The July ’18 Overview
Another week, another update about the books I’ve been reading. This time it’s about the books I finished in July. I have continued reading the ‘Lumberjanes’ series I mentioned last time, but I won’t review each one (I love them all, so that’s simple). I will mention them (and the Harry Potter books) I’ve finished at the end of the recap.
So what did I read in July? Find out below! As always they have been given a rating X out of 5 and a short review. If you click the title it will take you to the books’ Goodreads page.
July
“Leaves of Grass” – Walt Whitman ****
The Undercover Book Club read of the month. It was the first time I’ve read long-form poetry, but it was nice. Not everything resonated with me and I think that’s what makes poetry ‘work’. But it was beautiful anyway.
“In The Pines” – Erik Kriek ***
A graphic novel, short story collection style. Each story is based on an old country murder ballad. I liked the concept more than the actual execution. It was fun to listen to the songs the stories were based on though.
“What I Love About You” – Rachel Gibson ****
I love these books. In Dutch, they would probably classify as ‘doktersroman’, although there are no doctors in this specific one. The narrative is simple, the depth of the characters is ankle deep at best, but man is it enjoyable to read. If they make me cry and then give me a happy ending, I am satisfied. This one did its job.
“Little Fires Everywhere” – Celeste Ng *****
Possibly one of the best books I’ve read this year. It is about motherhood in so many ways. We read Celeste Ng’s first novel with Bored to Death book club and the general consensus was that she had tried to write a character based novel but ended up with a plot driven one and we were curious for her next novel. From this book it is obvious to me she is only going to get better and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
“The Breakthrough” – Daphne du Maurier *****
Amazing short story, republished by Penguin in there new mini ‘Penguin Modern’ series. Would highly recommend, it leaves you a little dissatisfied because it is so short and you want it to continue.
I also finished volumes 4, 5 and 6 of ‘Lumberjanes’ by Noelle Stevenson and listened to ‘Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince’ by J.K. Rowling and narrated by Stephen Fry. All 5-star experiences.
Review July
The month definitely got better near the end in terms of the quality of the books I’d read, but I enjoyed reading a lot of different genres and styles this month. I have also been reading ‘Middlemarch’ but more on that in the next post!
Have you read any of these books? Which one would you be most interested in picking up? Let me know in the comments below!