August was a bit of a different reading month for me. Firstly, I was trying not to buy any new books and to get through a few more of the books I own. For the first time in a while I set up a little TBR for myself because I couldn’t choose which books I wanted to prioritise. For August I wrote up twenty prompts and then rolled a twenty-sided dice four or five times. I’m not going to list them all here but as I write about each book I will add which prompt it fulfilled.
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Goodreads Link | Prompt: Speculative fiction
I picked this book well over a year ago and finally got around to it this month. I really wanted to enjoy this one as its a historical fantasy and for the most part I did enjoy the setting and the characters a lot. The plot does take a little while to get going so if you are considering this book be prepared to read a fair amount of it, but to be fair, I did enjoy some of the character work at the beginning of the book. But this book just wasn’t for me, the inclusion of Fairyland is just something I don’t enjoy in books. It definitely is not a bad book and I can see its merits with the setting of Regency London and the characters of Zacharias and Prunella, but I’m not sure whether I was really the reader for it.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Goodreads Link | Prompt: Green cover
This was a classic I couldn’t believe I hadn’t read, even though I’ve wanted to for several years and it’s alright? I enjoyed the early stages of the book as Nick observes Gatsby’s behaviour as it added a level of intrigue to his characters but it just felt a little flat. I wasn’t really blown away by the story’s ending – I just felt a bit indifferent about it. That being said I have started looking for articles written about this book as I think that is where I will truly appreciate it.
The Psychology of Animals Swallowed Alive: Love Stories by Kirsty Logan
Goodreads Link | Prompt: Ebook or Audiobook
This short ebook was an extremely quick read as its a chapbook with a handful of short stories and it was okay. I definitely think Kirsty Logan’s more recent books and stories are a lot stronger but there is something nice about seeing how a writer had developed over the years. So whilst some of the stories weren’t exactly what I have come to expect from Kirsty Logan’s writing but there were a couple of stories which still hit me in the way her writing does. I wouldn’t recommend this if you are new to her writing, but perhaps later down the line.
The Binding by Bridget Collins
Goodreads Link | Prompt: randomise entire TBR
Whilst this book had a very slow start and its not exactly fast paced, it was a book I entirely devoured over a weekend. Other people who I know who have read this book describe it as weird, and yes it is. Wonderfully weird – exactly the kind of weird I like. It’s a historical novel (although the era is never specified, it feels 19th century-ish) with magical elements and, without getting into spoilers, I just love what this book does. I love how it plays with storytelling and how it twisted my understanding of the plot throughout. At times it was horrible and uncomfortable to read and at times I couldn’t stop grinning. This isn’t a book for everyone and to begin with I wasn’t sure it was a book for me, but I’m so glad I persisted with it.
Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore
Goodreads Link | Prompt: Let someone else pick
I read The Weight of Feathers earlier this year, and despite not loving that book I was keen to try more of Anna-Marie McLemore’s writing so had ordered a copy of their 2020 release but it really felt like it was going to be the right book for me. And, it was. Much more so than The Weight of Feathers was. I really enjoyed the multiple timelines, the characters and the magic in this book and it definitely felt stronger towards the end. I’m probably going to read it again at some point in the future, because I think I’ll get so much more out of it the second time round. Deep and Darkest Red has made me excited for the back catalogue of their books I have to read.
De Profundis and Other Prison Writings by Oscar Wilde
I’m pretty sure I’ve had this book on my shelves for over a year and after partially writing my dissertation on Wilde’s novel I had spent a lot of time reading around his life but still never prioritised his prison writings. Reading this book was… an experience. It’s Oscar Wilde like I’ve never read before. He’s clearly very angry, frustrated and at times comes across as completely exhausted. At times there are moments my heart sank, but at other points I just wanted Oscar to stop writing. I would say this is worth reading if you are interested in the life of Wilde, otherwise I think it would be a bit of a bore.
The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami
Incredibly, this was the first Murakami book I’ve read in 2020 and unfortunately I found it largely forgettable. There are a handful of stories which stuck with me but many of them have fizzled from memory. Overall I think this book didn’t stick with me as much as after the quake and Men Without Women because unlike those two short story collections, it doesn’t have a consistent theme to link the stories together. The Elephant Vanishes is a collection of individual stories which had been brought together in this translated version. And it just didn’t work for me.
From Where You Dream: On Writing Fiction by Robert Olen Butler and Janet Burroway
This book was recommended to me when I was at uni and I’m trying to integrate more non-fiction writing on writing into my reading. There was elements in this book I really enjoyed, and others I simply didn’t. By the end of the book I’m not sure I’m on board with the idea of writing from a “dream space” but somethings about the actual process of writing really did resonate with me. I want to write a longer blog post about some of the book on writing I’ve been reading, so I’m going to leave this mini review here.
Wilder Girls by Rory Power
I’d heard so many amazing things about this book and was so excited to get to it and it just fell a little flat. The premise is intriguing and as things were beginning to be revealed I was so ready for some feminist-fuelled action sequences to occur and they simply didn’t. By the time I got to the end of the book I had so many unanswered questions and I think if Rory Power had given a little bit more information to the reader I would have felt satisfied at the ending. I think the marketing and hype around this book promise me a lot there I didn’t get out of the book, but I’d still be interested to read Rory Power again in the future.
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
This was another book I read in an attempt to read non-fiction about writing, and whilst this book is more about creativity in general rather than specifically writing there were parts of it which made me think about writing in a different way. I’ll admit at the beginning of this book I wasn’t at all on board with what Elizabeth Gilbert was saying but by the end there were elements I enjoyed. Again I won’t say too much else, but I can see why some people really enjoy this book, but also can see why its not for everyone.
And that’s what I read in August. Whilst the quantity of books I read is impressive by my average standards of reading, there weren’t that many high ratings. Hopefully September will bring some more fantastic books.
What did you enjoy reading in August? Have you read any of these books? Do let me know!
jemima is writing 