I’ve wanted to write a book for… pretty much my whole life.
But I would start an idea and then just give up. One time I even got to 25,000 words and then called it quits. So, after watching several different Masterclasses on writing, I felt inspired to give it another try. However, this time, I came up with a real strategy. I was not going to just wing it. Here are the steps I followed to finally complete a 80, 416 word manuscript.
August was… an interesting month for me. I was a sick for bit. I started a new challenge that could take me the next five years to complete. I celebrated a milestone birthday. Oh, and I finished writing my first book. (Future post on that coming soon!) It also in a way marked the closing of summer and the start of fall- even though the temperatures don’t reflect that quite yet. So, to say it was a month of change would be an understatement.
In terms of books (which is what you’re really here for), I read 7 books in August featuring both non-fiction and fiction:
-Bored and Brilliant by Manoush Zomorodi
-Fear Is My Homeboy by Judi Holler
-Can’t Look Away by Carla Lovering
-Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen
-The It Girl by Ruth Ware
-The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Let’s get into the reviews!
I feel like summer has flown by.
One minute I was talking about beach reads and eagerly anticipating my vacation and now I’m already checking Bath and Body Works collection of fall candles (my favorite, Pumpkin Bonfire, is already in stock!) and considering Halloween costume ideas. Time is strange.
July proved to be a slower month of reading for me and didn’t feature any non-fiction, but it did include several newer releases.
The list includes:
-The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
-They’ll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman
-The Power by Naomi Alderman
-One of Us Is Dead by Jeneva Rose
-Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Let’s get into the reviews!
Summer is here and my reads are starting to reflect that! This month’s list of reads includes Elin Hilderbrand’s latest novel and a fun YA thriller set at a summer camp:
-The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand
-Running Rewired by Jay Dicharry
-White Ivy by Susie Yang
-A Gracious Neighbor by Chris Cander
-The Counselors by Jessica Goodman
-They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman
Now, for the reviews!
I love to read year-round, but there is something almost magical about getting lost in a good book during the summer.
Growing up, I was the kid to read every book on the required reading list for school, rather than picking just one, and would often read the books on my sister’s list as well.
After finishing school, I found myself missing that structure. With so many books in the world, it’s hard to know what to read next. But that’s when I discovered summer reading guides! It seems like almost every blogger, celebrity, etc., has a guide these days and I absolutely love it.
So, if you’re someone that’s looking to start reading more or just trying to identify the perfect book to pack for your vacation, I wanted to share a few of my favorite summer reading round-ups!
I’m beginning to feel like I say this every month, but May had a good mix of books! Romance, running, & self-improvement.
I managed to squeeze in 7 books (though to be fair one was a novella and two of the others I started in previous months, but finally finished):
– Mother Dear by Nova Lee Maier
– Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood
– The Soil Will Save Us by Kristin Ohlson
– Mastery by Robert Greene
– The Willpower Instinct by Kelly
McGonigal
– The Other Man by Farhad H. Dadyburjor
– 80/20 Running by Matt Fitzgerald
Let’s get into the reviews!
April was another 7 book month for me!
I read a nice mix of fiction and non-fiction covering everything from romance to octopuses to Japanese culture.
The list includes:
– Crooked House by Agatha Christie
– The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
– Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
– In A New York Minute by Kate Spencer
– The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
– Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
– The Book of Ichigo Ichie by Héctor Garcia & Francesc Miralles
Let’s get into the reviews!
After the slow month of reading in February, March was just the opposite! I read 7 books last month and all but one were fiction:
-Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
-Old in Art School by Nell Irvin Painter
-The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
-The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand
-The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
-Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski
-The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
I listened to three of these as audiobooks, which I don’t usually do for fiction, but I was impressed by how good all the voice actors are! I may need to listen to more fiction going forward.
Let’s dive into those reviews.
It was a quieter month of reading for me.
I took a break from audiobooks after listening to Dr. Michael Greger’s How Not to Diet for nearly 24 hours and instead focused solely on Kindle books thanks to the Overdrive App and my local library.
Even with only four books last month, I still had quite a mix including self-help, a serial killer thriller, and one of the most unique books I’ve read:
-A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham
-Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
-Discover Your Dharma by Sahara Rose
-The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
Let’s get into the reviews!
After the extremely slow month of December, I feel my reading is off to a strong start in 2022!
I read 7 books this month, though to be fair, two were very short (like read in one sitting kind of short):
-Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
-Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
-For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing
-This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley
-Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
-How Not To Diet by Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM
-Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner
As you can see, genres ranged from fantasy to psychological thriller to health & nutrition.
Let’s get into those reviews!