Every month I hope that it'll be a good reading month and every month I hope that I can beat my number of books read last month. But I have a feeling I've kind of established a permanent average now that ranges between twelve to fifteen books. And to be totally honest, maybe that's good enough and I just need to accept it as is. After all, being envious of all those people who can put away 20+ books on a monthly basis is an exercise in futility and won't make my number magically increase.
I just really want to have a few days of vacation in which I do ABSOLUTELY nothing but reading with the occasional bookish activity (blogging, browsing books, reading reviews, etc.). I don't want to think about anything else--just a few days. That would be the life.
Books Read
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Better Homes and Hauntings by Molly Harper
Gimme Some Sugar by Kimberly Kincaid
Haunted by Elle James
Frozen Heat by Richard Castle
Soul Deep (novella) by Pamela Clare
Beyond Limits by Laura Griffin
Crazy Wild by Tara Janzen
Quicksilver by R.J. Anderson
Fool Me Twice by Mandy Hubbard
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Crazy Kisses by Tara Janzen
Books Dropped/On Hold
Currently Reading
Reviews & Notable Posts
- Reviews
Better Homes and Hauntings by Molly Harper
Turn Up the Heat by Kimberly Kincaid
Beyond Limits by Laura Griffin
Fool Me Twice by Mandy Hubbard
Quicksilver by by R.J. Anderson
- Other Posts
Reading progress update: Better Homes and Hauntings -- I've read 31%
Starting: The Thirteenth Princess
Reading Wrap-Up
12 books total were read in August. The books I've read this month were fairly mediocre in comparison to what I've read before. While Elantris was an amazing read, there were still a lot of things about it that didn't work well for me, and thus, it did not go into the ultimate "OMG, I love this book!" pile. It could have, because, Brandon Sanderson! So instead, we shall seek out the next great Sanderson read, because I know I'm going to continue to pick up his books, even if not in a continuous way.
Uprooted was probably my favorite of the books I read this month. Second in line would be Quicksilver and then maybe either Elantris or Crazy Wild. More likely Elantris, because while Crazy Wild was fun to read, it was also haphazard and, well... crazy.
The rest of the books were either disappointing reads or they didn't really stand out. I've managed to catch up with Laura Griffin's Tracers series, but the last three books in her series so far seemed repetitive of previous installments--here's hoping that the next book in the series will be more fabulous. I had hoped that Molly Harper's Better Homes and Hauntings would be just as excellent and fun as And One Last Thing..., but it didn't turn out that way.
Finally, I hadn't expected much from Fool Me Twice, but I also hadn't expected it to frustrate me THAT badly. I suppose that's just how things are.
- Series I started reading in August:
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
If Only... -- a collection of books by various authors
- Series I completed in August:
Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson -- 2 book series completed
- Series I have made progress on in August:
Pine Mountain by Kimberly Kincaid
Nikki Heat by Richard Castle
I-Team by Pamela Clare
Tracers by Laura Griffin
Steele Street by Tara Janzen
My favorite books read in August
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Quicksilver by R.J. Anderson
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Crazy Wild by Tara Janzen
I was a bit disappointed in:
Better Homes and Hauntings by Molly Harper
Gimme Some Sugar by Kimberly Kincaid
Fool Me Twice by Mandy Hubbard
Coming Up Next (tentative scheduling)
- Tentative TBR for This Month
- Tentatively Planned Posts/Reviews
Review: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Review: The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen
Review: The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett -- previously posted
Review: The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett
Review: The Nightmare Charade by Mindee Arnett
Review: Crazy Wild by Tara Janzen
Review: Crazy Kisses by Tara Janzen
Review: Ruthless by Carolyn Lee Adams
Review: Forged in Steele by Maya Banks
Review: Sacred Evil by Heather Graham
Review: The Evil Inside by Heather Graham
Book Haul / TBR Additions
- Amazon Kindle Deals (free)
- Used Book Buys
- Bought as New
- Audible Purchases
Audible Credits used:
Whispersync with Kindle book (low price/discounted):
- Checked Out From the Library
Reading Challenge Updates
Original 2015 Reading Challenge Post
-
General Reading Challenge
Goodreads Reading Challenge -- GR list/shelf
BookLikes Reading Challenge -- BL list/shelf
My Goal: 150 books
Progress: 121/150 books read
- Outdo Yourself Challenge
Hosted by Book Vixen
My Goal: Getting My Heart Rate Up: read 1 - 5 more books
(I read 154 books for this challenge in 2014 / My goal will be 155 - 159 books in 2015.)
My Progress: 112/155
See Also: 2015 Outdo Yourself Challenge shelf for list of books
- Romantic Suspense Challenge
-- CHALLENGE COMPLETED -- 4/9/2015
Hosted by Book Vixen
My Goal: SWAT: read 21+ romantic suspense novels
My Progress: 60/21
See Also: 2015 Romantic Suspense Challenge shelf for list of books
- Men in Uniform Challenge
-- CHALLENGE COMPLETED -- 3/17/2015
Hosted by Book Vixen
My Goal: Chief: read 16+ men in uniform novels
My Progress: 51/16
-- 16 books read -- COMPLETED -- 3/17/2015
See: 2015 Men in Uniform Challenge shelf for book list
See: 2015 Men in Uniform Challenge post for detailed list
- 2015 TBR Pile Challenge
Hosted by Roof Beam Reader
My 2015 TBR Pile Challenge Summary Post
My Progress: 9/12
See Also: BookLikes shelf / Goodreads shelf
- 2015 Reading Assignment Challenge
Hosted by Because Reading & Fantasy Is More Fun
My 2015 Reading Assignment Challenge Summary Post
My Goal: Reading Level 5: 48 books (4 books/month), 4 Extra Credits, 1 Pass
My Progress: 32/48 (No Extra Credits or Passes used)
See Also: BookLikes shelf / Goodreads shelf
- Mount TBR Reading Challenge
Hosted by My Reader's Block
My Goal: Mt. Ararat: Read 48 books from your TBR pile/s
My Progress: 25/48
See: 2015 Mount TBR Challenge shelf for book list
- The Series That Never Ends Challenge
Hosted by Delighted Reader
My 2015 The Series That Never Ends Challenge Summary Post
My Goal(s):
1) Surviving the Book Tsunami -- 5-9 books -- COMPLETED 6/1/2015
2) Removing the Thorn From My Side -- 10-15 books
My Progress: 13/15 books
Listed Series Goals Completed: 1/3
See: 2015 Series Never Ends Challenge shelf for book list
Final Thoughts
Not much to say about this month of last. A lot of stuff has been going on outside of my reading life and I sincerely hope that everything will settle down so that I can go back to tackling my reading list. I've spent time listening to books I've already read, specifically some of Kylie Brant's Mindhunters books. I even listened to The Nightmare Affair to refresh my memory on the story and the characters so that I can move into The Nightmare Dilemma and The Nightmare Charade for this month.
I hit up the library to line up my reading list for my vacation this month--I intend to make the most of my days off. On top of that, I am highly anticipating the newest book releases for September and October... while at the same time kind of dreading them. There are only two books I'm looking to read, released in September, but a few others that came out in the past few months of which I plan on getting. October will probably be my biggest spending month as there are at least three books I plan on getting my hands on IMMEDIATELY.
It'll be interesting trying to convince myself not to go crazy buying new books.
Previous Wrap-Ups
Reading Wrap Up: 2015 So Far (Jan., Feb., Mar.)
Monthly Reading Wrap Up -- Looking Back at April
Monthly Reading Wrap Up -- What Happened in May
Monthly Reading Wrap Up -- So That Was June
Monthly Reading Wrap Up -- Oh Sigh, July
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