Everything I Read in July-August 2024
I finished reading eight books in July and August, bringing my total for the year up to 35. (A bunch of those were short stories.) One of those books was over 800 pages, and I’m thrilled that it didn’t take me all year to finish it, ha! I’m also excited to finally turn off airplane mode on my Kindle so I can grab some more library books. Of the eight books I finished, four were nonfiction and four were fiction—and I listened to all the nonfiction books on audio.
My 2024 reading goal on StoryGraph is to read 45 books and 13,000 pages. I’m only 10 books away from my goal for the year, so I’m feeling like I can go higher…exciting! If you’re also a reader, be sure to join the app and add me as a friend: my username is cottoncashmerecathair! And please share your favorite recent read(s) in the comments.
READ NEXT: Everything I Read in May-June 2024
Everything I Read in July-August 2024
Fiction
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
This is the second book in the Fourth Wing series (the third book is set to be released in January 2025) and the longest book I’ve read in a long time at over 800 (Kindle) pages! It took me a while to finish this book. I read other reviews that said it felt like the first half was one book and the second half a different book, and I agree with that. It was… a lot. It kept my attention and I still enjoyed it, though (minus all the deaths and gore—I could do without most of that ha). I’m not sure how I feel about the ending?! Hopefully I don’t forget everything that happened before Onyx Storm comes out.
Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
I loved Carley’s first book, Every Summer After, so now I’m going to read all of her books! Meet Me at the Lake is a standalone novel with a similar feel to the first book (set at a lake in Ontario, Canada, during the summer, and we meet the main character following a death in the family). I didn’t love this book quite as much as Carley’s first (and she’s also said this book was really difficult for her to write and didn’t come as naturally as her first or third) but it was still a sweet story and a fun romance to read in the summer.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
This book got high praise from a lot of people (including other people whose recommendations I trust), so I was excited to read it myself. It’s fast-paced, and while I thought it was good, I didn’t really like the main character all that much. I’m sure that she was written that way on purpose! It was thought-provoking, thrilling, and uncomfortable at times. I liked it as something different than my usual reads!
Verity by Colleen Hoover
Verity is the first Colleen Hoover book I’ve read. I’ve not really had a desire to read her other books (her writing seems to be polarizing), but I heard from multiple people that this was her best book so far. I’m not a big fan of scary, and this book definitely had spooky/creepy elements. I probably should have read it closer to Halloween. There are a ton of trigger warnings, so definitely read those before picking up this book. It was interesting to read this after reading Yellowface since they seemed to have a somewhat similar theme revolving around an author finishing another author’s work, but this book didn’t really go into the writing and publishing process as much as Yellowface. I’m not sure how I feel about this book overall, but the ending did have me questioning everything!
Audiobooks
Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
I read Mindy’s first book a couple of years ago and Why Not Me? has been on my library TBR since then. I wanted a quick and light listen, so this book was perfect! I also had wished I had listened to Mindy narrate her first book, so I made sure to listen to the audiobook this time around. I liked this book more than her first and loved that she had some of her friends narrate their parts. She’s funny, self-deprecating, and deeply relatable. I have never watched The Mindy Project, but she goes into detail about how that came to be if you’re a fan!
Outofshapeworthlessloser by Gracie Gold
I was a fan of Gracie when she competed in the Winter Olympics (and loved that she became friends with Taylor Swift) and didn’t understand everything that transpired after her success and falling out of the limelight. When I saw that she wrote a memoir, I wanted to listen to her tell her story. Much like I’m Glad My Mom Died, which I read a couple of years ago, Gracie’s book is raw and heartbreaking. She doesn’t go into great detail about some things (for instance, her relationship with Taylor), but she is vulnerable about her experiences in the skating world and how she is still grappling with her relationship with a fellow skater that took his life after sexual misconduct allegations. (Check trigger warnings for this book—there are quite a few.) I’m so proud of Gracie for telling her story even though I’m sure it was hard.
Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
This book also came highly recommended, and I also wanted to read it because I realized I’m really having a difficult time staying focused on one task at a time. I feel like I’m constantly jumping between tasks because if I don’t set everything down at that moment to do something, I’m going to forget about it. Stolen Focus is… sobering, to say the least. It might make you want to leave everything behind and live in the woods where there is no technology to distract you. I typically listen to audiobooks while doing busy work, and I realize the irony in me listening to this book while simultaneously working (and sometimes having to stop or rewind a couple of minutes if I realized I stopped paying attention). It’s thought-provoking and kind of terrifying. I definitely recommend it!
Wordslut by Amanda Montell
I read Amanda’s first book, Cultish, and really enjoyed it. I add all of her books to my TBR now! This time, I decided to listen to the audiobook version, and I also really enjoyed listening to her. She has a way of writing (and talking) about a topic that might sound more like a PhD dissertation but in a more approachable, conversational way. Wordslut is a fascinating take on the intersection between language and feminism and how they have evolved over the years. It’ll make you think!
