August 2018: #WrapUp

~ Janel (Keeper of Pages)

August was a considerably calmer month than July, which I am incredibly grateful for. Although, I didn’t get around to doing nearly as much as I planned to, bookish things that is; in life, I just wanted to relax and I’ve certainly being doing that – that’s probably evident in my sporadic blogging last month! I’ve relaxed a bit too much, and now I have several reviews to catch up on! I’d love to say I’m all organised now and ready to get back on track for September, but I don’t want to lie to you! It would appear I am more organised during term time, I even missed my own blogiversary – yep, Keeper of Pages turned 2 on the 18th August and I completely missed it! I did, however, read 12 books this month, one of which was The Stand by Stephen King, so that in itself was an achievement. Let me not ramble on, let’s wrap up August…

The standout books of the month were:

The Damned by Tarn Richardson

The Stand by Stephen King

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Read, and recommended, this month:

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

Before Her Eyes by Jack Jordan

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

The Weaning by Hanna Vincent

Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall

Thin Air: A Ghost Story by Michelle Paver

Imperfection by Ray Clark

Read this month, but weren’t for me:

I Can’t Begin to Tell You by Elizabeth Buchan

Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough

Other bookish posts this month:

Book Haul

Some posts around the blogosphere I’ve enjoyed this month:

Marija @ Inside My Library Mind shared Sansa Stark’s Reading List – Marija composes reading lists for, and inspired by, different characters. Not only is this a fun post, but I’ve realised I am Sansa, I always thought I was more Arya, but every book on Sansa’s list appealed to me, so much so, I ordered a copy of How To Be Both by Ali Smith. My first September book purchase is curtsey of Sansa Stark!

Zuky @ BookBum shared ‘Cliche phrases in blurbs that make me avoid a book‘ – I really enjoyed reading about what makes Zuky NOT want to read a book! Also, this is one of those posts where you want to scroll through the comments to see what other cliches are a big no no for people. I also really enjoy Zuky’s monthly wrap up posts, because she, not only wraps up her reading, but also updates you on her life, and I feel like her life is so much more interesting than mine. You can catch her latest wrap up post here.

When it comes to nonfiction, Ren @ What’s Nonfiction? is the place to go, she has single-handedly reignited my loved of nonfiction. I love how detailed and informative her reviews are. I loved her book review for The Vienna Woods Killer by John Leake.

Continuing my old found love of nonfiction, Tina @ Reading Between the Pages shared her fantastic book review for Educated by Tara Westover.

I loved Eva @ Novel Deelights review for Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough. We buddy read this book together and my thoughts basically echoed hers, we both found this one a disappointing read. Eva doesn’t usually review books she doesn’t enjoy, but she made an exception for this one as it was one of the books on her ’20 Books of Summer’ list – can ya’ll tell Eva she should post more reviews for books that didn’t work for her, they’re equally as good and informative as those for books she has enjoyed!

Every month Beth @ Bibliobeth and I buddy read a book together, and I love Beth’s book review for The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid – her love for the book really shines through in her review, and I’m so glad I got to share this reading experience with her.

Jess @ What Jess Reads is like my reading double, not only are we journeying through all Stephen King’s books together, we have almost identical taste in books! To be more exact, she’s reading my TBR and helping me prioritise it. I really enjoyed her book review for My Best Friends Exorcism by Grady Hendrix, it’s got me so excited to read my copy.

Also, Lindsey @ Lindsey Reads and Reviews is fairly new to the blogosphere, she has been part of the bookstagram community for ages and has finally created a blog to accompany it. We also have really similar taste in books, so I’m looking forward to all her reviews. She already caught my attention with her book review for Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone – I love dark humour in novels, and I’m looking forward to reading this one!

There were so many more posts I enjoyed this month, but I don’t want to make this section too long, but I’ve enjoyed seeing other bloggers share posts they enjoyed around the blogosphere so I wanted to do a little sharing too 😊

Criminally Good Book Club:

Looking for an online book club? Come and read some criminally good books with us over on Instagram – @criminallygoodbookclub. In September, we’re reading a former Richard and Judy book club pick:

Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent

lying-in-wait-liz-nugent

‘My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.’

Lydia Fitzsimons lives in the perfect house with her adoring husband and beloved son. There is just one thing Lydia yearns for to make her perfect life complete, though the last thing she expects is that pursuing it will lead to murder. However, needs must – because nothing can stop this mother from getting what she wants …

And that’s a wrap, folks!

What were your reading highlights of last month?

Published by Janel (Keeper of Pages)

Blogging about books and other bookish ramblings

33 thoughts on “August 2018: #WrapUp”

  1. Do you know how happy that makes me to hear?! I’m so thrilled I’ve gotten you reading more nonfiction, although sorry about the out of control TBR as a result 😂 and glad you liked the review and that we can share so many great recommendations! ❤️

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      1. Thank you so much, I’m blushing 🙂 That IS really odd about the higher costs, isn’t it? Sometimes I think it’s for photo rights in certain books, but others are also really high without a ton of photos so what gives there?

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  5. Glad you enjoyed Sleeping Giants – it’s one of my favourites from recent years! I’ve got the third one in the series, Only Human, waiting patiently to be read…

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    1. Thanks, despite my lack of presence in the blogosphere, I’m still reading and that’s the most important thing right 😊 You might be lacking in presence but I’ve seen the amazing progress you’re making with your book tours, well done!

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  9. Sounds like a great reading month. Your book club looks so interesting, and I am in the mood to read more crime/mysteries. What is The Stand about? I’ve been meaning to read more Stephen King but only read one this year (so far).

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      1. I’ve only read The Shining, Misery, and Revival. I also do not mind reading long books when it comes to King, so I’ll definitely consider picking it up.

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      2. I’m reading Misery this month! And re-reading The Shining next month. If you don’t mind long books, I definitely recommend The Stand, it’s my fav King book so far, will have my review up soon! Also I really enjoyed Under The Dome and Needful Things!

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  12. I’m going to blame the holiday weekend for me completely missing this lovely post and shout out from you!! I love our Stephen King journey together and I’m glad I can help you prioritize your TBR. The same certainly goes for you and your reviews….I’m looking at you Cross Her Heart!

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  13. Somehow I missed this when you posted it, but thank you so much for linking back to a couple of my blogs this month!! 😀 I loved reading what everyone else found cliche in the comment of that post too, it’s so funny how there are so many similar opinions out there… you’d think editors/publishers would notice… but maybe we’re all so precious about it cause we’re book people and the general public aren’t quite as fussed! 😛

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