Noooooooo! I'm not ready yet for summer to be over :(
I did manage to take a week and a half off from work, but it wasn't exactly a relaxing vacation. I spent four days painting my older daughter's bedroom (that includes the day of prepping the walls and then a day of removing the painter's tape and touch-ups), then I rented a lakeside cottage for two nights and spend three beautiful days enjoying the beach and the kayaks/pedal-boats/canoes, and then returned home to tackle the makeover on my younger daughter's bedroom. I am going to do a second shampoo of the carpet in my younger daughter's room this weekend, and then I need to spend a couple weeks doing yard work (closing the pool and raking) before I tackle the makeover on my bedroom!
While I painted my daughters' bedrooms, I tackled two long audiobooks (one was 20+ hours and the other was 21+ hours), which was an ideal time to listen. It makes it easier to get through those long books when you can listen for 6+ hours at a stretch. Otherwise, listening to those long audiobooks only on my work commute takes me a while to get through them.
I went from 16 books read in July to "only" 10 books read in August, but three of those books were chunksters: One was 649 pages, one was 597 pages, and the other was 429 pages). It's still up from 8 books in August 2017, so I'm happy with that.
FROM MY BOOKSHELF:
I did manage to take a week and a half off from work, but it wasn't exactly a relaxing vacation. I spent four days painting my older daughter's bedroom (that includes the day of prepping the walls and then a day of removing the painter's tape and touch-ups), then I rented a lakeside cottage for two nights and spend three beautiful days enjoying the beach and the kayaks/pedal-boats/canoes, and then returned home to tackle the makeover on my younger daughter's bedroom. I am going to do a second shampoo of the carpet in my younger daughter's room this weekend, and then I need to spend a couple weeks doing yard work (closing the pool and raking) before I tackle the makeover on my bedroom!
While I painted my daughters' bedrooms, I tackled two long audiobooks (one was 20+ hours and the other was 21+ hours), which was an ideal time to listen. It makes it easier to get through those long books when you can listen for 6+ hours at a stretch. Otherwise, listening to those long audiobooks only on my work commute takes me a while to get through them.
I went from 16 books read in July to "only" 10 books read in August, but three of those books were chunksters: One was 649 pages, one was 597 pages, and the other was 429 pages). It's still up from 8 books in August 2017, so I'm happy with that.
FROM MY BOOKSHELF:
by Agatha Christie
by Tana French
(Dublin Murder Squad, Book #1)
by Stephen Williams
**This one takes the prize for the one that has sat on my dusty bookshelf the longest...21 years!!
by Kathryn Lasky
(Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Book #5)
[read-aloud to my daughter]
by Tananarive Due
FROM THE LIBRARY:
by Anthony Horowitz
(Hawthorne, Book #1)
by Tracey Garvis Graves
(On the Island, Book #1)
FOR REVIEW:
There were a few stand-out favourites this month, and they are all very different from each other:
Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie: I'm not sure why I've waited so long to try something by Christie, but I absolutely loved this one! It was such a clever mystery, and I can't wait to read more from her.
Invisible Darkness: The Horrifying Case of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka by Stephen Williams: This one was true crime, and it was very disturbing but fascinating. It's hard to fathom how sick and twisted this couple was!
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young: This one was the dark horse. It's a YA fantasy debut, and I pretty much finished it during one day of painting. If you are going to read a YA debut this year, pick this one!! I loved it! The heroine is a kick-ass Viking.
Invisible Darkness: The Horrifying Case of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka by Stephen Williams: This one was true crime, and it was very disturbing but fascinating. It's hard to fathom how sick and twisted this couple was!
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young: This one was the dark horse. It's a YA fantasy debut, and I pretty much finished it during one day of painting. If you are going to read a YA debut this year, pick this one!! I loved it! The heroine is a kick-ass Viking.
Fortunately, I didn't have any terrible reads this month. These were my least favourite:
In the Woods by Tana French: It had a great start, but then the rest was all dialogue and no action. It was very slow-moving, and it could have used some paring down!
The Nightmare Room by Chris Sorensen: It didn't give me the thrills and chills that I was hoping for. For me, it was a bit tame for a horror story.
With the exception of one, all the authors that I read were new to me! I discovered nine new authors (including one Canadian, Williams), I started five new series (French's Dublin Murder Squad, Horowitz's Hawthorne, Sorensen's The Messy Man, Garvis-Graves' On the Island, and Young's Sky in the Deep), and continued on in one series (Lasky's Guardians of Ga'Hoole).
I read eight backlist books (including one from a Canadian author and one classic), and two 2018 releases. I listened to six audiobooks plus four traditional books. My year-to-date books read total is currently 94, and my Goodreads goal of breaking 100 this year tells me that I'm currently 28 books ahead of schedule and should exceed my goal!
January Wrap-up: 7 books
[3 shelf-love, 1 library, 3 review]
February Wrap-up: 13 books
[10 shelf-love, 2 library, 1 review]
March Wrap-up: 12 books
[5 shelf-love, 3 library, 4 review]
April Wrap-up: 14 books
[11 shelf-love, 2 library, 1 review]
May Wrap-up: 9 books
[5 shelf-love, 0 library, 4 review]
June Wrap-up: 13 books
[6 shelf-love, 7 library, 0 review]
July Wrap-up: 16 books
[9 shelf-love, 6 library, 1 review]
August Wrap-up: 10 books
[5 shelf-love, 4 library, 1 review]
May Wrap-up: 9 books
[5 shelf-love, 0 library, 4 review]
June Wrap-up: 13 books
[6 shelf-love, 7 library, 0 review]
July Wrap-up: 16 books
[9 shelf-love, 6 library, 1 review]
August Wrap-up: 10 books
[5 shelf-love, 4 library, 1 review]
Year To Date Total: 94 books
[53 shelf-love, 26 library, 15 review]
So, how was your August? What was your favourite book? Least favourite? Please let me know in the comments! I'd love to add your favourites to my TBR :)
Design by Parajunkee Design
A couple of those I need to add to my GR. You did good though! Happy September!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Freda!
DeleteYour vacation sounds like my last few. Audiobooks do help get through those chores. See what I read at Girl Who Reads
ReplyDeleteThey sure do help!
DeleteI love how you track every month review at the end. Great idea. Ah painting and long audio would be perfect. The time at the lake I guess feels long past now but what a great idea. Ah 21 years on your waiting shelf, certainly time to read it!
ReplyDeleteI know, LOL! I have many books languishing on my bookshelves, but yet I always feel that I need more. LOL!
Delete