Showing posts with label august 2020. Show all posts
Showing posts with label august 2020. Show all posts

Friday, September 4, 2020

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 of Shadows, #3)Savage Legion (Savage Rebellion, #1)The Waking Fire (The Draconis Memoria, #1)The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings #1)
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 TreeA Little LifeThe Time of Contempt (The Witcher, #2)The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
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



Kings of Ash (Ash and Sand, #2)The Wendy (Tales of the Wendy, #1)Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards, #1)The Rosewater Redemption (The Wormwood Trilogy, #3)Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
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: Lost Love, Imperial Spies, and One Woman's Journey to the Heart of AfricaAfterlandThe Vanished QueenWorldbuilding For Fantasy Fans And Authors (Forging Fantasy Realms #2)The ExilesSavage Legion (Savage Rebellion, #1)The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowning Empire, #1)
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)

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!

Friday, July 24, 2020

Anticipated August 2020 Releases!


Well, we're finally reaching the end of the month! it's been a hell of a month for me and I think I'm sort of glad it's over--and a big part of that is probably because of the huge amount of awesome books coming out, if we're being honest. :) I've already read a few of these (I highly recommend The Vanished Queen, The Exiles, Olive the Lionheart, and Universe of Two in particular!), but there are far more that I haven't and am so excited to read sometime. I've been holding onto an ARC of Where Dreams Descend for months, so I think it's finally time to get it read for a review! Anyway, I hope you've all had a great month and that you get a chance to dive into some of these new releases. :)

What books are you most looking forward to? Have you read any of these already!? Let me know!

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with ItDrowned Country (The Greenhollow Duology, #2)The Vanished QueenThe ExilesThe Dark Tide (The Dark Tide, #1)The First SisterIgnite the SunWhere Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards, #1)The Mother CodeOlive the Lionheart: Lost Love, Imperial Spies, and One Woman's Journey to the Heart of AfricaThe Notorious Virtues (The Notorious Virtues, #1)MigrationsDriftwoodThe Eighth DetectiveThe Death of Vivek OjiThe Girl and the GhostIgniting Darkness (Courting Darkness Duology, #2)The Forest of StarsThe Lions of Fifth AvenueThe Disaster TouristThe Boy in the FieldUniverse of TwoTender Is the FleshSet Fire to the GodsRaybearer (Raybearer Series #1)The Space Between WorldsThey Wish They Were UsStar DaughterTwin Daggers

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It by K.J. Parker || August 18th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Drowned Country by Emily Tesh || August 18th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

The Vanished Queen by Lisbeth Campbell || August 18th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline || August 25th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Ignite the Sun by Hanna Howard || August18th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles || August 25th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

The Mother Code by Carole Stivers || August 25th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Olive the Lionheart: Lost Love, Imperial Spies, and One Woman's Journey to the Heart of Africa by Brad Ricca || August 11th -- Amazon |  IndieBound

The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton || August 18th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Driftwood by Marie Brennan || August 14th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Igniting Darkness  by Robin LaFevers || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

The Forest of Stars by Heather Kassner || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun, Lizzie Buehler (trans.) || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey || August 11th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Universe of Two by Stephen P. Kiernan || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, Sarah Moses (trans.) || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Set Fire to the Gods by Sara Raasch, Kristen Simmons || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko || August 18th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Godman || August 4th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar || August 11th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Twin Daggers by MarcyKate Connolly || August 25th -- Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound


What are your anticipated August releases?