August was one of the better months so far. I read 12 books. I guess that 's what happens when you don't have any trips. 8 of the 12 books were above average, 2 were average, and 2 below. Here's my thoughts -
Laura Lane McNeal
This was a book for Book Club. I had not heard of it so it was nowhere on my radar. Set in New Orleans during the fight for civil rights. Even though that is the time, it is not a deep story. The author is from New Orleans and at times it seems more like a travel brochure than a story. There is a lot of local cultural references with an explanation for each. This is this authors first (and only) novel. I was suspicious of this being her first novel while reading and then confirmed it.
For me, it was an average read. We did have some good discussion at Book Cub and it was interesting hearing other views about the story and characters.
⭐⭐⭐
Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler did it again. I think she is one of the best at making the characters in a book be people. By that I mean that they are like real people. Some you like, some you don't, some you understand, some you think are crazy, some are almost perfect, most have faults. They are people that could be your neighbors, This book is more like short stories that tie together to tell the story of the Garrett family. Ms Tyler has a writing style that I refer to as "quiet". This book kept me engaged and I liked being the fly on the wall watching this family - even through the sad times.
One of the top reads of the month for me.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Libby Page
This one had been on my TBR for a while. I'm not sure where I first heard of this book, but I'm glad someone put it on my radar, This is such a sweet story of friendship, family, love and community. The writing is a word picture and the story is heartwarming. I loved seeing the characters as they changed and embraced or worked to alter those changes. These are people I would love to know.
A few quotes from this book -
"And if she didn't like the direction a new book was taking she could simply close the pages, take a break and return when she felt ready or move on to a different story. But real life wasn't like that."
"Telling a teenager to cheer up is like telling a plant to water itself. It would if it could."
My favorite of the month and one I may revisit in the future.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lisa Jewell
This book makes you think about the societal judgements we make. Whether we mean to or not, we have a tendency to make assumptions about people based on what they look like or small snippets of things we see. The story is told in a dual timeline that works well. (Sidenote - so many stories are told this way and there are many of them that I think are not done well.) Ms Jewell did a good job of knowing when to shuttle between the two and what story needed to be told each time to enhance the other one. Most of the story is a present day story, but it is interspersed with the history leading up to Saffyre becoming a missing girl, The two stories flowed well. I was kept guessing as to what happened and who the person responsible was as there were many options. It kept me engaged throughout and the ending to me was perfect.
Another good one this month
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Daven McQueen
This is a Young Adult novel, which is usually a genre I don't care for. However, this one is an exception. It is a well written story that hits all ages. Set in a sad time in our history when racial prejudice was more in the open than it is now. Ms McQueen captured the feeling of summer in the South. I could picture Juniper and Ethan, their friendship, adventures, joys and fears. The story gets across the point it wants to make without hitting you over the head with an agenda, which I loved. It tells the story and any person who is open to it, will know what the lesson is and will want to make sure things are better. This is a sweet, sad story and be warned - you will cry.
I was on a roll of good books and this one did not disappoint.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jane Harper
This is the 2nd Aaron Falk book. I read the 3rd (latest and maybe last) one in this series before reading the first two, so I had to go back and read those in order. I am glad that I jumped in even if it wasn't in order. The atmosphere in this book is perfect. I felt as if I were in the woods with the other women. The character development is spot on and the personalities stay true throughout the story. There are no big surprises, but that is ok. It is the journey through the story that matters. Ms Harper has a calm style of writing and she keeps you engaged,
I'm late to getting on the Jane Harper bandwagon, but I'm here to stay.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Marta Molnar
This was our Book Club pick for August. I will miss the meeting, so I felt free to read it early since I didn't have to be able to recall details. Before this book, I didn't know the role that Johanna Van Gogh played in making Vincent's paintings popular. Johanna is Vincent's sister in law. This is her story. It is a dual time line story that didn't work that well for me. I wanted more of Johanna's story and less of the modern day Emsley story. The modern day story was more along the lines of a romance, which I found out after reading the book is the genre that Ms Molnar usually writes. I felt the modern story did not do anything to advance the main story about Johanna. The Johanna story had some holes in it, but that may have been because the information was hard to get. I expected more than this book delivered.
A slightly below average book.
⭐⭐ 3/4
Sally Hepworth
I like Sally Hepworth novels They are not really mysteries or thrillers but more of a domestic story with people who are caught up in unusual circumstances. Sometimes of their own making, sometimes not. This story flowed well, had interesting characters that seemed like real people, had enough suspense to keep me engaged and logical conclusions, The timing of the plots revelations was good and told in a good way.
One of the quotes that stood out to me -
"It's as if while living your life, you view the world through a straw. You see only the tiniest sliver, all of it from your own perspective. Other people have their motives, their backstories, their feelings, but you don't know that unless they share them with you, and even then there's every chance they're lying or prevaricating. What strikes me most now is the audacity of people, walking around with such certainty while armed with only the scantest information."
My favorite novel by Ms Hepworth.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Anthony Marra
There are a lot of characters and stories in this book. They do all tie together in that the people are connected. The stories themself though at times seem almost stand alone. This made me feel that it was a little all over the place. At times it did give me a sense of a movie fading in and out from one scene to another which is fitting for a book about the movie industry. The book has a lot of verbiage which made it hard to stay engaged at times. The main story is interesting and showed a different view of life during World War II.
Not a bad book, it just didn't hit the sweet spot for me.
⭐⭐⭐
Nguyen Phan Que Mai
Back to the dual time line story, but this one worked. This is the history of Viet Nam told through the life of one family. It covers the French Indochina War through the end of the Viet Nam conflict years. It is a heart touching story as it seems the country is never completely at rest so neither are the people. It tells of family, devastation, survival. It is well written and easy to follow. It is good to get this history from the perspective of a Vietnamese author.
Another good one in August
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mike Gayle
This was a re-read for me and I liked it as much the second time through. Hubert is such a great character. He is a simple, yet complicated man who has faced all sorts of good and bad things in life. This is another book that addresses prejudices and racism but does it in a way that just lays it out there without telling the reader how to react. I personally think that is a better way as far as effecting change. Mr. Gayle tells the story in layers revealing just enough as you go along. There are surprises along the way that you can see were foreshadowed but that wasn't obvious when I read it the first time. All the characters were fun to get to know. It is a thought provoking story full of hope that will spur the reader to think and take action,
There were a lot of good lines in this book. I'm going to share just one-
"He'd made a rod for his own back with those lies and now they were taking the opportunity to beat him black and blue."
I'm glad I reread this for a Book Club.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Erika Swyler
This book has set on my shelf for a while. The cover and synopsis caught my attention. I was a little misled by both. I'll start off by stating this is a dual timeline that did not work well, There was no real direct tie between the alternating chapters - i.e. what was happening in the past and what was happening current day. There was a thin thread overall but just as you would get into one story, the chapter would end and go to the other time period. It is a book that if it was one or the other story fleshed out, I think I would enjoy. Overall it is a depressing story, the characters are not well developed, it moved slowly and at times was confusing.
Even though it was not my favorite book, I still found a few quotes -
"Evangeline, she pulls sadness behind her like a cat does its tail."
"I'm not used to being carried, but there are obligations that come with family, letting them care for you when they need to."
"Perhaps the book opened a door; books have a way of causing ripples."
I finished it, but my least favorite of the month.
⭐⭐
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