Reading Review for August
Well, I actually did very little reading this month compared to previous months, but still not bad. Seriously though, before the blog, I would have said, “Wow! Eight books!” I’ve been keeping track of what I call 52 Books in 52 Weeks. You can see my progress in my left sidebar, I’m getting closer to my goal! I’ve now read 105 books this year!
Here’s my reading review for August:
Fiction
The Smart One by Ellen Meister
Young Adult Fiction
The Debs by Susan McBride (on tour with a review and interview beginning of September)
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Katarina by Kathryn Winter
Middle Readers
Jimmy’s Stars by Mary Ann Rodman
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney
Non-Fiction
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch
Of these books, I break down my recommendations like this:
Highly Recommended (this recommendation usually for social issues)
I Enjoyed and Would Recommend
The Debs by Susan McBride (on tour with a review and interview beginning of September)
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Katarina by Kathryn Winter
Jimmy’s Stars by Mary Ann Rodman
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney
Good but Maybe You’ll Like It More Than Me
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch
Not Worth It
The Smart One by Ellen Meister
I did put up a lot more book reviews this month than what is listed below because I was playing catch-up all month. Those book reviews were:
Admit One: A Journey Into Film by Emmett James
Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist’s Wife by Irene Spencer
Escape by Carolyn Jessop
Behind You by Jacqueline Woodson
Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr
Libertad by Alma Fullerton
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Farworld, Water Keep by J. Scott Savage
The Willoughby’s by Lois Lowry
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant
Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway
Hana’s Suitcase by Karen Levine
I was fortunate to have not one, not two, but three author interviews this month! See those below and visit each one for great fun, insight, and the author’s favorite recipe!
Mary Ann Rodman, author of Jimmy’s Stars
Sara Zarr, author of Sweethearts and Story of a Girl
J. Scott Savage, author of Far World, Water Keep
Challenge Updates
No challenges completed this month.
Visit my Challenge Blog for progress on all of my challenges. Challenges that I’m currently participating in are (click on link to be taken to my book list, challenge details, how and where to sign up, etc.):
Jessica’s Lit Flick Challenge
Trish’s Classics Challenge
3M’s1% Well-Read Challenge
Joy’s A-Z Challenge
Africa Reading Challenge
Lynne’s I Heard it Through the Grapevine Challenge
Joy’s Non-Fiction Five Challenge
My own 52 books in 52 weeks list.
Thanks for making August a fantastic month! Join for for Reading & Blogging for Darfur in September!
You read four more than I did! I was in a bit of a book slump for a while and I’ve been trying so hard to get caught up on my reviews (I’m 3 months behind!)
on September 1st, 2008 at 12:29 pmI just love to read everyone’s monthly summary posts. I’m just so impressed with everyone. I know exactly how you feel about pre-blog and post-blog analysis of reading goals. I always feel like I’m not reading enough, even though I’m reading more than ever before. Maybe it’s that giant TBR pile that never goes down. :o)
on September 1st, 2008 at 12:57 pmNatasha, you amaze me! I hope to have more time for reading once my kids return to school TOMORROW!! WOO HOO!!
on September 1st, 2008 at 11:04 pmhmm. i’m not sure how many books i’ve read but i think it was quite a few. maybe i’ll start keeping track for no reason whatsoever. lol. something interesting to do i guess. thanks for the idea! =]
on September 2nd, 2008 at 1:41 pmYou read some great books this month. I’m curious to see what you thought about The Debs. I received a review copy last week, but haven’t gotten to it just yet.
on September 2nd, 2008 at 3:59 pmI have never tracked my books till recently, I decided to write a review of them all, I was surprised to find I read 15 books, and 7 more with my kids. More than I expected for the month of August. July was 16 books, June was only 7. Thanks for being such a great example, I love tracking in this way.
on September 2nd, 2008 at 8:49 pmI like to read your month in review. I need to start doing that on my blog too. That means I have to keep better track of when I read books and organization is not one of my strong points.
on September 3rd, 2008 at 1:17 pm