August was a more relaxing month, and I got more reading done. My mom is doing a lot better, and things have calmed down at home, although I used that time to take care of more of my own health issues. Reading is my number one coping skill, followed by cooking, although I tend to stick to quick meals. I’m definitely looking forward to cooler weather though, so I’m happy to welcome September. Here’s some of my August highlights:

• I gained 25 new blog followers, so I must be doing something right.
• August was my best month for views since I’ve started my blog, so hopefully things just keep getting better!
• I read 5 nonfiction books, including 2 memoirs and one on the topic of trans and nonbinary history. I have to say that Know My Name by Chanel Miller was a standout memoir.
• Diversity is becoming a regular feature in the books that I read, with books being written by and about Jewish, Black, LGBTQ, Asian, Indigenous, and Latinx people featuring heavily in my monthly reading for August.

Here’s my breakdown of monthly/cumulative totals for August:

August Totals:

• Books read: 42
• Books DNF’d: 2
• Pages read: 8,874
• Hours listened: 8 days, 1 hour, 53 minutes
• Average pages: 385.8
• Average hours listened: 10 hours, 12 minutes

Cumulative Averages:

• Days per book: 2.57
• Pages read per day: 106.98
• Books read per month: 42
• DNF’d books per month: 0.63

Genres Read in August:

• Biography/Memoir: 2
• Fantasy: 14
• General Fiction: 4
• Historical Fiction: 6
• History/War: 1
• Horror: 1
• Mystery/Suspense: 7
• Paranormal/New Age: 2
• Romance/Erotica: 4
• Science Fiction: 1

Backlist vs. New Releases:

• Backlist books: 18
• 2022 releases: 24

Fiction Vs. Nonfiction:

• Fiction: 37
• Nonfiction: 5

Format Read:

• Print: 12
• Digital: 11
• Audio: 19

Age Range:

• Adult: 28
• YA: 14

My favorite book of the month was The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum.

Here’s what I read in August:

• When We Were Bright and Beautiful by Jillian Medoff (ALC)
• Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott (ARC)
• A Broken Blade: The Halfling Saga by Melissa Blair (ALC)
• I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (ALC)
• The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope (ARC)
• The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings (ALC)
• The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman (ARC)
• Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young (ARC)
• The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum (ARC)
• What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera (What If It’s Us #1)
• Know My Name by Chanel Miller
• Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 

• The Speaker by Traci Chee (The Reader Trilogy #2)
• The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke
• Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese (ARC)
• Live and Let Grind by Tara Lush (A Coffee Lover’s Mystery #3) (ARC)
• Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione (Lords of Deliverance #1) (ARC)

• Hush Little Baby by R.H. Herron 
• Shutter by Ramona Emerson (ALC)
• Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore (Graceling Realm #3)
• The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber (Once Upon a Broken Heart #2) (ARC)
• Defend the Dawn by Brigid Kemmerer (Defy the Night #2) (ARC)
• Longshadow by Olivia Atwater (Regency Faerie Tales #3) (ARC)
• The Foghorn Echoes by Danny Ramadan (ALC)
• The Storyteller by Traci Chee (The Reader Trilogy #3)
• The Path of the Hedge Witch by Joanna van der Hoeven (ARC)
• Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Dr. Kit Heyam (ALC)
• Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake (Anna #1)
• Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
• Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (The Nsibidi Scripts #1)
• Tea Magic: Spells, Rituals, and Divination in Your Cup by Jenay Marontate (ARC)

• The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim (Six Crimson Cranes #2) (ARC)
• Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong (Foul Lady Fortune #1) (ARC)
• My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh 
• The Storyteller’s Secret by Sejal Badani

• The Neapolitan Sisters by Margo Candela (ALC)
• Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (ALC)

• A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson and Madeline L’Engle

• Bookish People by Susan Coll (ALC)
• The Girl Who Jumped by Matilda Swinney 

• Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim (Six Crimson Cranes #1) — reread
• Grounds for Murder by Tara Lush (A Coffee Lover’s Mystery #1) — reread
• Cold Brew Corpse by Tara Lush (A Coffee Lover’s Mystery #2) — reread
• Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London #1) — reread

How was your August reading? Drop your monthly wrap up link below!