Monday, September 6, 2021

August Wrap-Up

 Hello Interwebs!

So August was a halfway decent reading month that ended in a tiny bit of a reading slump for me. I read nine books in the month of August: three historical romances, one literary fiction, three food nonfiction, one cozy mystery, and one memoir. Without further ado here's the books I read. 

  • The Duke and I by Julia Quinn (Bridgerton #1). This is a historical romance and the first book in the Bridgerton series. In this book you follow the oldest Bridgerton daughter, Daphne, as she begins a fake courtship with the Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset. This is the book in the series that the first season of the Netflix show, Bridgerton, is based on. I read this book from July 30th to August 2nd and gave it a 4 star rating. 


  • The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn (Bridgerton #2). This is also a historical romance and the second book in the Bridgerton series. This book follows the eldest Bridgerton son, Anthony, as he decides to finally settle down and take a wife. He even decides he wants to marry Edwina but Edwina's sister Kate has something to say about that. This was a very pleasing enemies to lovers regency romance and I enjoyed it a lot. I read this book from August 2nd-6th and gave it a 4 star rating as well. 


  • A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. I listened to this book on Audio while driving back and forth to work. It follows a man named Ove who is a grumpy old man who just wants to be left alone but then a young couple and their two young children move in next door and he ends up the center of the neighborhood. I loved this book: it was funny and heartbreaking and wonderful. I listened to it from July 28th to August 9th and gave it a solid 5 star rating. 


  • An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn (Bridgerton #3). This is a historical romance and the third book in the Bridgerton series. This book follows second eldest son, Benedict, and his romance with Sophie, who is a highborn bastard working as a maid. This book is a Cinderella retelling and features insta-love. I liked this book but not quite as much as the first two in the series and I am excited to continue on with the series. I read this book from August 6-15 and gave it a 4 star rating. 


  • A Little Tea Book: All the Essentials from Leaf to Cup by Sebastian Beckwith and Caroline Paul. This was a little nonfiction book all about tea from the different types and processing to a brief history of it as a drink. This was cute and informative without being overwhelming with information. I read it from August 12-16th and gave it a 3.5 star rating. 


  • Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse by Harper Lin (Cape Bay Café Mystery #1). This was a cozy mystery I listened to on audio after I finished with A Man Called Ove. This follows a young woman named Francesca who is running her family's café in Cape Bay after the death of her mother. On the way home from work one day she finds the body of her friend's father and when it turns out he was murdered she begins her own investigation. It was entertaining for what it was. I listened to it from August 11-17 and gave it a 3 star rating. 


  • Menus That Made History: 100 Iconic Menus that Capture the History of Food by Alex Johnson and Vincent Franklin. This was a very interesting food nonfiction book. Each "chapter" in the book is centered around a menu from a particular moment in time that was important either culinarily or historically. It has everything from the last meal eaten by Otzi the Iceman who was found mummified in a bog to the last menus served onboard the Titanic the night it sank. This book was utterly fascinating. I read it from August 16-19 and gave it a 4.5 star rating. 


  • The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. This is a memoir that I read for Cheryl Strayed's Wild Reads club on Literati. It follows Raynor and her partner, Moth, as they become homeless and he is diagnosed with a terminal illness following a spate of bad luck. They end up deciding to walk the entirety of the South West Coast Path while they figure out their next steps. This was a good book, well written and engaging but or some reason I really struggled through it. I read it from August 2-29 and gave it a 3.5 star rating. 


  • The Best American Food Writing 2020 by J. Kenji  Lopez-Alt, editor. This is a collection of nonfiction food writing covering a variety of topics from baby food to celebrity chefs. I ended up ranking each piece on its own and then giving it an average rating overall. I enjoyed most of the pieces in this and only a few of them really missed the mark. I am already planning on getting the 2021 edition of this book when it comes out. I read this from August 19-31 and gave it a 3.6 rating. 


All in all this was a really great reading month for me. My favorite book of the month was definitely A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman with Menus That Made History as a very close second. My least favorite was Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse but I'm starting to think that cozy mysteries might not be quite my thing despite the fact that I have a ton of them on my kindle. 

As always I bought way too many books this month, mostly free or cheap ones for my Kindle but I also had quite a few new books I bought as well. 
So that's how my bookish journey went in August. I got a bunch of really exciting thrillers/horrors and read some good writing that was out of my usual comfort zone. Now onto September and SPOOKY SEASON!

Happy Reading!
Richelle

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