And thus concludes my August

Hi there,

I had a pretty tumultuous ending to August and beginning of September, which is why I am late with my monthly wrap-up and also weren’t able to complete my goals for #WITMonth. I had great momentum from the #reversereadathon but then lost steam because of, … well, …. life. I had some family matters that I had to take care off which drained me physically and emotionally so much so that I ended up watching every romcom known to mankind instead of reading. Anyway, shit happens, and I am not going to stress about not meeting my targets. I still made it through 10 books and a bit over 2500 pages.

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Books read: 9

Books listened to: 1

Total pages read (includes “pages” from audiobooks): 2759

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Daisy Jones & The Six (Taylor Jenkins Reid) ♠♠♠♠ and1/2♠

Goodreads

I loved this book. It read like a juicy Rolling Stone interview. I enjoyed the characters and the myriad of song lyrics. I am super looking forward to the TV adaptation. These interview snippets were also the perfect example why eye witness reports are so problematic!

I think everyone would enjoy this novel.

Jaws (Peter Benchley) ♠♠♠

Goodreads

I had a lot of problems with this book. I love the movie and I understand the historical significance of this novel. But I just hated the blatant racism and sexism. This was more than just “the usual of that time” (which in and of itself is a terrible notion). On top of that not a single character was likable. The shark was my hero!

Honestly, save yourself the time and don’t read this book. I just cannot recommend this novel.

Schachnovelle (Stefan Zweig) ♠♠♠♠♠

Goodreads

Loved this short story. I read it in German so I can’t speak about its English translation (The Royal Game) but I do think anyone interested in German lit should give this a try. Of course, as is typical for many German books, it had exquisite sentence structure, fun word play, and a character over plot theme.

I recommend this novella.

So Long a Letter (Mariam Bâ) ♠♠♠♠♠

Goodreads

This novella counts toward #WITMonth and I read it during the #reversereadathon. I loved it. It was powerful and emotional. It gave me insight into a world I knew nothing about.

I highly recommend this short story.

The Color Purple (Alice Walker) ♠♠♠♠♠

Goodreads

I’ve been meaning to read this novel for a long time. It’s one of my 2020 pledge books and I am so happy I finally got around to it during the #reversereadathon. This book is a treasure. It made me sad. It made me laugh. It made me angry. But it also gave me hope.

This is a must read.

Kindred (Damian Duffy, Octavia E. Butler, John Jennings) ♠♠♠♠♠

Goodreads

Kindred is one of my all-time favorite novels. I just had to read the graphic novel adaptation. And oh boy did this one work for me! The illustrations perfectly complimented the story.

I recommend this book, especially if you’re looking for an introduction to Butler.

Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt (J.M DeMatteis) ♠♠♠♠

Goodreads

This books is a compilation of many of the darker Spiderman comics. I liked them, some more than others, but overall all quite enjoyable. Spiderman isn’t one of my favorite superheros but I always enjoy an eerie comic.

I recommend this book if you are a Spiderman fan.

The Yellow Wallpaper (Charlotte Perkins Gilman) ♠♠♠♠♠

Goodreads

I am totally late to the hype train for this short story! This was an excellent take on feminism in the horror genre. IT was critical and progressive. It was beautiful and haunting. It was basically everything I am looking for in a good book.

This is another must read.

Song in a Weary Throat (Pauli Murray) ♠♠♠♠

Goodreads

After starting to read this memoir, I decided to switch to the audiobook version because I felt that the impact would be greater listening to it. Pauli Murray’s life was fascinating and hugely influential, something I was not aware of at all. The prose of this memoir felt so genuine, so conversational, but yet so deliberate, that I will listen to this book again. It moved me.

I highly recommend this memoir.

Little Deadly Secrets (Pamela Crane) ♠

Goodreads

This has got to be one of the most problematic books I’ve ever read. I cannot fathom some of the topics that were central in this novel are still handled the way Pamela Crane chose to do so. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but in no way or form should we be discussing consent in the 21st century the way she did in this story.

Do not read this book.

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HOW WAS YOUR AUGUST? DID YOU HAVE A FAVORITE BOOK? MY FAVORITE IS SO HARD TO PICK THIS MONTH: MAYBE SO LONG A LETTER? MAYBE THE COLOR PURPLE? MAYBE THE YELLOW WALLPAPER? OR WHAT ABOUT THE KINDRED GRAPHIC NOVEL? I JUST CAN’T DECIDE.