This post is more than a week overdue, but I’m hoping after my announcement on Tuesday, it all makes a little more sense. Things have been a little busy around here to say the least!
But, I am extremely excited to get into what I read in August 2021. I had a slower summer for reading than I thought I would, but lately I’ve been picking up some more steam, so hopefully September’s roundup will be even better than this one!
What I read in August 2021
Into the Water, Paula Hawkins: 3 Stars
Description: A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.
Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother’s sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from—a place to which she vowed she’d never return.
With the same propulsive writing and acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers around the world in her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiveness of emotion and memory, as well as the devastating ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present.
Beware a calm surface—you never know what lies beneath.
My thoughts: I feel like I say this often, but I listened to this on audiobook and think it would have been better as a physical book. The voice acting was just overdone at times, and that all led me to feel like the book was cheesier than I would say it probably is.
I think I would still recommend this but just not as an audiobook.
The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery, Ian Morgan Cron: 5 Stars
Description: What you don’t know about yourself can hurt you and your relationships―and even keep you in the shallows with God. Do you want help figuring out who you are and why you’re stuck in the same ruts? The Enneagram is an ancient personality typing system with an uncanny accuracy in describing how human beings are wired, both positively and negatively.
In The Road Back to You Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile forge a unique approach―a practical, comprehensive way of accessing Enneagram wisdom and exploring its connections with Christian spirituality for a deeper knowledge of ourselves, compassion for others, and love for God. Witty and filled with stories, this book allows you to peek inside each of the nine Enneagram types, keeping you turning the pages long after you have read the chapter about your own number. Not only will you learn more about yourself, but you will also start to see the world through other people’s eyes, understanding how and why people think, feel, and act the way they do. Beginning with changes you can start making today, the wisdom of the Enneagram can help take you further along into who you really are―leading you into places of spiritual discovery you would never have found on your own, and paving the way to the wiser, more compassionate person you want to become.
My thoughts: If you’ve ever been curious about the enneagram or you feel like you would love to learn more, I think this is the perfect book to get started with. It really helps you learn. love and understand yourself and those around you better than almost any other tool.
I love that this weaves in a faith perspective to the enneagram too! It was really nice to read something faith based and self development at the same time.
The Museum of Extraordinary Things, Alice Hoffman: 4 Stars
Description: Coralie Sardie is the daughter of the sinister impresario behind The Museum of Extraordinary Things, a Coney Island boardwalk freak show that thrills the masses. An exceptional swimmer, Coralie appears as the Mermaid in her father’s “museum,” alongside performers like the Wolfman, the Butterfly Girl, and a one-hundred-year-old turtle. One night Coralie stumbles upon a striking young man taking pictures of moonlit trees in the woods off the Hudson River. The dashing photographer is Eddie Cohen, a Russian immigrant who has run away from his father’s Lower East Side Orthodox community and his job as a tailor’s apprentice. When Eddie photographs the devastation on the streets of New York following the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, he becomes embroiled in the suspicious mystery behind a young woman’s disappearance and ignites the heart of Coralie.
My thoughts: This one surprised me so, so much. I didn’t expect to love it so much, but I was so captivated by the storyline, characters and how their paths cross.
I found the early 1900s, boardwalk circus setting so unique and just something you don’t get to read every day. You guys know I love historical fiction, but this felt like an amazing book that also happened to be historical fiction if you’re not the biggest fan of that genre.
I found myself looking up some of the real life events, concepts and places this book mentioned after I finished reading, and you know that’s always the sign of a good book!
The Paris Library, Janet Skeslien Charles: 4 Stars
Description: Paris, 1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet has it all: her handsome police officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the Nazis march into Paris, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including her beloved library. Together with her fellow librarians, Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books. But when the war finally ends, instead of freedom, Odile tastes the bitter sting of unspeakable betrayal.
Montana, 1983: Lily is a lonely teenager looking for adventure in small-town Montana. Her interest is piqued by her solitary, elderly neighbor. As Lily uncovers more about her neighbor’s mysterious past, she finds that they share a love of language, the same longings, and the same intense jealousy, never suspecting that a dark secret from the past connects them.
A powerful novel that explores the consequences of our choices and the relationships that make us who we are—family, friends, and favorite authors—The Paris Library shows that extraordinary heroism can sometimes be found in the quietest of places.
My thoughts: This was SO good. If you like anything by Kristin Hannah or the Nightingale, I think you would really like this. It’s less deep than Kristin Hannah, which can honestly be really nice. I can’t always read something as gut wrenching as Kristin Hannah you know?
Atomic Habits, James Clear: 5 Stars
Description: No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving–every day. James Clear, one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.
If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you’ll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.
Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field.
Learn how to:
* make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy);
* overcome a lack of motivation and willpower;
* design your environment to make success easier;
* get back on track when you fall off course;
…and much more.
Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits–whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.
My thoughts: Preston and I listened to this on audiobook together, and we loved it a lot! I feel like we both are already somewhat disciplined people, but this was just a nice extra motivator and explanation of the science behind habits. I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a little productivity boost before we enter a busy time of year!
I liked listening to it on audiobook because I sometimes struggle with feeling like personal development books like this are a chore. This felt like something fun to look forward to in the car, and I loved the stories and little historical components that I didn’t already know about. I think this would also make a good book for someone you know who likes personal development.
Local Woman Missing, Mary Kubica: 5 Stars
Description: Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventually goes cold.
Now, 11 years later, Delilah shockingly returns. Everyone wants to know what happened to her, but no one is prepared for what they’ll find….
In this smart and chilling thriller, master of suspense and New York Times best-selling author Mary Kubica takes domestic secrets to a whole new level, showing that some people will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.
My thoughts: This was so wild, but I really liked it. I am pretty good at seeing where things are going to go usually, but I wasn’t able to get a read on this one until all the pieces fell together at the end.
This story gave me Colleen Hoover vibes slightly if you’re interested in her at all! The ending was a little unrealistic, but it wasn’t crazy enough to lose a star!
The Perfect Guests, Emma Rous: 3 Stars
Description: 1988. Beth Soames is fourteen years old when her aunt takes her to stay at Raven Hall, a rambling manor in the isolated East Anglian fens. The Averells, the family who lives there, are warm and welcoming, and Beth becomes fast friends with their daughter, Nina. At times, Beth even feels like she’s truly part of the family…until they ask her to help them with a harmless game–and nothing is ever the same.
2019. Sadie Langton is an actress struggling to make ends meet when she lands a well-paying gig to pretend to be a guest at a weekend party. She is sent a suitcase of clothing, a dossier outlining the role she is to play, and instructions. It’s strange, but she needs the money, and when she sees the stunning manor she’ll be staying at, she figures she’s got nothing to lose.
In person, Raven Hall is even grander than she’d imagined–even with damage from a fire decades before–but the walls seem to have eyes. As day turns to night, Sadie starts to feel that there’s something off about the glamorous guests who arrive, and as the party begins, it becomes chillingly apparent their unseen host is playing games with everyone…including her.
My thoughts: Preston and I listened to this one together too, and it honestly was just a little too crazy for us. It started off well, but by the end it was seriously so wild and unbelievable! We mainly just read it because it was available at the library, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
Shop my August reads:
