August in my part of California is called “fire season.” So far this year there have been no new forest fires near my town, but I wake up each morning and look at the “Watch Duty” app to see if any new fires started in the middle of the night. When I woke up on a September day in 2020, a fire had started on a ridge six miles north of me. By midnight that day over 200 homes were incinerated including mine, my son’s, and my daughter’s. Even though our forest north of town burned, it could happen again in my neighborhood due to grasses and many trees that escaped the first fire. I think about it every day.
Word of the Month
Gratitude
Bible Verses of the Month
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV)
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.
Finished Reading This Month
✓ Nonfiction: The Johnstown Flood, by David McCullough
A reread, for the David McCullough readalong. Update: I finished rereading this on the 23rd and had a book hangover for a few days. Review.
✓ Letters: The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh, by Vincent Van Gogh, edited by Ronald de Leeuw
I read this in a buddy-read situation with three other Booktubers. Very, very inspiring. Here’s my review.
✓ Dual-Timeline Mystery: The Lake House, by Kate Morton
I’m loving the novels of Kate Morton. Review
What I’m Reading Now
★ Christian Nonfiction: The Lord, by Romano Guardini
This is an examination of the life of Jesus Christ. I’m reading this with friends on a theology Discord group.
★ Classic Fiction: Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo
I may be the slowest reader of Les Miserables in the history of mankind, but I do still occasionally pick it up and when I do, I enjoy reading it.
☆ Fiction: Perestroika in Paris, by Jane Smiley
A diversion with a talking horse.
My August 2024 Reading Diary
August 1 – Happy August!
August 12 – I apparently don’t have much to say about what’s happening in August. Right now I’m on the last 50 pages of the 500 page Van Gogh book. My buddy reading friends and I are pondering the final episodes of his life… insanity, suicide, etc…. nobody wants to think badly of this awesome artist. Some people even thought up alternative theories about what happened. Meanwhile I’m managing to create a lot of sketchbook art of my own, and am yearning for a new easel. My last one burned in the miserable forest fire three years ago.
August 27 – I finished rereading The Johnstown Flood which was unspeakably sad and true. Definitely a worthy read… something we should know about. And I’ve been deeply involved in reading Les Misérables this month. Victor Hugo didn’t stick to the plot, but took us on multiple lengthy digressions (information dumps) in this lengthy novel. I’m on page 558 and that’s not even half-way through! Tonight I decided I need a vacation from Les Misérables for a bit and I’ve started a much shorter audiobook version of Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley. This is a diversion, narrated by a horse! I couldn’t ask for anything more different, except that both novels take place in Paris.
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