July & August 2024 Books

What I've been reading...

I am in the process of moving house at the moment and all of my books apart from Remarkably Bright Creatures (which I’ve just finished), are in boxes. So, for my July & August books post, a photo of me reading as a child will have to do.

I’m so excited to run through all the books I read in July and August with you guys. I’d say it was a pretty good couple of months, because even though I didn’t read HUGE amounts (hello house move admin!), there are TWO five stars in here!

Onto my reviews, in the order that I read them:

The Women by Kristin Hannah ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am having to cast my mind back to the very beginning of July when I read this book on holiday in Crete. The story is historical fiction about a young woman named Frankie who serves as an army nurse during the Vietnam War. I particularly like reading historical fiction set in eras or situations I don’t know much about, as although it’s fiction, usually the author has done copious amounts of research and the facts remain true even though the characters are imagined, so I enjoy the educational aspect as well as the story. I am a big Kristin Hannah fan and thoroughly enjoyed reading this book on holiday, although it wasn’t as incredible as The Great Alone (my favourite of hers), it was an easy, evocative read with multiple love stories, visceral and detailed writing about the war and important messaging about recognising women as heroes.

I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was our July book club pick and I was rather pleased with myself for picking this one, as it’s made it onto my favourite books of all time list. It was one of those that’s been on my bookshelves for years, but I’d never got around to reading. Thank goodness I decided to read it (along with some of you too who also adored it!) because it is just the most wonderful, wonderful book. Cassandra, a 17 year old girl is living in a crumbling castle in Suffolk and the book is her journal she is writing. It made the book feel like she was personally filling me in on her life and I was completely invested from start to finish. The way Dodie Smith writes Cassandra’s voice is unbelievably cosy, relatable and captivating, I felt so sad when the book ended and would love to continue to read Cassandra’s journal forever. The story covers the family’s financial struggle, an intriguing love story (or two!) when the heirs to the castle arrive and the teenage girl experience. It really is one of the most enchanting books I’ve ever read.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy ⭐️⭐️⭐️

To say I struggled with this book is an understatement. It’s not long at all and took me a full two weeks to read! It tells the story of a father and son trying to make their way across a post-apocolytpic landscape where danger is around every corner and there is virtually nothing to eat or anywhere safe to sleep. The boys mother committed suicide in order to escape how terrible their world had become and the father is determined to get his son to safety. Now, I know this sounds very intriguing, but I found this book incredibly dull. I am all for a slow, quiet book, but only if I enjoy the writing style and with this one I just found it too repetitive and blunt. I gave it three stars in the end, because I did enjoy parts of it, particularly the demonstration of the power of a father’s love and the way the author confronted the theme of death, but I won’t be reading this one again in a hurry. Controversial, as I know it is a much loved book, it just wasn’t for me.

The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After reading Betty and adoring it more than I can put into words and now this, I can confirm Tiffany McDaniel is one of my favourite authors of all time. This book is set in the scorching height of summer in a small town in Ohio, where a little boy (Sal) who claims to be the devil turns up after a man named Autopsy Bliss summoned him. Sal ends up living with Autopsy and his family. The story of Sal’s time in Ohio is told from the voice of Fielding Bliss (Autopsy’s son) many years later and we know things can’t have ended in a good way, as Fielding mentions how damaged he is from the past. However, I never imagined it would end the way it did. I feel like I can’t say too much more about the story, as I don’t want to spoil it for you guys, but trust me when I say it is heartbreaking, powerful and beautifully written. I cried for half an hour after finishing it.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was our August book club pick and we had a very interesting discussion about it earlier this week during our book club zoom meeting. Some loved it, others didn’t and some were fairly indifferent (I sat in the latter camp). I did give it 4 stars, as I thought it was a unique story, it made me cry at the end and I fell in love with Marcellus (the octopus). I also thought the depiction of themes such as grief, loss, abandonment and ageing were really touching. However, I found it quite slow going in the first half and it just wasn’t a stand-out book for me. The story is about an elderly woman, Tova, who lives in a small town of Sowell Bay, Washington State and thirty years ago, lost her only son to a boating accident. She works as a cleaner at the local aquarium where she befriends a giant pacific octopus who is our second narrator (I particularly enjoyed his parts). The third narrator is Cameron, who was abandoned by his mother at a young age, lives with his Aunt and now thirty years later is trying to find his father. Spoiler alert, the stories end up coming together, but I won’t tell you how! It is a feel-good and sweet mystery. I just didn’t fall head over heels for this one.

Let me know in the comments what you’ve been reading recently and don’t forget to use the ‘chat’ section of this Substack to talk all things books!

Lots of love,

Tanya xx