Monthly Reading Wrap Up -- August 2016

Another month, another group of reads. I'd say I've found my new average now, which is approximately two books fewer than that from last year. Not that I'm complaining or anything. I think I just need to cut back on the challenges and mood read for a while... after all the challenges are over. Because even as I say this, I will be moving into the Halloween Bingo Challenge in these next two months.

But you know, I am SO looking forward to it. I just need to figure out how to balance this challenge with the other yearly challenges I'm participate in.

On that note, I'm resigned to really cutting back on the reading challenges next year. I really am. Like say, maybe I'll only choose Reading Level 2 (read 2 books/month) for the Reading Assignment Challenge in 2017. Yes?

August Reads

Books Dropped/Put On Hold

None this month! Yay!

Currently Reading

The Gingerbread Man by Maggie Shayne
Ammie, Come Home by Barbara Michaels
*
Mistborn The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (audio book)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (full cast audio book)

August Reading Stats

Total works read: 12

9 full length novels
1 anthology
2 novellas

Average rating: 3.27 Stars

Highest Rated: 2 books // 4.5 Stars
- (1) Innocent Prey by Maggie Shayne
- (2) Deadly Obsession by Maggie Shayne
Lowest Rated: Connecting Rooms by Jayne Ann Krentz // 2.0 Stars

Series I started reading:

Brown and de Luca by Maggie Shayne
Moreno & Hart by Allison Brennan and Laura Griffin
Mattie Winston Mystery series by Annelise Ryan

Series I completed:

The Lotus War trilogy by Jay Kristoff
Extrasensory Agents by Leslie Parrish (a.k.a. Leslie A. Kelly)

Series I have made progress on:
None this month.

Favorite reads: Maggie Shayne's Brown and de Luca series was absolutely addictive! I'm looking forward to more from this author and more from this series, because I was just so in love with Rachel and her doggy, Myrtle. The little everyday details in these books were spectacular!

Disappointing reads: The lowest rated books for this month were all disappointments except for Endsinger, if only because I hadn't been expecting much from Endsinger anyway, based on my time reading the previous book, Kinslayer. But my really BIG disappointments, despite the average ratings, were Crash and Burn and Chill Factor. I expected so much from Crash and Burn because of Laura Griffin. And I was a little hyped with Chill Factor because of the premise and the touted "Queen of Romantic Suspense" title given to Sandra Brown.

I'm inclined to believe that Laura Griffin hit a rough patch; and that Chill Factor was not the Sandra Brown book to begin with. Still holding out hope.

Reviews & Notable Posts

Reviews Written

Memes

Coming Up In September

Tentative TBR

Other Stuff

So the biggest thing going on in upcoming months in my bookish life is definitely Halloween Bingo! The lovely people in the Booklikes community have been coming together in preparation for this bingo challenge and it has been lots of fun already. I definitely got a bit obsessed with finding a book for each Bingo square, and now I'm determined to try and fill each and every one of them. The above listed books are all challenge books--whether Reading Assignment Challenge, or Halloween Bingo Challenge--and I intend to get a lot of reading done in these next two months.