Month in Review: August 2020

How is August already over!? One of these days I'll stop complaining about how quickly time flies, but today is not that day. The goods news, though, is that I read some awesome books in August and I'm hoping to read even more as the fall season arrives.

Standouts from August would be Savage Legion, A Sword from Red Ice, A Little Life (which I technically started way back in March or so, and The Wendy! My NetGalley account is also officially overflowing because I didn't expect all of the publishers to approve just about all of my requests. I'm not complaining at all, but it does make me feel both overwhelmed and enormously excited to start reading so many great books. 

I'm currently in the middle of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which I'm enjoying more than I expected (which sounds odd, I know), Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch, and The Thief Lord  by Cornelia Funke! I am very much enjoying all of these books. I also finally picked out my special "big tome" of the year that I read annually--London by Edward Rutherfurd. (If you aren't aware, every year I pick out a 1,000+ page book to tackle over a few months. I don't typically include 1,000+ page books like Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archives because I already know that I'm going to read that--I try to pick something that might be a bit more intimidating to me or that I wouldn't necessarily want to sit and solely read for a few weeks.) I wanted to read his Russka a bit more, but it didn't quite hit that 1,000 page mark and I've got to have some hard rules in life, right?

In personal news, there's not a lot to tell! My husband and I are finally feeling  bit more settled into our new apartment, which is great. The downside is that the company he works for just told him that they'd probably be remote until September 2021 (!) which means we moved to a really expensive area where we are paying far too much for rent (and with a long lease!)...and now we have no need to be here for at least another year. We're a bit bitter, given all the other ways his company (and previous company) have screwed us over this year, but hey, that's life I guess and we just need to accept things and keep moving on! I also started my second year of grad school and it's been a ridiculous amount of work so far, but I've expected nothing less. I'm finally taking a course where I get to translate Greek again (specifically translating speeches from the ten canon Greek Attic orators) and I'm absolutely loving it, and even though Ancient Greek is immensely frustrating and soul-sucking sometimes--it's also beautiful and I love the language so much. 

Anyway, enough about me--how are you guys!? Have you been hanging in there okay? Reading any good books? Relaxing? Are you working/in school/etc.? I hope you all had the best August that you could have given the circumstances of this year! :) Without further ado, let's get on to the wrap-up!

# books read: 13
 

A Sword from Red Ice (Sword and Shadows, #3) by J.V. Jones ★★★★★
Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover

Savage Legion by Matt Wallace ★★★★★
Source: Publisher | Format: Hardcover

The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan ★★★
Source: Owned/Borrowed | Format: Paperback

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien ★★★★★
Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover



The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry ★★★★
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara ★★★★★

Source: Library/Owned | Format: Paperback

A Time of Contempt (The Witcher, #2) by Andrzej Sapkowski ★★★★
Source: Publisher | Format: Paperback 

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip ★★★★
Source: Gift | Format: Paperback




Kingdom of Ash by Richard Nell ★★★★★

Source: Author | Format: Kindle

The Wendy by Erin Michelle Sky & Steven Brown ★★★★

Source: Owned | Format: Paperback

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles ★★
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

Rosewater by Tade Thomopson ★★★★
Source: Publisher | Format: Paperback

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein
Source: Library Sale | Format: Paperback

Olive the Lionheart by Brad Ricca ★★★★
Afterland by Lauren Beukes ★★
The Vanished Queen by Lisbeth Campbell ★★★★
Worldbuilding for Fantasy Fans and Authors by M.D. Presley ★★★★
The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline ★★★★
Savage Legion by Matt Wallace ★★★★★
The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart ★★★★


(other than reviews)

Month in Review: July 2020
Blog Tour; The Road Out of Winter by Alison Stine--Excerpt!
Blog Tour: Where Dreams Descend by Janelle Angeles--Review
Anticipated September 2020 Releases

Top Five/Ten Tuesday:
Books with Colors in the Title
Books I Loved But Never Reviewed
Books That Would Make Great Adaptations

Can't-Wait Wednesday:
8/5: The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix, Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling, Burning Roses by S.L. Huang
8/12: A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik, The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis, & Night Shine by Tessa Gratton
8/19: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, Cursed Objects by J.W. Ocker, & Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston
8.26: Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass, Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour, Queen of Volts by Amanda Foody

The Friday Face-Off:
Action
Glasses

Have you read any of these? What books did you read this month? I hope you all had a great month-- comment below and let me know!