August 2024 Reading Wrap Up

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In August, I got back on the reading train. If you noticed that I didn't have a post for July's Wrap-Up, you can probably guess that my reading (and blogging) month didn't go exactly to plan. Luckily, August has felt much more fulfilling on a creative front, and part of that means doing more reading. Beyond books, I ended up joining a critique group, registered for a writer's conference in my hometown, and made steps towards both submitting more short stories and progressing on my novel draft. Part of my career choices post-grad were heavily made to prioritize writing, and I'm trying to honor that in both my reading and writing. I read a new favorite book this month as well as some others I'm greatly enjoying. I read a recommendation from a friend and a book that sparked Twitter drama months ago. It was a varied reading month and hopefully one that will be repeated. 

stats.

August felt like a strong reading month coming out of July where I worked a ton, got sick, and didn't end up with much reading time. Since I didn't do a wrap-up in July, I'll tell you I read 4 books last month. This month, I managed 2 extra books. Spontaneously picking up an extra job plus some grad certificate classes in September, that might slow down again, but for now, I feel good about the rate I'm reading. This month, I also read an interesting mix of types of books. I read three novels, one of which fell into the more speculative space, which is different for me. Then I read two short story collections since I'm trying to coax myself back into the world of writing and submitting short stories. I did have some success as a writer in that regard this month as well getting a new story accepted. Finally, I read a physical nonfiction book for the first time in forever and picked up an essay collection. I read 1,751 pages across the 6 books. 

books.


4 stars


4.5 stars


3.5 stars


The Book of George by Kate Greathead
4.5 stars
(review coming in October)


The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender 
3.5 stars
(review coming soon)


Grand Union by Zadie Smith
3 stars

I had a good reading month overall when it comes to liking the majority of what I read. For my quick take, Daddy was definitely the winning collection I read and a rare short story collection I would recommend. Grand Union, on the other hand, is a thoroughly inessential part of the Zadie Smith cannon, probably best skipped unless you're dead set on reading everything. Similarly, No Judgement is a collection that might be worth a skim but gets tedious on close inspection. Lemon Cake was one of my more middle of the road reads. It was a recommendation from a friend, and I can definitely see why she liked it. Still, I felt like Bender didn't quite develop the novel enough for it to reach its full potential. Finally, the shining stars of the month were definitely The Wedding People and The Book of George (keep you eye out in the next few weeks for some fun things on the blog related to these two books).

what I'm currently reading.

I had a grand plan that after reading the Zadie Smith collection, I'd roll into Conversations with Friends since I've been in a very Rooney mood leading up to the Intermezzo release at the end of September. Then, of course, I had a library hold come in, and I walked out with 3 extra books when I went to pick it up. I'm not sure if any of the other 3 will stick, but I'm going to finish All Fours by Miranda July at least before I get back on the Rooney train. Having the house to myself for a week in August meant that I did a whole Normal People rewatch on the television. I do want to finish a full Rooney re-read for the year by the time her new book comes out.


what's next.

Life is about to get a bit scarily chaotic. Or maybe not scary. But intimidating–in a good way. One season is, quite literally, ending, and another is starting. My job at the rafting company will end very shortly after September does, but I've enrolled in two English courses for the fall (a spontaneous choice I made a few weeks ago when I guess I was itching for learning again after graduating in May) and started freelancing with a different skillset than I've explored since I interned a few summers ago. That job is super exciting and makes me hopeful about future work, but that also means I'm about to be juggling classwork, blog work, trying to write, caring for myself, and working both a full and part time job. Reading will absolutely have to figure into that equation somewhere because I need to be reading to feel like myself and be happy with where I'm at, but I know I also will need to give myself grace this month. I know for sure that on Tuesday the 24th, I'll be at my local bookstore buying a copy of Intermezzo and probably 4 other things since I rarely let myself go into bookstores. 

in case you missed it.

Here's two months worth of Reading, Writing, and Me posts to look through since I missed the wrap-up last month. I'm also going to throw in a piece from my newsletter and one of my freelancing pieces at the bottom as well in case they spark your interest. 

August Post

The Ministry of Time review

My August 2024 TBR

The Wedding People review

I Could Live Here Forever review

No Judgement essay review

Daddy review

July Posts

The Mother of All Things review

My Favorite Podcasts for Writers

Memory Piece review

A Very Late (As Usual) Midyear Freakout Tag

The Wren, The Wren review

Other Articles

Love Conquers Worldbuilidng Flaws: All of Us Strangers review

Sabrina Carpenter Has a Sharp Pen on Short 'n Sweet


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