Honestly? It’s the end of August already? I do not know where this summer has gone! Today marks the end of the fun 20 Books of Summer reading challenge from Cathy over at 746books and many thanks to her for putting this one together again. I enjoyed challenging myself and I did wind up reading a lot. Shall we see how I did?
Of the original 20 books I posed, I read 18 of them. (You can see the original post here.) I did not read The Thirteenth Tale off my print TBR shelf. I started reading it and realized I had read it two years ago already. I also did not get to Tidelands but that will stay on the TBR list for some point in the future.
I did, however, replace The Thirteenth Tale with The Trouble of Witches, and in addition, I read two ARCs that were not on the original list – Bitter Magic and Tidepool – so I wound up with a total of 21 books completed in the last 3 months, and I’m counting that as a win. I did finish up A Witch in Time last night, just sneaking in under the wire, but I owe y’all a book review on that one, which will happen later this week.
Winners from the group included:
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – one of my favorites of the year.
- The House in the Cerulean Sea, which I adored and delighted to have found this author.
- Where the Crawdads Sing, which I finally got around to reading after several friends said I’d love it. They were right.
Disappointments included:
- An Ember in the Ashes. Loads of folks loved this YA Fantasy; it just wasn’t for me.
- The Hummingbird, which many reviewers found uplifting and meaningful but which I found disjointed and neither of those things.
I’m looking forward to the Fall Into Reading Challenge that kicks off tomorrow. (You can read about it in my post here.) I’ve got two ARCs on the list for that one, which I’m excited about, and will be doubling-up on the Completely Melanie TBR Knockout challenge as well for these 3 months. I’m also hoping to check off several books on the virtual and print TBR bookshelves as well.
Do you have any reads you’re excited about for the next month or two?
Knit One, Spin Too 
Congrats on the challenge. I’d say it was a win. 🙂 I hadn’t heard of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and will check it out. Both The House in the Cerulean Sea and Where the Crawdads Sing are in my kindle waiting for a free moment. I just need to shove them to the top of the list and enjoy. Happy Reading.
Oh Addie! I loved her so much. Definitely “shove those” up the list. They were both great (although completely different) reads. I thought TJ Klune did an amazing job with the character voices in the Cerulean Sea. My dad sent that to me with a “short list this” note so I knew it was going to be good. His picks always are.
Will do. I’ve seen so many great reviews and I know I’m going to love them. 🙂 “Best of” reads are always a treat.
I really want to read Addie LaRue, I’ve heard great things about it! Now I just need to find more time… 😉
I am still holding out for Hermione’s Time Turner. And oh yes – Addie. I love her so much. One of the best books I’ve read this year. I still re-run passages from it inside my head. It was THAT.GOOD.
Ooh, awesome!
I love a reading challenge and I’ve enjoyed reading your reviews. Addie LaRue is definitely going on my list! I’ve been trying to keep up with my own reading challenge this year and I’m just about on track but finding time seems to get harder, I’m sure I remember reading several books a week in my youth! Mind you there was no Internet and no knitting… I look forward to reading about your next challenge, especially graphic novels as I’ve been getting more into those this year and I’d like to see what you pick.
Thank you! I do hope you pick up and enjoy reading Addie. VE Schwab has another book coming out this fall and I want to read her “dark London” series too. I like the fact that her books don’t really fit into one simple genre. I have a few graphic novels that were recommended to me, but I don’t read much (any?) of those so I’ll see what calls to me the most when I’m ready to start that. I read Hellboy a year or two ago in that format, and I’ve also read a couple by Neil Gaiman. I enjoyed the latter more than the former, but I’m trying to keep an open mind. 🙂
Congrats on your challenge. 21 books is not bad at all. I finished 14 books this summer and started a 15th, so I’m also quite happy with the result!
Reading challenges are such great motivators. You read some big books this summer too; I’ve really enjoyed your reviews.
i still need to, and can’t wait to read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue!!
YES! You definitely need to read that one!