Well hello there! I can hardly believe it’s August already – the year, as usual, is flying by. I’ve fallen behind in some of my goals, but as far as reading goes, I’m killing it!
In the month of July, I finished 5 books – keeping me nicely on track to finish the entire challenge for the first time in 2023. A couple of them I really loved, too – let’s talk about them!
The first book I finished in July was Mad Ship by Robin Hobb, the second in her Liveship Traders series. I really enjoyed the first in this series, and the second was just as intriguing. There were payoffs for some of the foreshadowing in the first book – I figured some of the things would happen, but I wouldn’t say it was predictable. Some answers were given to mysteries posed in the first installment, but more questions remain to be answered in the third, which I’m definitely planning to read by the end of this year. I couldn’t find a good place to put this on the challenge, so it ended up in the second free space, #24. [4.5 stars]
My next read was for prompt #32, Read a book about a famous criminal(s). Jeff Guinn’s Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie & Clyde was truly intriguing. Over the years, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow have become nearly mythical figures with a glamorous image, and reading a biography that painstakingly sifted through information from unpublished writings by their families brought them down to earth. Their story was a mixture of hard luck and bad choices, and the doom hanging over their heads was palpable throughout. [3.75 stars]
Next up I tore through Someone Else’s Life by Lyn Liao Butler in a couple of sittings – this thriller had me feeling tense and anxious through nearly the entire book. The majority of the story took place during a severe thunderstorm on Kauai, and the atmosphere lent a sense of danger to the rising tension of the story. The main character was a former professional dancer, so I selected it for challenge prompt #45, Read a book where the main character is a dancer – and it was a great choice. [4 stars]
After that, I read a quick little mystery that I’ve probably read before but didn’t remember – I have read most of Lilian Jackson Braun’s Jim Qwilleran series over the years but not since I’ve started tracking my reading. The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern is the second in the series, and it worked well for challenge #43. Read a book with a cat on the cover – well, it sort of did. As it turns out I picked it from my owned TBR list on The Storygraph, and that list had a different cover for the book than my Kindle version. However, the cat action was prominent in the book, so I decided to keep it for the prompt. This series is well written and comforting to read, and as a cat lover (and firm believer that they are smarter than we think), it’s always a favorite. [3.5 stars]
And my final read for July, selected for my 3rd free space (#36) was Brandon Sanderson’s 3rd Secret Project, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. If I hadn’t already picked a different book for challenge prompt #42 (A book set in Asia or an Asian-inspired culture) this would have been a great one for it – the story is heavily inspired by ancient Korea, modern Japan, Final Fantasy X, and the manga Hikaru no Go. This novel is set within Sanderson’s greater Cosmere, and features a world whose magic is tied to creating art. It is atmospheric and intriguing, with a fascinating core mystery and a surprisingly sweet romance. I loved it. [5 stars]
Aside from reading, I got a few more episodes into Ted Lasso – I’m 5 episodes away from the ending and it’s already one of my favorite shows that I’ve seen in the last few years. I’m 7 episodes in to Veronica Mars now and having a lot of fun… and I finished Secret Invasion, which was… eh. Agents of SHIELD was a better show in every way. I also caught the end of season 2 of How I Met Your Father (not as good as How I Met Your Mother by any means, but I am enjoying it).
Other than media, I made a quick trip up north to visit my bestie for her girls’ birthday party, and took a few days off work to enjoy my birthday. I bought a t-shirt for Linz for her birthday that accidentally got shipped to my house – a happy accident, since I kinda wanted one myself anyway… I took myself out to breakfast (reading while eating out alone is kinda fun), grabbed my free birthday drink from Starbucks, and got taken out to eat by my church music team after our Thursday night practice. The best photos of July, along with my first nail art in a hot minute, below.
So what have you been up to? Have you read any of the books on my list? What’s the best thing you’ve watched this year? Bought any fun t-shirts lately? Talk to me, I love comments!
The Linzthebookworm/Logophile 2023 Reading Challenge
Level 1: Book of the Month Club [11/12 complete]
1. Read a book recommended to you on social media or by a friend – Recursion – Blake Crouch
2. Read a book under 300 pages – The Courts of Chaos – Roger Zelazny
3. Read a book with a female main character – Tress of the Emerald Sea – Brandon Sanderson
4. Read a book by an author whose name is Samantha, Sam, or a variant – Seven Blades in Black – Sam Sykes
5. Read a book that was written by an author from your home state
6. Read a book you meant to read for last year’s challenge – Have We Met? – Camille Baker
7. Read a book with a basic shape on the cover (examples: circle, square, heart, star, diamond) – Call It What You Want – Brigid Kemmerer
8. Read a book you got from Project Gutenberg, a library, or another nonprofit source – The Blue Castle – L.M. Montgomery
9. Read a book about a hobby you enjoy or want to pick up (fiction or nonfiction) – The Bullet Journal Method – Ryder Carroll
10. Read a book that starts with the first letter of your name – Daughters of the Lake – Wendy Webb
11. Read the next book in a series you haven’t read in a while – The Lost Metal – Brandon Sanderson
12. Free Space – Pick any book! – The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England – Brandon Sanderson
Level 2: Casual Reader Club [11/12 complete]
13. Read a book by Mary Faulkner (or one of her aliases)
14. Read a book of short stories or a novella – Ford County: Stories – John Grisham
15. Read a book that involves a lot of traveling – Swan Song – Robert R. McCammon
16. Read a book published in 1998 (25 years ago) – Ship of Magic – Robin Hobb
17. Read a book with a yellow cover – The Likely Resolutions of Oliver Clock – Jane Riley
18. Reread a book you have recommended to someone else – The Imperfect Disciple – Jared C. Wilson
19. Read a book by Dean Koontz – Intensity – Dean Koontz
20. Read a book with a one-word title – Slayer – Kiersten White
21. Read book 1 in a trilogy – The Armored Saint – Myke Cole
22. Read book 2 in a trilogy – A Heart so Fierce and Broken – Brigid Kemmerer
23. Read book 3 in a trilogy – Red Country – Joe Abercrombie
24. Free Space – Pick any book! – Mad Ship – Robin Hobb
Level 3: Dedicated Reader Club [9/12 complete]
25. Read a book that takes place somewhere you’d like to live – Revenge of the Nymph: The Faeries Vol.2 – Ramon Terrell
26. Read a book recommended by whatshouldireadnext.com
27. Read a book by an author who shares a first or last name with one of your friends – The New York Trilogy – Paul Auster
28. Read a book with a neon-colored cover – Exiles – Ashley and Leslie Saunders
29. Read a book that has under 1,000 reviews or ratings on a website or app – Joshua: Man of Fearless Faith – W. Phillip Keller
30. Read a middle grade book (8-12 age range) – Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones
31. Read a book with the word “Time” in the title – The Last Time I Lied – Riley Sager
32. Read a book about a famous criminal(s) – Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde – Jeff Guinn
33. Read a movie novelization book (movie to book, instead of book to movie)
34. Read a fiction or nonfiction book that motivates you to be a better version of yourself – Savor: Living Abundantly Where You Are, As You Are – Shauna Niequist
35. Read a self-published book – Duel of Fire – Jordan Rivet
36. Free Space – Pick any book! – Yumi and the Nightmare Painter – Brandon Sanderson
Level 4: Speed Reader Club [4/12 complete]
37. Read a book that is over 600 pages – The Stone of Farewell – Tad Williams
38. Read a book from ListChallenge’s Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge – The Art of War – Sun Tzu
39. A book by an author named David/Dave
40. Read a “Dark Academia” novel
41. Read a book with a title that starts with the letter V – Vanishing Acts – Jodi Picoult
42. A book set in Asia or an Asian-inspired culture
43. Read a book with a cat on the cover – The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern – Lilian Jackson Braun
44. Read a folklore book or book based on folklore
45. Read a book where the main character is a dancer – Someone Else’s Life – Lyn Liao Butler
46. Read a book by a new author
47. Read a book that involves a conspiracy
48. Free Space – Pick any book!
Level 5: Overachiever Club [2/12 complete]
49. Read one of the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2022 (any category)
50. Read a book where the main character is a villain or anti-hero
51. Read a book that has a title that is punny and/or alliterative – Murder’s No Votive Confidence – Christin Brecher
52. Read a “found family” story
53. Read a book that has a letter Q in the title
54. Read a book that has an illustrated cover – Naomi and Her Daughters – Walter Wangerin, Jr.
55. Read a book that takes place in at least two different decades
56. Read a book about an entrepreneur (real or fictional)
57. Read a book that takes place in Alaska
58. Read a book with the word “Justice” in the title
59. Read a book involving dinosaurs
60. Free Space – Pick any book!
The Logophile 