Shed life is turning out fine. I go there daily. It is almost like leaving my home each morning for a job. All is well. I’m making videos again; trying for daily, for a while. Not sure how long that will last.
Word of the Month
Forgive
Bible Verses of the Month
Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” – (Colossians 3:13, NLT)
This month’s reading diary is at the bottom of this page, after the book list.
My Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/lindajm
★ – I’m reading it.
✓ – I finished reading it. Yay!
⇗ – Still reading at the end of the month.
⇓ – I did not like it or finish it.
∅ – Stalled – I started but didn’t finish.
Here’s what I want to read during August
∅ Classic Fiction: Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray
I’m reading this now. It is very long. Update 8/7/23: I have both an audiobook and Kindle version. The audiobook is very long – 31 hours. I’ve listened to almost 10 hours, and wow, I just need a break, to read or listen to something else for a while. None of the characters are likable – even the author knew that – he called this “a novel without a hero.” Right. Also this was originally published as a magazine serial around 1850-ish, and the chapters are bloated! Just my opinion. I do want to finish the novel, but not right now.
✓ Novella: Lady Into Fox, by David Garnett
You could call it a novella, or a very long short story. Essentially, a man and his wife are outdoors when she suddenly transforms into a fox. This results in some lifestyle changes. Finished August 17 – Call me underwhelmed. Here’s my review. Two stars.
★ Christian Historical Romance: The Heart of the Mountains, by Pepper Basham
I love audio-reading Christian fiction, but this is a Kindle copy. That slows me. I’ve noticed most of my reading this year is with audiobooks. I must be getting old.
★ Christian Nonfiction: The Healing Light, by Agnes Sanford
I’m making good progress on reading this and expect to finish soon.
★ Christian Nonfiction: The Art of Storytelling: Easy Steps to Presenting an Unforgettable Story, by John Walsh
This is a nice book that teaches Christians to be better storytellers. I expect to finish reading it this month.
Historathon 2023
☆ Memoir: The Journal of George Fox, by George Fox
This is for Historathon 2023 Q3, but is special because one of my ancestors is briefly mentioned in it. George Fox was the founder of Quakerism, and my ancestor, Captain William Smith, was one of the original Quakers in England.
★ History: 1776, by David McCullough
I’m reading this now for Historathon 2023 Q3.
Hornblower Readalong Continues
✓ Cult-Classic Fiction: Flying Colors, by C.S. Forester
My next book for the Hornblower Readathon. Finished August 11 – this is the 8th book in the series of 11 but back when this started it was the third book in a trilogy that later expanded. Awesome finish for the trilogy. Hornblower is human, flawed, and yet honored by so many. Here’s my review. Four stars.
★ Fantasy: The Last Enchantment, by Mary Stewart
The next novel in my Mary Stewart readalong with readers on Goodreads. This is the third novel in The Arthurian Saga. The main character is Merlyn. I have an audiobook version.
Impulse Reads
✓ Memoir: Out of the Silence: After the Crash, by Eduardo Strauch Urioste
This was an impulse-audio-read, something I’d had in my Audible account for a while. In fact, I don’t remember requesting it – but I wanted to read a short memoir or novel and found this. It immediately captured my attention with a devastating airplane crash in chapter one, and didn’t let go. Quite a few people died during the crash and thereafter but some of the young men survived a few months in very adverse winter conditions. Andes Mountains, Argentina. Here’s my review. Five stars.
✓ Epistolary Nonfiction: 84 Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff
Impulse read, mid-month. Short book, worth reading. This is a collection of correspondence between a New York writer and a London bookstore employee and others. The correspondence starts during World War II and continues for a few decades. Finished August 21 – Here’s my review. Five stars.
✓ Western: News of the World, by Paulette Jiles
I’ve been wanting to read this ever since it was published in 2016. A 71-year-old veteran is paid to return a ten-year-old girl to her family. She was kidnapped as a young child and had been living with a Kiowa tribe. He names her Johanna. They must travel together from Wichita Falls, Texas to a small town near San Antonio. Finished August 27 – Great novel… I enjoyed it. Here’s my review. Five stars.
My August 2023 Reading Diary
August 1 – Summer continues; more books to read.
Video published August 1 –
August 2 – Another video..
August 7 – My oldest daughter’s 44th birthday!! I spoke to her by phone yesterday. A great blessing! I DNF’ed a book… didn’t mention it above… it was a Christian fiction novel called Beneath a Southern Sky. It was mega-depressing to read the first four chapters about a young missionary-wife’s (fictional) experience of having her doctor-husband killed in a remote Columbian village. Also for me, the writing wasn’t all that great although the overall plot was intriguing. Anyhow, I couldn’t handle the depressing narrative so I DNF’ed it. It was just not for me.
August 11 – Just finished my first novel for August and now I’m 2 books behind on my goal. Sigh. I finished Hornblower 8/11 – Flying Colors – Here’s my review. Four stars.
August 12 – I read this on impulse: Out of the Silence: After the Crash … and couldn’t stop reading, seriously. This is the memoir of a terrible tragedy high in the Andes Mountains. Here’s my review. Five stars.
August 17 – Difficult week due to fires nearby. I finished reading Lady Into Fox but didn’t love it. Here’s my review. Two stars.
August 21 – Took a break from the Arthurian Saga to read 84 Charing Cross Road. Loved it. Here’s my review. Five stars.
August 26 – Late in the day I finished News of the World – an novel set in Texas just after the Civil War. Here’s my review. Five stars. I’m 2 books behind on my annual reading goal according to Goodreads. Not sure what to do about that.
Leave a Reply