could’ve gotten the same information from the author’s website, so I’m glad I checked this out from the library and didn’t buy it.
Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld. You know my thoughts on this one. 😉
If She Only Knew by Lisa Jackson. Decent “thriller” which I probably won’t remember in a year. 😉
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James. This was my book club’s August selection, and we all enjoyed it. I had previously also read The Broken Girls by this author.
Open Book by Jessica Simpson. This isn’t ground-breaking literature, but I enjoyed reading out her life, and she really was an “open book.” Of particular interest to me were the portions about her relationship with John Mayer, as he is one of my husband’s and my favorite musicians.
I read NINE books in August, which I think is a recent record for me!
They’re all reviewed on my blog (as well as on Goodreads), but here’s the list, with a couple of capsule comments:
* “White Working Class” by Joan C. Williams. A brief but helpful and well written overview of the subject.
* “The Weekend” by Charlotte Wood (for the Gateway Women private online community book club). Three women clear out a friend’s beach house over the Christmas weekend. It’s about friendship, ambition, creativity, aging & mortality.
* “All I Ever Wanted” by Kathy Valentine (of the Go-Go’s). A notch above the usual rock star memoir because of its raw honesty.
* “Unzipped” by Suzi Quatro. Valentine cited Suzi Quatro as a huge influence — and I hadn’t thought of her in years — so I read her memoir next, lol. Probably more than I ever needed to know about her, but it was entertaining.
* “Belabored” by Lyz Lenz. The subtitle is “A Vindication of the Rights of Pregnant Women.” It’s part polemic, part sociological/cultural study, part history lesson and part memoir. Lots of food for thought!
* “God Land” by Lyz Lenz. A look at faith in the American midwest.
* “The Blue Castle” by L.M. Montgomery (for the L.M. Montgomery Readathon FB group). Possibly my very favourite Montgomery novel, and one of my favourite novels of all time. 🙂
* “Amberwell” by D.E. Stevenson (for my DES online group). A family drama set in Scotland in the years before, during & after WWII.
* “Katherine Wentworth” by D.E. Stevenson (also for my online group). A nice comfy novel about a young widow carving out an independent life for herself and her children.
Thanks for your thoughts on Kendi’s book… it’s in my TBR pile. I was shocked to learn he’s so young (still in his 30s, I think) and he’s a colon cancer survivor.