So August was a very busy month for me, just not when it came to reading. I managed to finish three books throughout the month, probably the least amount of books I’ve finished in a month for quite some time. Don’t get me wrong, they were nearly all great books, but it’s still not as many as a book blogger should be reading (don’t worry, I don’t actually set myself any unachievable goals). But there’s a good reason why, I was on holiday!
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Yeah, so throughout August I spent over two weeks of my life away in another country which means I only had two weeks to actually do any solid audiobook listening or regular reading.
“Why didn’t you just read whilst on holiday, you moron?” I hear you ask! Well, I did actually get a decent amount of reading done on my first holiday in Seville as we’d come back to the apartment in the afternoon as it was too hot to be out, chill in the pool and then go and sunbathe for a bit before going and getting ready for dinner. During the sunbathing, we’d all get our books and get in a good reading sesh.
However, on my second holiday, I didn’t get as much reading done as we’d be out for longer in the days and then would come back and chill in the evening making and eating dinner and then playing games. If you’re bothered about my personal life at all, I do post to my social media channels (Insta is probably the best for day-to-day things).
Anyway, this all means that I’ve not read a lot. But what books have I read? Well, as always, I’ve listed them below along with a summary of the review of them along with a link to said review and also a link so you can go and buy the book yourself if you want to.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
My review summary: “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is a book that has a lot going for it – it tells the story of a mature relationship, it’s about the evolution of the video game industry (something I always love reading about) and it has a couple of chapters that may be some of the most cleverly written I’ve read in a long time. But uncharismatic characters with little to no chemistry made for a book that didn’t quite reach the level of hype I’ve seen for it (for me anyway). Many people really loved this book and I can see why but for me, to sell a “relationship”, you’ve got to write characters whose relationship I actually care about.”
Read my full review | Pick up a copy of the book here
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
My review summary: “The Bullet That Missed continues to ride on the successful formula that the series has adopted – the plot is enjoyable and easy enough to follow that it makes for a quick and easy book to read and the characters are an absolute delight to read about. The writing isn’t going to blow your mind and don’t expect the story to take you on some spiritual journey but The Thursday Murder Club series is still on strong form with this third entry. In fact, I would argue that this is my favourite in the series so far.”
Read my full review | Pick up a copy of the book here
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
I’ve not quite got a review up of this one yet but I can tell you I bloody loved it. It feels very similar to Beartown so if you enjoyed that, you’ll definitely enjoy this second one too.
If you ever want to know my very initial thoughts on a book, you can follow me on StoryGraph which will allow you to see what I’m reading, when and what I think of books as I finish them.
Review incoming… | Pick up a copy of the book here
So in summary
I’d say that my favourite book of the month is either Us Against You or The Bullet That Missed but in general, it was a fantastic month for reading.
The Bullet That Missed was the perfect book to take with me to Seville – it’s incredibly easy to read, the font is quite large and the plot isn’t particularly taxing which made it the perfect book to pick up at any point and not have to worry too much about putting down again.
I imagine September will be a more productive month for reading for me as I’m back at work full time and so will be able to smash out plenty of audiobooks and hopefully (with a heat wave coming up) be able to sit outside in the evenings and the weekends to do some reading!
What did you read in August? Have you read any books from above?
