Recap: I did surprisingly well in the month of August to knock out my TBR list and added some unexpected ARCs to the list. I FINALLY finished Harry Potter and The Methods of Rationality and I still plan to write up my thoughts on the fan fic. I read Wordbirds, which unfortunately I did not enjoy and chose not to feature it on my blog for a review. I also finished up Yellow and The Absolute True Story of a Part-Time Indian. Both really great and both I want to write about. In addition, I also read What Sunny Saw in the Flames by Nnedi Okorafor (see review here) and Loving vs. Virginia by Patricia Hruby Powell (see review here). A great month for me in terms of reading!
August Haul
Books
YES! This was a birthday gift from my wonderful partner and I AM SO EXCITED! This novel is HUGE and will definitely be an undertaking, but I absolutely love Murakami’s writing and storytelling abilities. I hope I am able to tackle this novel sometime this year. I will definitely have to prioritize it, but I think it will be worth it!
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
When I first heard about this book, I was instantly intrigued with the concept. The story follows a Chinese family living in the United States in the 1970s. When the daughter is found dead in the lake, the family tumbles into chaos. This story promises a look into family undergoing a tragedy and dealing with grief. I look forward to a powerful read about family relationships with a POC family in the spotlight.
I received Ghana Must Go in a fantastic giveaway from Rachel of Life of a Female Bibliophile. This book has been on my TBR for a while and I am excited to own a copy! I am drawn to stories of family who come together amidst a family tragedy that uncovers the falling out of family members only to find new ways forward. I can already tell that this read will be powerful!
Breathless by Anne Swärd
This is the other book I received in the wonderful giveaway mentioned above. Until receiving the novel, I had not heard anything about it. From the description, this seems like a very intriguing story about the relationship between the past and its impact on the present.
E-Books
I received this e-book as a part of the Amazon Kindle First program. I chose this book over the others because of multiple points of view in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in India. The four points of views are men and that gives me a little pause. But I am looking forward to Viet Dinh’s debut novel and I hope it is a good one.
The Just City by Joy Walton
I received this e-book as a part of the TOR e-book club. When I joined, I thought I would keep up with the book club but unfortunately, I have not read a single book! The Just City sounds like a fun blend of mythology and science fiction. One day, I will get to my ever amassing collection of e-books.
Board Games
I love Science Fiction as a theme in board games and I think I am predisposed to be interested in anything SciFi! Among the Stars is an older game but I never took the plunge to acquire this. My wonderful in-laws gave this to me as a birthday gift and I am so excited to open and play it! In this drafting game, players will select cards in order to build their space station! How cool is that?!
Cheesonomics
My partner and I love cheese. Cheese and crackers/bread is one of our go to appetizers. In fact, we have talked about going cheese tasting as one of our future fun outings! For my birthday, my partner found a small card game (I LOVE small card games :)) all about cheese! I have not heard anything about this game but I am excited to try it out just on theme alone.
TBR September
I reached my stretch goal and I started A Dance with Dragons in August. Now it is time to finish it. So far I am enjoying this installment much more than the fourth, A Feast of Crows. I am excited to see what happens to all of my favorite characters and I am less excited to see the cliffhanger George R.R. Martin has left all of the fans of the book. I know I will be waiting for Winds of Winter, but at least not as long as the folks who read A Dance with Dragons when it first came out!
Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center by bell hooks
As I was looking through the office I work at on a college campus, I came across a stack of old books. One of the books was Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center by bell hooks. I don’t know about you but I cannot get enough of bell hooks and her pedagogies. I immediately snatch up the book and brought it home with me. I will be reading it this month and returning it to my office in order to share the amazing writings of bell hooks with everyone!
I added this book as a part of my #ReadThemAllThon read-a-thon challenge (see post here) as the Fuchsia City Gym. I am still very interested in diving into the Mangoverse and the series looks really interesting! I will be reading this first to also try to fit in into the read-a-thon which ends September 6th.
Black Bread White Beer by Niven Govinden
I found out about this short novel from a list of 200+ books written by authors of color. I bought the e-book shortly after. This is British literature and it is about how a marriage is pushed to the edge in the wake of a miscarriage. Seems like it will be a very emotional and taxing read, but I am hoping it is worth it!
My feature book for the first half of Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month. I found this book on a wonderful rec list from a fellow blogger (check it out here!) and I plan to pick up a copy in the beginning of September. This book sounds like a powerful narrative and I look forward to being immersed it the story.
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova
This is the #DSFFBookClub pick for September 15 – October 15. As soon as I saw this book was releasing at the beginning of September, it skyrocketed to the top of my TBR list. I cannot wait to get lost in a fantastical world of brujas, family, monsters, and magic.
Reread: Winter Garden by Pablo Neruda
I really enjoy poetry and I will be the first to admit it is not my forte. Unlike novels, I am more likely to reread poetry collections because of the depth of interpretation and experience of poems. I read the entire collection in Winter Garden about three years ago and I am excited to dive back in. This will be a part of my features for Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month.