Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Thank you to Anne @ HeadFullofBooks for coming up with this topic! Here are books I’ve read in August over the past ten years. I can’t guarantee that I was reading them on precisely August 11 as I don’t keep track of such information, but they were all read in this month and all good reads.
2016
The Many Deaths of Tom Thomson: Separating Fact from Fiction by Gregory Klages
Genre: History
Why I Liked It: Tom Thompson was a famous Canadian painter and one of the Group of Seven who created all sorts of art in the early 1900s. This book explores his life and mysterious death, and I thought the ending was quite fitting for a life that ended far too soon.
2017
Coping With Your Difficult Older Parent : A Guide for Stressed-Out Children by Grace Lebow, Barbara Kane, Irwin Lebow
Genre: Psychology/Self-Help
Why I Liked It: My parents are actually wonderful, but unfortunately I have other relatives in their age group who are only becoming more difficult to handle as they grow older. I’ve read multiple books about boundaries, dysfunctional families, (severe, untreated) mental illness, and self-care over the years to help me develop the coping skills I need for these situations.
2018
The Bedroom: An Intimate History by Michelle Perrot, Lauren Elkin
Genre: History
Why I Liked It: The wide range of topics it covered. Yes, there were references to sex in this book, but it also talked about many other things related to bedrooms and sleeping: central heating, how hotel accommodations worked in the past, how people slept in jails, hospitals, and sanitariums, and so much more.
2019
Let’s Play White by Chesya Burke
Genre: SFF
Why I Liked It: This was one of those collections of short stories in which every entry was unique. I get a little bored with collections that repeat the same themes too often, so this one definitely stood out to me.
2020
Zombies, Run!: Keeping Fit and Living Well in the Current Zombie Emergency by Naomi Alderman
Genre: SFF, Health, Fitness
Why I Liked It: Honestly, the information in it is just as applicable to now as it was to 2020. Taking care of yourself during stressful times is incredibly important no matter what the threat is. The zombie angle simply added a dose of fun to what is otherwise a serious topic.
2021
Broken Places & Outer Spaces: Finding Creativity in the Unexpected by Nnedi Okorafor
Genre: Memoir
Why I Liked It: I don’t purposefully seek out information about the lives of my favourite authors because I believe they deserve privacy just like the rest of us (unless they’re harming other people or something, of course). Therefore, I didn’t know about Ms. Okorafor’s botched back surgery or how it lead her to become an author until I read this. It was quite interesting!
2022
On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah-Yah Scholfield
Genre: Horror
Why I Liked It: Eveything up until the ending was perfect. The protagonist was nuanced and relatable and the setting was deliciously scary. I just wish the conclusion had been a happier one, but I’m still glad I read it.
2023
The Necessity of Stars by E. Catherine Tobler
Genre: SFF
Why I Liked It: This one had the opposite problem that Scholfield‘s tale did. The beginning was a little lacklustre, but the ending was so worth the wait. Once again, I’m glad I read it even though it didn’t match all of my expectations.
2024
Gay the Pray Away by Natalie Naudus
Genre: YA
Why I Liked It: I related to it on so many different levels, from growing up in a conservative Christian homeschooling family to being a lifelong bookworm to eventually coming out.
2025
Ghosts, Trolls and the Hidden People: An Anthology of Icelandic Folk Legends by Dagrún Ósk Jónsdóttir
Genre: SFF
Why I Liked It: You all might remember how much I love myths, fairy tales, and folklore in general. This was a fabulous collection of just that.
