What are you reading in August 2022?

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Please share what you're reading this month (August 2022), and any comments you'd like to make about the book(s).

All genres welcome here!

[Christine]

I'm reading The Toll which is the last book of a trilogy; I recommend it

[Mary]

Victorious Century: The United Kingdom, 1800-1906 by David Cannadine

[Shel, Moderator]

I'm working on our group reads - I finished She Who Became the Sun a few days ago and am now about a quarter of the way through Luna: New Moon.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I finished Forest Mage by Robin Hobb today, book 2 in her Soldier Son trilogy, 8/10. A fascinating story but unrelentingly dreary.

I’m now reading Invitation to Camelot, edited by Parke Godwin, a collection of short stories for the Better World Books challenge. Short stories aren’t really my thing, but this collection centers around the Arthurian legends and I tend to devour anything related to that.

[Christine]

I'm reading Foundrysideafter finishing The Block

[Shel, Moderator]

Kathi, I enjoyed the Soldier Son trilogy, but not nearly as much as the Elderlings books.

I finished Luna: New Moon, and since both that and She Who Became the Sun were pretty heavy reading, I'm following up with some Discworld (Thief of Time, which is one I haven't read before) for a change of mood!

[Nyssa]

So far this month, I have read The Garden of Bewitchment (A horror novel with a very surprising ending) and Wintersteel (Book # 8 of a fun, increasingly intense fantasy series).

I am currently reading A Traitor's War (Book #2 of an action-packed supernatural series).

[MadProfessah]

I just finished LOCKLANDS (3rd book in The Founders trilogy) by Robert Jackson Bennett. That one took awhile.

Gonna tead sone mystery books for awhile to try and catch up with my annual reading goal .

[Mary]

Sparrow Rising by Jessica Khoury

[Nyssa]

Nyssa wrote: "I am currently reading A Traitor's War (Book #2 of an action-packed supernatural series).."

I finished this yesterday; it was fantastic!

Up next - Luna: New Moon, starting tonight.

[Christine]

I am now reading A Mirror Mended

[Rachel]

Funny- I am finishing A Mirror Mended right now. I think if one liked the first the second follows in the same vein

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I read 2 short story collections and will comment in our dormant thread about short stories.

Next I am returning to the Heechee Saga.

[Shel, Moderator]

Thief of Time was as much as a romp as Discworld books always are. The books featuring Death and Susan are definitely my favorites.

I took a break from the genre with Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops, which was just okay - I was expecting it to be more witty than mean-spirited but it was kind of the other way around.

I've been spacing out the short stories of The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, reading for the second time, and just finished those. As brilliant as I found them the first time around.

Now I'm caught up in Feed by Mira Grant (who is the alter ego of Seanan McGuire). I don't have the rest of the series handy, and I can tell it's going to be a problem because I've been having a hard time putting it down.

[Christine]

I finished A Mirror Mended; I would have enjoyed it more if the author had included a bit of information linking it to the events in the previous book. It's been long enough that I really don't remember all the details
I've now started Witchmark

[Mary]

Captain America: Winter Soldier - The Complete Collection by Ed Brubaker

[Shel, Moderator]

I'm on vacation and have had lots of reading time! I ripped through Feed on the airplane -- I've had it sitting on my kindle for years and have procrastinated picking it up because I'm not really into zombie books, but I should have had faith in Mira Grant (who is also Seanan McGuire) because I've loved everything else she's written. It's not really a zombie book, despite being set during a zombie apocalypse. It's more about media and truth and politics and relationships and I loved it. Definitely plan to continue the series.

Out of genre - Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay was raw and brutally honest. Highly recommended, with the caveat that I know the topic can be a bit triggering for anyone with a history of disordered eating.

I needed something fluffy to follow it up, so I read Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison which I've had on my kindle for a while. I just downloaded the sequel from the library and that's what I'm starting next. I also just downloaded my library loan of The Ten Thousand Doors of January so that will be next in line.

[Christine]

I finishedWitchmark and have put in a reserve for the next book in this trilogy. In the meantime, I'll start The Ten Thousand Doors of January

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I finished Heechee Rendezvous by Frederik Pohl and put some comments in our folder for Gateway.

Now I’m starting a trilogy based on Le Morte d'Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table. The first book is In the Shadow of the Oak King by Courtway Jones.

I’m leaving for a vacation in just over a week, so I need to think about what books to bring along and/or download to my iPad. I won’t have reliable internet access for most of the trip, so I will need books to fill the time in airports, on airplanes, and on the actual trip when I’m not busy doing vacation-y stuff.

[Christine]

Kathi wrote: "I finished Heechee Rendezvous by Frederik Pohl and put some comments in our folder for Gateway.

Now I’m starting a trilogy based on [book:Le Morte d'Arthu..."

I have three ebooks on my list for my next vacation:
long Earth #2 by Terry Pratchett
Spirit Ring by Lois Bujold McMaster
Expendable by Janes Alan Gardner

Noe of these books are available in my library except as audibles or ebooks...

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Christine wrote: "I have three ebooks on my list for my next vacation:
long Earth #2 by Terry Pratchett."

I read that whole series after our group read book 1 as a BotM. Be sure to let us know what you think of book 2.

[Mary]

Call of the Crow by Jessica Khoury

[Mary]

Cloak of Spears by Jonathan Moeller

[Nyssa]

I am currently reading & listening to Shores Beyond the World; Book # 2 in the Pirates of Wefrivain series by Abigail Hilton.

An Action-Adventure Fantasy series for mature audiences.

[Christine]

I gave up on The Ten Thousand Doors of January
There didn't really seem to b a plot line (and besides I had the new Blake Crouch from my library
Now readingUpgrade

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Christine wrote: "I gave up on The Ten Thousand Doors of January
There didn't really seem to b a plot line (and besides I had the new Blake Crouch from my library
Now readingUpgrade"

Upgrade is going to be one of our Books of the Month in October. Be sure to check in and comment in our discussion!

[Christine]

I finished Upgrade and I enjoyed it but not as much as his previous books. He gets a bit preachy
I'm now about to start Mockingbird

[Christine]

I finished Mockingbird in a day and a half and highly recommend it. Now to start Fevered Star

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

In the Shadow of the Oak King by Courtway Jones, 8/10. A look at the Arthurian legend from a different point of view—Arthur’s half-brother Pelleas is the narrator in this, book 1 of a trilogy. The author says this version is based somewhat more on Le Morte d'Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table by Thomas Malory than the usual version of Camelot that most of us are familiar with. The Arthurian legends are fascinating to me and I love reading every version, even those that are widely divergent from each other. I get new insights from each of them, and this book just adds to my understanding of the conflicts among the Picts, Britons, Saxons, and Gaels and the roles of kings, druids, priests, knights, and others. I will continue the series next month sometime.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, 8.5/10. An improvement over the Shadow & Bone trilogy. The author changes POV with each chapter, rotating among 5 of the 6 main characters, which adds depth and perspective to the narrative. Although they are still mostly teens, they are hardened gang-members with difficult backstories and a wide variety of well-honed talents. There are hints of romance (but only hints, thank goodness—no adolescent love triangles) amidst the planning and execution of the heist, including setbacks and plans B, C, D, etc. The plot moves right along and the flashbacks to fill in the histories of each character are handled well and fit seamlessly into the story. The “magic” of the Grishas is not explored in much depth; I guess the author assumes readers have already read the Shadow and Bone trilogy, so newcomers to the Grishaverse might be a bit at sea.
Looking forward to book 2 in this duology.

I am taking 3 paperbacks on my trip. I don’t know if I’ll get to them all or not. Renegade's Magic by Robin Hobb, Enchantment by Orson Scott Card, and The Ghostway by Tony Hillerman.

[Shel, Moderator]

Recent reads -

The Good, the Bad, and the Undead by Kim Harrison (book two of The Hollows series, I liked it better than the first)

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (really lovely, though I didn't like it quite as much as The Once and Future Witches)

A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas (out of genre, a mystery, second in the "Lady Sherlock" series that imagines Sherlock Holmes as an alias for a young Charlotte Holmes who has no interest in the life of a typical Victorian lady)

Naturally Tan by Tan France (memoir of the style guru on Netflix's Queer Eye series, which I've been bingeing all summer)

Now I'm on The Hollow of Fear, Lady Sherlock book 3.