TL;DR: August Review

Hello Bookworms!

Well, that little run of “ohmigosh isn’t it HOT” comments at the beginning of my previous monthly roundups seemed to be well and truly over and I thought I could comfortably get back to my large collection of knitwear and jeans – except today the weather is bright sunshine (typical – on the day I decided to clean the house and tackle the ironing). I miss cozy jumpers!

Some of you may remember the photo that I took last month of my garden in the pelting rain that was nominated as picture of the month for a charity calendar ⬇. Unfortunately, it’s been disqualified for not being the correct orientation (seriously – surely the people putting it together are using photo editing software – can’t they just stretch it?) which is a shame but I still love the picture and lots of people got to appreciate it, which is the main thing. 

August has been the month of DIY in our house as my non-hubs works at a University and has loads of holiday to take before the beginning of the new academic year. So it’s been four weeks of sanding, tiling, grouting, cleaning and a few little arguments. I’ve even been up the ladders sorting out the upstairs windowsill which was so much scarier than it looks – I have a newfound respect for window cleaners! As a result, the bathroom is pretty much finished and the kitchen is well on its way:

We’ve had a few nice days out this month including lunch and an afternoon in Stourbridge (whilst tile shopping) and a day at Malvern Collectors Fair where I bought a bargain linen basket and the non-hubs got a copper spills jar. Not too exciting but I love looking round at all the old and collectible items searching out a bargain. 

We also had a great day at Hidcote Gardens where I bought a beautiful Russian Thyme plant followed by THE BEST meal at The Howard Arms Ilmington. Seriously, the food was beautiful and the service was fantastic – really friendly and welcoming. If you’re ever in the North Cotswolds I’d highly recommend it. 

For some unknown reason, we have asked my parents to come to Devon with us for a week at the start of September. My Mum and Dad mean well but they have very, let’s say old fashioned views so I can already forsee a few arguments. My mum is also determined to get on the beach in her new swimming costume and is already stressing me out with daily phone calls about what luggage I’m taking (a bag?), what have I packed (nothing yet), what are we eating (fish & chips?) etc. My Dad is annoyed that the child restrictions on the Wi-Fi mean he can’t have an online bet and I know I’ll have to suffer their “jokes” and “concerns” about how I’m not married, pregnant or in a good career, my hair is too long, I’ve put on weight (I checked – I haven’t), you’re not wearing that etc. etc. What fun we shall have!

I’ve had a little play around with my blog and done a bit of general admin like sorting out menus and adding my Twitter stream. I still don’t quite understand Twitter but I’ve sorted out my account (Lucinda is reading @islucinda – hit me up!) and I’m slowly getting to grips with it. 

In terms of my blog, I’m sticking to my decision to write more discussion posts so I’ve done a couple more about reading more than one book at a time and whether it’s ok to DNF an ARC. I’ve also taken part in the Calendar Girls meme which was really fun – I’m just finishing off my September post now. 

My Les Mis read along is all caught up and my ARC’s are up to date so I’m focusing on getting ahead in #ReadHarder as I’ve got a few massive books to read for it. 

I wrote seven book reviews this month, three of which were dystopian feminist novels (not on purpose) so I couldn’t help but compare them to each other. Amazingly, I rated TWO books at five stars and three at four stars which is absolutely unheard of – I can go for months without reading a five star book and four star books are pretty rare. I must be going soft 😜.

The TL;DR overview for August is:

The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic: Just…yeah. I still don’t know what this book was about. One and a half out of five. 

Vox by Christina Dalcher: Great to begin with but tailed off into nonsense at the end. Very disappointing. Three out of five.

The Power by Naomi Alderman: A great premise and a surprisingly nuanced look at power and gender dynamics. You can definitely see the Margaret Atwood influence! Four out of five.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff: A totally innovative way of writing that I quickly found myself engrossed in. A great page turner. Four out of five. 

Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business by Dolly Parton: I love Dolly Patron and I loved this book. Funny, warm and honest, this was a great memoir. Four out of five.

The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson: Unexpectedly brilliant, this was an absolutely fascinating story. Who knew fishing flies could be so interesting – or so bizarrely connected to organised crime? 🌟Five out of five.🌟

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood: I absolutely loved this book, even the unpopular ending. Clever, engaging and weirdly prescient, I couldn’t put it down. 🌟 Five out of five.🌟

So that’s August wrapped up!

How was your August? Have you read any of the books I read last month? What are your thoughts on reading lots of books at once or not finishing ARC’s? Follow the links or let me know in the comments – and please follow me on Twitter!

Much love,

Lucinda xxx