Monthly Wrap Up – August 2020

This is my first full month blogging and I’m really happy with the way things are going so far! This month I also began reading two books at a time rather than my usual one book at a time, which has been working out much better than I thought it would. 

In August I launched two different types of monthly content of my Top Five Friday and Thoughtful Thursday. If you have any suggestions on topics you’d like to see me cover in these posts, please let me know. In addition to that, I also became a Blackwell’s affiliate! This means that any Blackwell’s link you see on my blog (including the banners) is my affiliate link, at no extra cost to you I will earn a small commission on any order placed using my affiliate link. I would really appreciate it if you check it out for your next book buying spree!

Books read this month

This month I read a total of 16 books (9 physical books and 7 ebooks)

1. Go by Kazuki Kaneshiro (ARC)
2. Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
3. The Warlow Experiment by Alix Nathan
4. The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
5. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
6. The Bridge of Little Jeremy by Indrajit Garai (Review Request)
7. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
8. The Last Qumranian by Joe Basile (Review Request)
9. Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami
10. The Hungry Ghost by H.S. Norup (ARC)
11. Spark by Naoki Matayoshi (ARC)
12. The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
13. Marilia, The Warlord by Morgan Cole (ARC)
14. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
15. A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
16. The Connection by David Billingsley (Review Request)

Favourite books read this month

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
As you can tell I’ve still been on a Greek myth retelling kick with this entry! I loved hearing a story from the Trojan war that I have never considered before, from both slave and warrior. The characters are wonderfully conflicted and developed which made it difficult not to fall for them. This novel captures everything that is great about Greek mythology and isn’t afraid to get violent. 

Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami
As I’ve mentioned before, Murakami is one of my favourite authors, so it’s not really a shock to see his novel on my favourites for this month! If you have never read a Murakami novel before this is a great one to start with to understand the brilliance of magic realism, whilst also uncovering a family mystery. 

The Hungry Ghost by H.S. Norup
This novel was such a refreshing read with unique characters and a fascinating tale steeped in Malay culture and superstition. What stood out the most for me about this novel were the characters, especially Freja the protagonist. Norup excellently captured the voice of her child characters and developed them beautifully. This novel is released on the 24 September 2020.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
This novel was such a magical experience for me, not only is this novel a favourite for this month but it is one of my favourites in general. I don’t think any review I can write on this book (although one is coming) would do it justice. Morgenstern masterfully weaves together several different narratives and narrative styles which was delightful.