With the end of July I start to feel a little sad about summer ending next month. But there’s vacation to look forward to, and the end of my summer school class, which was three months of work packed into one month. So I’m looking forward to a pretty low-key August!
A few things that made me happy in July:
- Killjoys – my favorite new show! Campy and fun but I really like the characters. It reminds me of Firefly but not in any obvious kind of way.
- I found a House of the Spirits read-along hosted by Mom’s Small Victories. I’ve been wanting to reread this book for a while, and here’s my opportunity. It was one of my favorites in college, and my first by Allende. Anyone interested in joining?
- I tried this “personal shopper by mail” service called Stitch Fix. You tell them your size and what you like, they send you five items, you buy what you want. I got two tops I really like, sent the rest back, and I can get a new box whenever I want. You tell them a lot about your body shape and the things they sent (even pants) fit surprisingly well You can also tell them what you don’t want, and what price range you want to be in. Pretty cool.
- My library is playing Summer Reading Bingo, and I’m determined to finish my card. Do you think Nice Dragons Finish Last counts as a retelling of myth or legend? If so, I just need a book that has been translated, and The House of the Spirits will work for that!
What I read in July:
- The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
- Us by David Nicholls
- Cut to the Quick by Kate Ross
- The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
- Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron
- The Constable’s Tale by Donald Smith
My favorite this month: House of Mirth was a powerful read, but my favorite was Us by David Nicholls. I’m also looking forward to reading more Kate Ross. The Constable’s Tale, an upcoming release by Donald Smith, was a happy surprise, but I’ll tell you more about that when I review it.
My favorite post this month was about the new book releases by Harper Lee and Dr. Seuss. I’m uncomfortable with the idea of publishing books that an author might not have wanted published. In the case of Dr. Seuss, I’m reasonably convinced they took a good amount of care with his work and his legacy, when deciding to publish this book. Harper Lee, not so much. What I’ve read in the New York Times about the publication of Go Set a Watchman has me really bothered.
I found myself meandering this month, book-wise, not wanting to read anything serious. I tried How to be both, and I just couldn’t get interested in it. I know people love the book but it felt like work to me. I also tried reading I am Malala, but got kind of mired in the detailed history of Pakistan. Something about the voice of this book didn’t work for me, and I found myself wondering if she was pressed into writing a book she maybe wasn’t ready for. I hope that doesn’t make me a bad person! She is certainly inspiring, I just didn’t get too far in the book. Like I said, maybe my mindset this month.
So I’m halfway through my summer TBR list, but I’m not trying too hard to stay “on list”. The rest of my list is Time and Again, Flight Behavior, The Windup Girl, Bring Up the Bodies, and Felicia Day’s new book. I also have a review copy of the upcoming new series by Deanna Raybourn called A Curious Beginning.
I’ll be out of town for a while this month; we’re heading to California for some beach time and wine drinking. We had some leave time left over from our trip to Canada, but we wanted to do something really low-key: no foreign travel, no sight-seeing. We’re just going to hang and see friends and family.
Looks like “low-key” is my theme for August! Have a great month and enjoy the rest of the summer.
