August wasn’t nearly as fantastic a reading month as July was for me…but, July did set an extremely high bar! I had a couple DNF’s this month (Best Boy and The Art of Crash Landing) and The Star Side of Bird Hill was my only really top notch book. The Fall of Princes and The Gates of Evangeline were both solid reads if you take them for what they are and I’m still noodling over how I feel about Fates and Furies overall. Kitchens of the Great Midwest started out strong, but ultimately meandered too much through the middle and Dryland was kind of Kitchens’ mirror image (slow start, great ending).
Best Book of the Month
The Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson (June 30, 2015)
Fiction, 294 Pages
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon
More September Releases I’m Excited About
Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart (September 1)
Did You Ever Have A Family by Bill Clegg (September 8)
My Southern Journey by Rick Bragg (September 15)
Not on Fire, But Burning by Greg Hrbek (September 22)
Top Non-Review Books on my “To Be Read” List
A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
Infinite Home by Kathleen Alcott
Where All the Light Tends to Go by David Joy
Most Popular August Posts
When Goodreads Average Ratings Don’t Align With My Favorite Books
My Top Seven Auto-Buy Authors (And Three to Watch)
Top Ten Books on My “Places As Characters 101” Syllabus
Favorite Posts by Fellow Book Bloggers
- Traveling with T had two great guest posts last month. In her post on Authors and Negative Reviews: What Should You Do, I love how author Laura Templeton portrayed being an author as essentially running your own business and compared dealing with a negative review to dealing with an unhappy customer. And, Bradley Somer’s (author of recent release, Fishbowl) post about the two essential qualities of the anti-hero’s journey came at an opportune time for me (i.e. while I’m reading a book starring an anti-hero).
- Ashley Farley at Chronicles shared her brother’s unique method for steaming crabs: remove the shells before steaming (yes, while they’re still alive)! I MUST try this…if I can convince my husband or brothers to remove the shells.
- Shannon at River City Reading debuted an innovative new feature called Recommendation Breakdown. Check out four recommendations based on different features of Sara Taylor’s The Shore!
I’m wondering how good the Hester Young novel is? Is it captivating? Or so-so? thanks
I thought it was a pretty solid Southern family drama page turner if you’re in the mood for that. I wouldn’t say “captivating”, but good if you take it for what it is.
Glad you had such a good month. I’ve been seeing The Gates of Evangeline on a lot of blogs.
So August was sort of a mixed bag. I hope September is as good a reading month as July was.
Sarah, sorry that I’ve been kind of MIA; trying to get situated in my new job, etc., plus a race this weekend. You got a lot of reading done and I may need to read The Star Side of Bird Hill; it sounds like it would be right up my alley. I love your September reads; I’ve thought about requested a galley of Girl Waits with Gun, just because of the cover – ha! Hope you have a great holiday weekend!!
No worries at all! It’s tough adjusting to a new job! Good luck with your race and I highly recommend Bird Hill…the writing is just gorgeous!!
oh no I hate that The Gates of Evangeline was not a spectacular read! It sounds so atmospheric and gothic. I wanted to get to it last month but it just didn’t happen. I don’t believe I’ve even heard of The Star Side of Bird Hill but I’ll definitely check it out! and Girl with a Gun is way too much fun! I love that it’s based on a very real ‘girl with a gun!’ Hope your September is fantastic!
I’m really curious about The Star Side of Bird Hill after your praise! And I think I’ve been seeing Girl Waits with Gun all over this week–haven’t heard of the other September releases you mention, though.
It’s so gorgeous…I hope you give it a shot! I’m looking forward to Girl Waits With Gun, especially now that a couple bloggers I trust have loved it!