Between family visits, a bit of travel, and picking lots of fresh veggies from the garden, August was a busy month. Even so, I did manage to squeeze in nine books.
This month I read two literary novels, one historical fiction, and one from my second favorite genre - science fiction. Could it be that even with my love of non-fiction (history in particular), that I may be suffering a bit of burn out on that front? Maybe a little.
- Favorite book this month:
- Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead.
- Indie titles:
- Galaxy Bound
- Masterplayer
- Audiobooks
- And Then I Danced
- A Brief History of Motion
- Come Fly the World
- ebooks
- Why We Fought
- Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
- Galaxy Bound
- Masterplayer
- Physical Books
- After the Apocalypse
- Under the Wave at Waimea
- ARCs - 7
- (I'm including here two books provided by their authors, even though they'd already been published.)
- Everything except Come Fly With Me and Under the Wave at Waimea
Summary reviews of each of my August reads are below. The links lead to my full reviews. All of my full reviews include links to the author, the publisher, and to bookseller pages for each book. There are no affiliate links in my reviews.
Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
Seven stories of mostly non-combatant heroism during World War II. It made for some relatively light reading on a couple of summer afternoons. It’s not a profound read, and I don’t think that’s the author’s intent. I think the primary audience for this book would be teenage readers who are just learning about the history of World War II and are interested in some inspirational or “human interest” stories.
Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A quaint rural town, a few mysterious deaths, a little old lady discussing those deaths with friends over tea. Is it an Agatha Christie mystery? No, dear reader, this is something far weirder, and also a very fun read.
Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
An overview of the reasons why we need to think and do differently as a nation in relation to the rest of the world, and with some pointers for a way forward. As with many "policy" books aimed at a large audience this one falls into the trap of spending the bulk of it's time telling us what's wrong, and far to little on a prescription for what to do about it.
Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
As with Book 1 of this series, this is an action packed thrill ride, this time through the gate and into Centauri space. The story line is tighter in this book as Hokstad did much of the heavy lifting for world building in Book 1 and so can proceed apace. It's an enjoyable story and makes for a great summertime read.
Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mark Segal is among those who were there at the beginning of the Gay Rights movement. Since Stonewall and his involvement in the founding of the Gay Liberation Front, Segal has been a lifelong activist for equal rights for LGBT people. This book is his memoir.
Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
Tom Standage is back with another concise, fun history book. This time we delve into the history of wheeled transport, with the heart of the book discussing the evolution of the modern automobile, what it has meant for societies around the world, and what may come after it.
Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
These days headlines about disruptive, drunken passengers and fist fights at 30,000 feet are all too common. The glamour that once went along with international jet travel is long gone. Julia Cooke's book recalls those glamour days through the lives of several stewardesses (even the word belongs to that postwar era) who flew for Pan Am Airlines.
Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
The story of aging big wave surfer Joe Sharkey. The 62 year old hits and kills a homeless biker while driving home from the bar. He slowly sinks into a spiral of depression, leaving his partner, a nurse, to try to help him put his life back together. The book is a bit uneven, but in the final third Theroux pulls the threads together in some unexpected ways, yielding an ending that has a big emotional impact.
Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
Into a historical coup plot against Elizabeth I, Bridle imagines a what-if. What if Shakespeare were enlisted by the Queen's allies as a spy, as they anticipated the potential coup? The resulting story is full of atmosphere - Bridle excels at painting word pictures of the late 16th / early 17th century world his players inhabit. A fun read despite the a slow pacing of the story line.