Books I Read in August
Happy Labour Day! Solidarity forever!
I can't believe I'm almost done with the Discworld series. Not sure what I will listen to next .....
- The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett (re-read) – I think this one and Night Watch are the Discworld’s best
- Flying Too High by Kerry Greenwood – these books are like candy – short, sweet, I tear right through them and enjoy every fleeting moment
- Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry Greenwood – exhibit B
- Night Watch by Terry Pratchett (re-read) – when you first start Discworld, you think Rincewind is the main character. Then you think it’s probably Granny Weatherwax. But by now we’re sure it’s Sam Vimes. I love this book. I could read it to pieces if I had a physical copy instead of checking out audio and e-books over and over again.
- Slough House by Mick Herron – just as with the last book in this series, the first half was way too much table setting and it took forever before it took off like a rocket and ended on quite the cliffhanger to drive me to the next one
- Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano – this series is sweet and funny and I can’t believe the author keeps finding new ridiculous situations for our heroine to need to dispose of a body she did not murder in, but there’s no forward momentum. It’s like the Simpsons: the characters never age or fundamentally change. Each book just ends with a reset, a new challenge to confront. But they’re charming, and I love the sisterhood, and formulaic books work on me, so I forgive them.
- Making Money by Terry Pratchett (audio) – this one I didn’t love. Adora Belle was less present, and less charming when she was. Vetinari’s gimmick worked less well (for me) the second time.
- The Weavers of Alamaxa by Hadeer Elsbai – ehhhhhh just ok
- Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman – I loved Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan series, and it’s fun to revisit a minor character from that series and get Tess cameos. I just don’t know that Lippman is a cozy writer. This genre is out of her comfort zone.
- Before the Mango Ripens by Afabwaje Kurian – Poisonwood Bible fans will like this one
- Is She Really Going Out with Him? by Sophie Cousens – this was great! A beautiful second act love story with nary a mean parent in sight
- Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett (re-read) – I had forgotten a lot about this one, and there’s a ton going on. I liked Jason getting a bigger part, and this is Ridcully at his funniest, and each witch got to be a hero in her own way.
- A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin (audio, re-read) – I love this one, and am so excited for the new book this author has coming out soon! For me, she is the contemporary Regency author who gets closest to Austen’s crisp dialogue and sharp observations. And her modern eye adds a thoughtful take on Regency society without inserting anachronistic views in the characters – a rare feat!
- Death at Victoria Dock by Kerry Greenwood – splendid!
- Bad Actors by Mick Herron – oh this was well done and I quite enjoyed it. I’ve been moaning about his first acts, so to start in media res with Act II really worked for me, despite being super confused why I missed what happened in Wimbledon for like 100 pages.
- The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity by Sarah Schulman – she thinks about solidarity the same way I do, so I liked that. But it falls into the tiresome category of activist-authors who have an interesting thesis, but rather than prove it, list organizations and individuals they’ve worked with and share anecdotes that sort of gesture toward the point without really bolstering it. I was fascinated to learn more about ACT UP (about which I was woefully ignorant) but I don’t think it demonstrated her views on solidarity in a way that would help me improve my own solidarity with others. There were several sections that were just like “look at this awful racist/homophobe/etc.” and I was like …. I have Bluesky for that. Tell me how to build solidarity!
- Standing by the Wall by Mick Herron – meh. Too in love with his Christmas puns.
- Another Thing to Fall by Laura Lippman (re-read) – hmmm. I *loved* the Tess Monaghan series, but I think I’ve read better books since then. And Mrs. Blossom was an even more minor character than I thought. This was disappointing.
- Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett (audio) – clever and funny, featuring characters who’ve been relegated to the background for awhile now, but a little broad – in scope, not in comedy, though Pratchett is always that. It was sometimes hard to keep track of where we were in the football story when we’d been off in the orc/upstairs-downstairs story for a bit and vice versa.
- Perfect Victims: And the Politics of Appeal by Mohammed El-Kurd – he is such a beautiful writer. And I am grateful for the way he handles the task of writing in the face of horrors to which writing and reading are an inadequate response. And yet. To raise the ceiling of what is possible to discuss is important work to do. I am grateful.
- The Green Mill Murder by Kerry Greenwood – the pacing in this one was off. I didn’t feel as propelled forward by it as I usually do the Phryne Fisher series. But I loved the descriptions of her flying into the Australian Alps, very majestic. And the ending was extremely dramatic.
Also, I watched the Thursday Murder Club movie, which I thought was good – unless you read the book. The ending change was pretty drastic, and I’m not sure where the sequels go from here.
What did y'all read in August?
