books Here are the 18 books I read in August. There was wuite a variety of books read this month. I always wonder if I will ever stop finding books that interet me and I am constantly still adding books to my TBR list!

Check out my various pages for ⭐️ ratings of these books:

I hope you find something that looks interesting to you. Below are a few notes on the books this month.

Total books for the year: 118

  1. 🎧 Death Valley by Melissa Broder - This was a totally weird book. I am not sure how I felt about it. At the time, I thought I was going to quit a couple time, but again, as a whole, I could appreciate the book. So do with that what you will.
  2. 🎧 The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson - I think the books by Jandy Nelson have the prettiest covers. I read “When The World Tips Over” and just adored it. This was her first book and WTWTO was one of her most recent ones. This one had good the characters and the storyline was unique. I really enjoy the way she writes. I have another on my list to read soon.
  3. 🎧 It’s All Or Nothing, Vale by Andrea Beatriz Arango - This was a lovely book in verse about a girl who was in an accident and has to rethink how she will play her favorite sport. It was a really sweet book with a wonderful message and I’ll read just about any book I find that is written in verse!
  4. 📖👩‍👧‍👦 Freddy And The New Kid by Neil Cameron - Book 2 in a series I was reading with my 10 year old. He was struggling to find books that interested him and he really liked this series. I was more than happy to read along with him on my own to encourage him to keep reading.
  5. 📱 The Trail Of Lost Hearts by Tracey Garvis Graves - I have had this book on my kindle for ages. I think I preordered it before it came out. I am so glad I finally picked it up. There were parts of the book that felt really familiar to me while I was reading it. I wonder if I read a summary or something at some point about it. The book had some great twists and I really enjoyed it.
  6. 🎧 A Psalm For The Wild-Built by Becky Chambers - This is book one in a series. This and the book below, are combined in a “new” book, possibly more readily seen around, as “Monk and Robot”.
  7. 🎧 A Prayer For The Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers - These two books were so good. A robot is sent to figure out what humans need. And a tea monk tries to help. Their journey together is so lovely. I enjoyed the second book more. I think the way they intereacted and the story of that one appealed to me more. A wonderful book(s) overall!
  8. 🎧 The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich - A friend recommended this one to me after reading it and I am so glad she did. It was another beautil book by Erdrich. She writes in such a relateable way - almost as if you are reading a jounral or having her tell you the story. The story follows an indigenous girl and how she is pulled in different directions by her heart, her family and many others. Wonderfully done.
  9. 🎧 Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood - This was a short novel - possibly a novella - by Hazelwood I only found on audio. While there is some STEM (they are game designers) I feel like Ali has really jumped into the smut genre and I wish it would have been a bit more of a dip-you-feet-in kind of things in her books. There are so few books about women in tech and STEM genres and she had such a great opportunity to do more with it. But that is just my take. I’ll still probably read everything she writes.
  10. 📱 Till Summer Do Us Part by Meghan Quinn - This was so dang funny! I am not sure I have read any other books by Quinn, but maybe I need to if they are all this laugh-out-loud funny. The whole premise of the book was a little bonkers, but it worked. The characters were a bit ridiculous and I think that is what I loved so much about them. So glad I picked this one up. (Also, this book comes in two versions that have some various illustrations throughout the book. The cover in my collage is the book I read. I’ve seen a “dirty” version at Target…it’s not sold anymore.)
  11. 🎧 The Sirens by Emilia Hart - This one was interesting. I liked the book, but I’m not sure I love Hart’s books and writing style. “Weyward” fell a bit short for me as well. Maybe it’s the back and forth in history and trying to tie everything together to find the connections. It’s a stunning book cover and I enjoyed this one overall, but I don’t think her writing style is for me.
  12. 🎧 The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick - This was a creative book. People can go to sleep for a while to move past grief or times in their lives they are struggling. It was a creative premise and I enjoy books that are a little far-fetched, but also you feel like it very easily could be reality.
  13. 🎧 The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison - I have no idea how I came across this little gem of a book. A woman loses her best friend and decides to travel to a place they always wanted to go…and the friend is there, but they aren’t speaking. It is such a great book about finding what is important to us and I outwardly gasped at one point in the book. What a lovely surprise in a book!
  14. 📖 Freddy The Superstar by Neill Cameron - The final book in this trilogy. This series was written in Europe so some of the phrases are a little different than we are used to, but doesn’t take away from the overall understanding. There are so many funny and silly things that happen in the books and they even have a good message overall. Definitely recommend these for kids who need to find something new to read, but want to keep it fun.
  15. 🎧 The Locked Door by Freida McFadden - I don’t really know why I keep picking up McFadden books. I guess I keep hoping I’m going to be blown away or really shocked. I have had a couple that surprise me, but most are just meh. I think partly because she does SO many that they are all kind of similar. It was ok. Not life-changing, but ok.
  16. 📱🎧 The Trouble With Heroes by Kate Messner - Another book in verse that was recommended by an author we met at a middle school book club - Erin Soderberg Downing. It was so so good. I loved it so much. It was funny and touching and I adored it!
  17. 🎧 Blob by Maggie Su - The title cracked me up because the full title is “Blob: A Love Story”. It was a little strange and a bit speculative. Imagine finding a sentient alien blob and shaping it into your perfect boyfriend. Just a strange little book that wasn’t really a love story, but kind of was. I don’t know what to tell you. Check it out if it sounds intriguing. 😁
  18. 🎧 Against Technoableism by Ashley Shew - This was really good and informative. The author did a great job explaining things and made sure to point out when she wasn’t knowledgable about certain things. Discussing all the different ways technology makes people more “normal” was so fascinating. And really, why are we all trying to be the same or normal? Because our differences are what make us who we are.

– Book Key –
🎧 - Audiobook
📖 - paperback/hardcover
📱 - ebook
👩‍👧‍👦 - read with kids

Andi

Bright Book Randomness