What I Read In August 2018

Hello everyone, I hope you are all well. For my regular readers, I am sorry that this post is late and that I have been quiet on mine and your blogs. Sadly after an amazing summer, I have broken my foot, which, as well as leaving me trapped at home with my foot propped up, has left me suffering with very low mood and anxiety. That means, even with all the time on my hands, I have not had the heart to read or blog – instead I have took comfort in watching classic boxsets on BBC iPlayer* and working in my prayer journal.

Thankfully, after a week or two, my mood has started to pick up and seeing as sharing with you all always makes me feel happier, I thought it was about time I shared with you the lovely reading I did, in August, before my accident:

The Dragon’s Blade: The Last Guardian by Michael R. Miller (2018) **
Firstly, I finished reading this final instalment in Miller’s new, epic fantasy trilogy, The Dragon’s Blade. In The Last Guardian I enjoyed catching up with now well-loved characters, I loved the battles and drama that unfolded, and there were some great twists, however I was a little disappointed with the rather abrupt end… I want to know what happens next! I didn’t feel I got any real resolution, so Miller I think you should write some more, please!

Queen of the North by Anne O’Brien (2018) ***
Then I threw myself straight into another epic tale – this time of a historical nature. O’Brien is one of my go-to-authors when I want an historical fix and she certainly didn’t disappoint in this novel. Queen of the North follows the feisty and contentious Elizabeth Mortimer, the wife of Henry ‘Hotspur’ Percy, as she dangerously schemes during a tumultuous time. A sumptuous, powerful and moving story, that had me gripped from start to finish.

Searching For Sunday by Rachel Held Evans (2015) ***
Alongside the above prodigious fiction reads, I was also dipping in and out of this fascinating Christian non-fiction, which Kelly recommended to me. In Searching For Sunday, bestselling author, Rachel Held Evans explores in a heartfelt way her struggles with the present-day church and how she set out on a journey to understand what Church should be and her place in it. Being both critical and hopeful this was a really thought-provoking book.

Pick of the Month: Searching For Sunday

Altogether that is three books read – I think a good amount considering how busy and then poorly I have been. At the end of the month, I also picked up Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett, but due to my low mood, I haven’t read a great deal of it, yet.

While I have been away, Cathy’s brilliant 20 Books of Summer reading challenge (with the option of 15 or 10 levels too) came to end on 3rd September. My reads: Dragon’s Blade: The Last Guardian, Queen of the North and Searching For Sunday were all off my summer list, which means altogether I managed to read 6 of my 10 books. My worst year taking part in this challenge, however I did read 10 books this summer, just not all off my list. Methinks I need to be more careful creating my list next year.

Have you read any of these books? What did you read in August? What are you reading in September?

*For those of you interested the classic boxsets I have been watching are: Pride and Prejudice (1995), Bleak House (2005), Sense and Sensibility (2008), Little Dorrit (2008) and North and South (2004).

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23 thoughts on “What I Read In August 2018

  1. Poor you 😖 It’s miserable when things come together like this. Box sets are the ideal therapy and you watched some great ones. I’m glad that your mood has picked up now, Jessica. You did well with your 10 books of summer. I must post about my attempts…. !

    1. Thank you, Sandra and you’re right the classic TV boxsets were just the therapy I needed! 😀 I will have to pop over to see what you read for your 10 Books of Summer – Sounds like you might have struggled a bit like me and many people did this year.

  2. Sorry to hear about your accident but I’m glad you’re beginning to feel more like yourself again! Boxsets are wonderful for those times when you just want to switch off from the world for a bit. I had a little bug last week and I refuse to admit to how many episodes of Ally McBeal I consumed – purely medicinal, of course! 😉 Hope your recovery continues smoothly, and I’m mega-impressed that your summer total leapt up to six!

    1. Thank you so much, FF and yes comforting boxsets are exactly what the doctor should order to help us switch off from the world when we aren’t feeling well. With everything that’s been going on I hadn’t really appreciated that it was quite a leap up to 6 books from the month before, thank you FF! 🙂

  3. Oh No – how awful about your foot. That’s so frustrating and has a lot more impact because of restricting you to the indoors. Hope it’s much improved.
    I had a good reading month in August but September is definitely a little slower.
    Lynn 😀

  4. Even reading can start to drag when you’re confined by such an accident. ! I’m glad you found some good reads along with one that was more disappointing. I hope Terry Pratchett might cheer you up — he’s usually pretty reliable for me when I need a mood lift.

    1. Lory, I really haven’t had the heart or passion to read, even though this would be an otherwise perfect time to read lots. I have been dipping in and out of the Terry Pratchett and it has certainly lifted my mood, so hopefully I will have my reading mojo back soon.

  5. Oh, no! The foot, the low mood…I hope you get better soon! 🙂 Still, you read good books and did great comfort watching. I read Inland by Tea Obreht and Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh in August. I’m in the final stretch with The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates–a novel about slavery in America–, and will be reading Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris, hopefully starting next week. I did great TV watching in August too, so I’m eagerly awaiting your ‘Adaptations’ post. Again, hope you feel better soon! Don’t be a stranger. 🙂

    1. Thank you so much, Carmen 🙂 Sounds like you did some great reading and I look forward to hearing what you’ve been reading – I will hopefully have my ‘Adaptations’ post up soon and will try not to be a stranger 😀

  6. Oh dear, that’s a shame about your foot. I’m glad you are starting to feel a bit more like the thing now, and that you were still able to enjoy a bit of reading. Searching for Sunday sounds interesting, I’ll try and get hold of it.
    You can’t really go wrong with a bit of Dickens or Austen when feeling under the weather, so I’m glad you enjoyed re-visiting all the mini series.

    1. Thank you so much, Alison 🙂 A bit of Dickens and Austen was exactly what I needed to help comfort and cheer me up. I hope you are able to get your hands on a copy of Searching For Sunday – I am already looking into getting more of her books.

  7. Oh NO. I’m so sorry for about your foot. I’m so glad you are feeling a little better. Sounds like you had a good reading month. I’ve never read Rachel Held Evans before and I’m sorry to say I think she just recently died in a freak illness. 😦 Anyway, I do hope your foot will heal quickly and you will be up and and about soon. Best wishes and take care, Jessica!

  8. I’m so sorry to hear about your broken foot! At least it occurred at the end of your busy summer rather than at the start! I’m glad your mood is improving.

    I’m pleased that you enjoyed Searching For Sunday and found it to be thought-provoking. She received a lot of criticism from some strong Southern Baptist and Evangelical circles for her writing. I just don’t understand all the negativity and judgmental attitudes within the Church. It goes against what I see as being Christ-like.

    Here’s what I read in August: https://ksrgmck.wordpress.com/2019/09/01/books-for-august-2019/

    1. Thank you so much, Kelly 🙂 I have to agree that all the negativity and judgmental attitudes within the Church is against what I see as being Christ-like too. Sadly, human beings twist things over time and get comfortable in their fixed ways and what they see as ‘traditions’. It is exactly what Jesus came to correct the Jews on.

  9. Poor you, how did you sustain the break? How long will you be recuperating? I broke my ankle about 30 years ago and it was miserable and difficult to manage. So you have oodles of my sympathy.

    1. Thank you so much, Karen 🙂 I’m afraid my accident was nothing dramatic – I just landed funny on the side of my foot on a trampoline! I have been told to be off work for four weeks and that it could be six to eight weeks to be fully recovered.

  10. Sorry to hear your news, Jessica. I’m glad you’re starting to feel better and have been finding comfort in watching some classics! I loved Queen of the North too and have just finished Anne O’Brien’s new book, A Tapestry of Treason, which I also enjoyed.

  11. Ah, so sorry about your foot. I completely understand how that would bring you low. You did the right thing, watching all those videos. I hope you can be up and around soon. Good on your summer reading despite all!

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