What I Read In August

It's September!  Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday where I share something I'm thinking out loud about and invite you to link up and do the same. Today I'm reflecting on the books I read in August.

August was a busy month so I was pleasantly surprised when I looked back and realized I read three whole books.  I know - a lot of you book people probably whip through three books a week.  But for me reading three books in a busy month is quite the feat!  Here's a summary ~

First up is Book Lovers by Emily Henry.  I'm not going to lie, I'd seen this book floating around the internet and I totally judged the book by the cover.  That cover just didn't seem appealing to me and it wasn't until my daughter-in-law raved about it that I decided to give it a try.  I know, don't judge a book by the cover!  Lesson reaffirmed.  

I totally loved this book and would give it a 5 out of 5.  Emily Henry has other books out (Beach Read, People We Meet on Vacation, Happy Place) and they are all going on my to-be-read list.  Here's the summary from Amazon ~

One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming...

Nora Stephens' life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

 

I've been making a conscious effort to read more books that are "free" with my Kindle Unlimited membership.  This month I read When I'm Gone with my subscription.  Love it too!  Summary ~

Dear Luke,
First let me say—I love you…I didn’t want to leave you…

Luke Richardson has returned home after burying Natalie, his beloved wife of sixteen years, ready to face the hard job of raising their three children alone. But there’s something he’s not prepared for—a blue envelope with his name scrawled across the front in Natalie’s handwriting, waiting for him on the floor of their suburban Michigan home.

The letter inside, written on the first day of Natalie’s cancer treatment a year ago, turns out to be the first of many. Luke is convinced they’re genuine, but who is delivering them? As his obsession with the letters grows, Luke uncovers long-buried secrets that make him question everything he knew about his wife and their family. But the revelations also point the way toward a future where love goes on—in written words, in memories, and in the promises it’s never too late to keep.

 

The last book is The Book Woman's Daughter.  This is a sequel to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, which I read for book club a couple years ago.  I was so intrigued with the story of Roosevelt's Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, coupled with the fact that the delivery lady had a condition where her skin was blue, from the first book that I just had to read the second book.  I wasn't as thrilled with this one as I was with the first, but it was still a decent read.  

In the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains, Honey Lovett has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder. As the daughter of the famed blue-skinned Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Honey and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey realizes she must fight to stay free, or risk being sent away for good.

Picking up her mother’s old packhorse library route, Honey begins to deliver books to the remote hollers of Appalachia. Honey is looking to prove that she doesn’t need anyone telling her how to survive. But the route can be treacherous, and some folks aren’t as keen to let a woman pave her own way.

If Honey wants to bring the freedom that books provide to the families who need it most, she’s going to have to fight for her place, and along the way, learn that the extraordinary women who run the hills and hollers can make all the difference in the world. 

And that's a wrap on my August reading!  What was your favorite read from the month?

Now it's your turn.  What are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

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