August 2022 Reading

I had this idea that I would blow through a bunch of the nonfiction on my to-read shelf in August.  I was wrong.  Out of my August total of seven books, only two were nonfiction and one of them was a group project.  The other five were fiction.

 

Nonfiction first.  The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron is a book I had read before, but over the last months I have been reading it again with a group of lovely humans.  It is not as mind-opening as it was the first time I read it, but there is a lot of good stuff in there about how to recognize and nurture creativity in ourselves.  (There is also a workbook, right there in the picture, but I used the book itself.  Because I don’t like to write in workbooks and wreck them, obviously.)

 

I had been meaning to read some bell hooks for a while now and the moment came when I was hanging out in a bookstore in Davis.  All About Love is an interesting and challenging book, beautifully written, deeply felt, and well-researched.  Highly recommend for these challenging times.

 

I love Ann Cleeves and I was excited to discover that she has not one, but TWO series I have not read yet.  A Day in the Death of Dorothea Cassidy was a pleasure to read.  I may have spent my piled-up gift certificates on a bunch more of the Stephen Ramsey mysteries.

 

Gail Carriger is a good human (yes, I know her in person!) and a very fun writer.  I enjoyed Etiquette and Espionage for the powerful women and the hijinks.  I may have spent the rest of the piled-up gift certificates on the rest of the series.

 

T. Kingfisher is another of my favorite writers.  I read three of her books this month.  Nettle and Bone is a fairy tale and incredibly satisfying in its darkness and its well-done characterizations.  It is so reassuring to read books in which there is a lot to overcome, but the characters get it together to triumph.  Paladin’s Grace and Paladin’s Strength follow the adventures of two paladins of a god who has died.  Making meaning in a complicated world is a worthy quest and both protagonists rise to the occasion.  The books are funny and sweet and dark and complex.  Highly recommend.

 

Summer total:  17

Year to date total:  68