No one wants to sit inside during such nice weather (yes, I think 90 degrees is wonderful) so I’ve been spending hours outside reading. And it’s been glorious. But right now it’s 101 degrees on our back deck and much cooler at my computer so it’s time to get caught up on various reading matters.

LibraryReads for August

The list for August is here and has a few books of note.

Vox by Christina Dalcher is receiving rave reviews from fellow librarians, many saying if you like Handmaid’s Tale, you’ll like this. Trust me, though, it’s very disturbing.

Louise Candlish’s Our House is a “wowzer” of a book with a “gasp-worthy” ending. For me, it dragged a little in the middle but for the most part, it’s a heck of a psychological twister.

Rust and Stardust is a novel based on the true story of the kidnapping of a young girl that “inspired” Nabokov to write Lolita, but there is also a nonfiction account of the kidnapping being published in September titled The Real Lolita by Sarah Weinman. Both are compelling and if I were to recommend which to read, I would say read both and in whatever order you prefer. Me, I prefer to read the fictionalized version first, then see how close it was to the actual incident.

Early readers have said Meet Me at the Museum is a very uplifting novel, and sometimes we just want something “nice,” right? Might be a good palate cleanser after reading Vox and Rust and Stardust.

My Recent Reading

I’ve been reading some terrific titles over the last few days. They are:

Field of Bones by J. A. Jance. This is the 18th entry in the Joanna Brady series set in SE Arizona, and while I still prefer the J. P. Beaumont mysteries, Jance has truly hit her stride with Brady’s character. I haven’t reviewed it yet but if you’re a fan, watch for it in late August.

Those of you know me are probably aware of how much I love a good celebrity memoir and I was looking forward to Todd Fisher’s “tell-all” about his life with mother Debbie Reynolds and sister Carrie Fisher, My Girls. I didn’t expect a whole lot but I was completely engrossed. Check out my complete review on Goodreads.

Linwood Barclay is a master at taking a seemingly impossible to solve domestic incident and wrapping everything up with a big bow. A Noise Downstairs was a bit of a departure but it was every bit as compelling as his previous books. This comes out in August.

One of the most entertaining books I’ve read and perused is Charles Phoenix’s Addicted to Americana. Doesn’t the cover just scream, “You’re in for a good time!”? 

Latest Library Stack

It was so high I had to split it into two photographs. I’m excited about A Life Less Throwaway and Fifteen Thousand Miles by Stage. I’ll expand on both in future posts. In the meantime, I am working on a post listing my favorite books of 2018 (so far).

Stay cool and happy reading!