Another month has come and gone! August was jam-packed with back to school activities, but I still managed to read 10 books, although they probably had a lower average page count than other months.

Here’s what I read in August.

One True Loves – Taylor Jenkins Reid (library; paperback) – This is a sweet story and excellent palate cleanser, summer read, or just something to escape the world with. I give it about 3.75/5 stars. Pages 85-93 are the most beautiful and poignant words I’ve read in a while. The whole story is worth it for that piece.

Lord, Teach Us To Pray – Andrew Murray (kindle) – I read this because my church did a 6 week series on prayer by the same name, and I’d had the book in my queue for a while. Andrew Murray is one of my favorite writers. I think I underlined something on every page.

The Lying Game – Ruth Ware (kindle, from Netgalley) – This is a good suspense novel that keeps you guessing.  I really liked one of Ware’s books, then really disliked another. This one was good for what it is, but a little formulaic, so if you’re only reading 20 books a year, pass on this one.

Falling Free: Rescued from the Life I Always Wanted – Shannan Martin (kindle) – a Christian-themed memoir from a popular blogger who I don’t follow.  It was interesting, but I had trouble drawing any sort of clear applications.

The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance – Ben Sasse (library; hardback) – This book is fascinating! I must admit that I skimmed some of it because I lost track of time and it was overdue and I hate library fines.

Behold the Dreamers – Imbulo Mbue (kindle) – I’d been meaning to read this one for a while, but then Oprah picked it for her book club, which meant it took a long time for my hold to come through on Overdrive.  I liked it, but it’s not the best immigrant story I’ve read this year.  Maybe I would have liked it more before all the hype.

American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land – Monica Hesse (audiobook) – This is the true story of a Bonnie and Clyde pair of arsonists who set nearly a fire a day over a span of several months in Accomack County, Virginia. Hesse covered the arsons for the Washington Post, and tells the story as if it were happening in real time.  I loved it!

The Stars Are Fire – Anita Schreve (library; hardback) – this book is set in Maine in the 1940s.  A summer drought is made worse by a series of serious wildfires that ran up the Maine coastline and left many small towns in shambles.  This novel follows the plight of one young woman trying to save her young family.  It was an enjoyable and quick read, though I could have done without some of the plot points.

Humility – Andrew Murray (kindle) – I should probably just continually read and re-read this one.

Hush (Eishes Chayil) – Eishes Chayil is a pseudonym for an unnamed writer. The word is Hebrew for “woman of valor”.  Eishes Chayil tells the dark story of rape and incest in her Orthodox Jewish community – a crime even her parents tried to cover up for years.  This was a difficult read for a book sold as YA.  I appreciated the story but my total ignorance about the culture made reading it a laborious task as the customs and vocabulary were completely foreign to me.

I will most likely reach my goal of 100 books sometime in September or October, so I am way ahead of schedule.  My goal for the next two months is to only read books I already own but haven’t read yet.  If a library hold comes in, I will read it, but I will not spend any money on books.

What have you been reading lately?