A Look At August’s Reads
August was as much of a roller-coaster as the books I managed to finish. I started off the month attempting to finish all of the Hugo nominated novels for this year, grabbed some non-fiction and YA in the middle and ended up missing my Hugo goal by one books. 11 books was my final total for August. Feel free to peruse my Goodreads for a complete timeline of my August reads.
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders and Middlegame by Seanan McGuire were both part of my Hugo reading list, and while The City in the Middle of the Night was a beautifully written book it wasn’t much in my wheelhouse. Middlegame definitely was, and I highly recommend it to modern fantasy fans as McGuire’s take on Alchemy and its political and natural science machinations fascinated me. Later in the month I finished A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine and so far it wins for my favorite of the Hugo nominees. I can decide for sure when I finish with The Light Brigade.
[image error][image error][image error][image error][image error]
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson and Almost American Girl by Robin Ha were my two graphic novels this month. Drastically different, but each a gem in their own right. Nimona had sass, had villains, had dragons, and a lovely, yet startling, ending. As a fantasy graphic novel with a twist, it was a pleasant surprise. Almost American Girl followed Ha’s experience of the sudden culture shock when she found herself living in America unexpectedly while still in high-school. I think graphic novel memoir may swiftly be creeping up my list of favorite genres.
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo and What If: Short Stories to Spark Diversity Dialogue by Steve L. Robbins sounded like two related books, and they were, but not in the ways I expected. Both have the premise of sparking discussions, but Robbins and Oluo go about it differently. Oluo’s book collects several essays and it has the feel of an in-depth discussion guide. Robbins’s book covers topics that are just as important but in a shallower format. All the short stories here are meant to spark discussion and offer possible paths of analyzing the status of diversity friendliness in the environment. Oluo’s writing plunges much deeper, but both should spark great discussion.
[image error][image error][image error]
The Court Dancer by Kyung-Sook Shin and translated by Anton Hur has been sitting on my tbr for awhile. Hur did a phenomenal job with the translation here in my opinion. The entire novel focuses on the life of the court dancer, Yi Jin, and it follows the same tragic trajectory as the Korean Joseon Court itself. Both a work of historical fiction and a romance this was a slow read for me, but a gorgeous one. The Court Dancer is both melancholic and engrossing. I recommend this book to anyone who has even a passing interest in Korean literature or history, or is a fan of tragic historical romances.
Kenny & the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi targets younger audiences, and I picked it up because I happened into an ARC of the sequel. However, I found myself pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the story. While it follows the moralizing so popular in middle grade fiction, the entire book revolves around a rabbit and a dragon bonding over their love of books and stories. Rabbits and dragons are two of my favorite animals, and quite a bit obviously stories and books are some of my favorite topics. It was a bit like reading a story targeted right at me, and I am now looking forward to reading the sequel.
[image error][image error][image error]
I started the audio-book of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas awhile ago and just managed to wrap it up before the month ended. I still struggle to get through longer audio-books, but The Hate U Give made it easy to pick up where I left off with its memorable characters and relatable backdrops. The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta was a bit of a whim pick up. The title caught my attention as pink flamingos have played a special role in my life, and when I cracked it open I was pleasantly surprised to find the novel was written in poetry. I ended up adoring it and am highly impressed with how cohesively Atta assembled the poems into the novel format.
That’s all for August folks. Thank you for taking the time to read about my reading!
