Ahhh . . . am I the only one who is kind of shocked half the year is gone already?? I mean, Christmas is less than five months away. Put in those terms, it is downright scary.
This month was kind of a high/low kind of month. The high was that my husband and I traveled to Scotland for his birthday. That was an amazing trip. Scotland has some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. I would love to go back there. Fingers crossed I will go back one day!
The low was that Naples, Italy was having serious power outage issues. That, coupled with temperatures over 100 degrees, made for a very miserable time. Apparently, Italians don't typically use the air conditioning this much. But with the heat wave, everyone is using it and the power company hasn't really been able to handle all the usage. So there have been quite a few times where the power went out. The day after we got back from Scotland, the power was out all day long. I was so miserable that I didn't even want to read. Yeah, that's pretty miserable. But the power hasn't gone out at all this week (a first for this month!) so I am really hoping it has been fixed.
I have gotten a lot of reading done this month. I read a total of 21 books this month.
Favorite Book Read This Month:
Without a doubt, it was The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Why did it take me so long to read this book? It was one of the most beautiful and most devastating books that I have ever read.
Reviews Posted This Month:
5 word mini reviews for Girl On the Train, In A Handful of Dust, Alice and the Fly and Hollow City
A Million Miles Away by Lara Avery
Serafina And The Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
Hyacinth Girls by Lauren Frankel
Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica
What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi
Awake by Natasha Preston
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand
You And Me And Him by Kris Dinnison
Bright Lights, Dark Nights by Stephen Emond
Top Ten Lists:
Top Ten Favorite Books of 2015 (so far)
Last Books That Came Into My Possession
Top Ten Diverse Reads
Top Ten Books with Fellow Book Nerds
Other Posts This Month:
Bedtime Book Tag!
Discussion: ways that I procrastinate
Check out this post for some pictures of my Scotland trip
I put out a request for some beach read recommendations
I talked about some of my favorite books being turned into movies.
How was your month? What was your favorite book read this month?
That's a great reading month. I haven't read The Book Thief but it's one of those books that keeps popping up for me. Have a great week :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Maree. You have a great week too. And read The Book Thief! :)
DeleteYAY I AM SO GLAD YOU LOVE THE BOOK THIEF TOO!! I only read it last year, so you're not that shamefully behind. hehe. Oh oh but I agree CHRISTMAS IS TOO SOON. (I am the grinch who hates christmas. gah.) And I think the year just needs to settle down already. -_- It's going too fast.
ReplyDeleteCait, oh yes this year is SPEEDING BY. WTH?!? I just need it to slooooow down.
DeleteI've actually not read The Book Thief, but did see the movie. I know the book is supposed to be amazing!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed Scotland and sorry Italy was a bit disappointing... maybe next time?! :-)
Oh yes Deborah, the book really is amazing. I really want to see the movie! And actually, I am living in Naples, Italy. My husband does work for the navy base here. So I will get to see more of Italy when the heat dies down. :)
DeleteNo AC + 100 degrees= bad. That would not be fun. Hope things cool down a bit... we're just starting to get hot weather here. It's been pretty mild til now. Your scotland trip looks nice- liked the pics (especially of St, Andrews, and the bridges!).
ReplyDeleteHave a great week, and nice looking books this week.
Greg, thanks so much Greg. Scotland was so AMAZING! Argh, you are so lucky that your weather has been mild. Where do you live? I am just thankful to have a pool in the meantime. :)
DeleteI guess I need to get read The Book Thief - it has been on my TBR for a while. Looks like you had a great month - 21 books is a lot!!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Grace you really must! I think The Book Thief has been on my Kindle for the past year. Be prepared to be devastated.
DeleteSounds like most of the trip was fun. I couldn't survive where I live without AC. Looks like you have some awesome books this week. I spy a few I'll be checking out:)
ReplyDeletehere's my Sunday Post - http://fuonlyknew.com/2015/08/02/whats-new-on-my-bookshelf-119-and-the-sunday-post/
Yeah, I loved The Book Thief too. The writing was fantastic, right?Oh, Cynthia, I feel your pain - we've got crazy high temps over here, and yes, the power went out a few times. We've got a generator, but it went kaput too. I called the maintenance guy .... two weeks later, I'm still waiting for him to show up. Yup. This summer has REALLY tried my patience.
ReplyDeleteRamona, oh man you are so right. I am so ready for the end of summer. I miss the cold! Of course, living by the coast means it never really gets too cold during the winter.
DeleteLooks like you had a great month too Cynthia! 21 books read!? Wow! I wish I could indulge like you friend :P I'm curious though, did you read Fairest and Rook already? My hubby just purchased Rook for me as an early birthday present :D
ReplyDeleteI see that you read Serafina and the Black Cloak too! I deeply enjoyed this one. I need to read your thoughts! Also, if it is any consolation, we've been having terrible weather here too. Last week, we reached temperatures of up to 116 degrees! Gah!
Thanks Claudia! And yes, I have read Fairest and Rook. I absolutely loved Fairest. Marissa Meyer somehow managed to get me to feel sorry for Levana. Rook took a few chapters to get into, but I ended up enjoying it as well. The world building was awesome and I loved the characters!
DeleteI really enjoyed both the book and the movie Book Thief! I really want to read Black-Eyed Susan but I cannot get it over here in the US so far! I'm really disappointed by that. I'm going to have to try and get it on Kindle maybe.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
Sunday Post
Tammy, oh that is so disappointing about Black-Eyed Susans. That was a great mystery. I loved it. And I really need to watch the movie The Book Thief now. I am sure it is amazing.
DeleteOmg, don't remind me where we are in the year. Ohhhh ... I need a trip to Scotland. I need a trip to Italy too. I'm used to 100+ temps and no air conditioning, so I'm good. :D You read some really good books. I loved This is Not a Test.
ReplyDeleteChristy. oh yes This Is Not A Test was so good! I need to read the sequel now.
DeleteSounds like you've had some great adventures despite the power outage. I've always wanted to visit Scotland. It looks like such a beautiful place. I've been to Italy, but never traveled to Naples. You acquired some nice books. I also read Black-Eyed Susans. I kinda liked it. Hope you did as well!
ReplyDeleteTiffany, yes I did enjoy Black-Eyed Susans. It was a great mystery! Scotland was amazing. And living in Naples has made me appreciate it. It is a great city with amazing pizza!
Delete21 books is awesome. .I so want to visit Scotland and Naples but eww..I need A/C.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kimba. Yeah, Naples is a lovely city but don't ever visit during the summer. It's too hot! :)
DeleteYou did so well in July! I can't say the same for me because most of my books were not from my TBR pile. *sobs* Anyway, I hope you'll have an even better August!
ReplyDeleteThanks Joy! I know the sorrows of not reading from your TBR pile. Every time I clear off three, I add five. Ha
DeleteI have to confess that I haven't read The Book Thief yet. I know I need to - I don't know why I've been waiting so long either!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Nicole, I knew it would be super heavy so that is probably why it took me so long. It is devastating, but so beautiful!
Delete21 books is really impressive. The lack of power is not so impressive! I would go crazy without power so I can understand why you felt so miserable without it. Hope August is great month for you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Trish! The heat is bad enough without adding a lack of AC to that. I hope it gets better too. :)
Delete21 books. That is great! The Book Thief is such a great book.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Sigourney!
DeleteA busy month, lots of great books, I have yet to read the Book Thief, I must get it on my list!
ReplyDeleteHeather | Random Redheaded Ramblings
Oh yes, you must Heather! It is one of my new all time favorite books. :)
DeleteScotland! I am so jealous!!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that very few Europeans use A/C. I feel horrible that they are having such an issue with the heat and the electricity. I live in Texas, and we have 100-108 degree weather from June to September, and I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.
YAH THE BOOK THIEF! That is one of my tops books. I loved it!
Lyn, ugh summers in Texas sound crazy! And it's more that Italians don't use AC very often, not really Europeans. Italians have this thing where they think if you use too much AC, then you can get sick. These people wear coats and scarves when it's 70 degrees out. Crazy! And yes, The Book Thief is now one of my favorite books EVER!!! It is amazing.
Delete3 of those books you read I loved. A Court of Thorns and Roses, Fairest and Go Set A Watchman. I saw The Book Thief and loved it but have yet to read the book, I heard it's better though.
ReplyDeleteHappy August reading!
Fredamans, I have not seen the movie The Book Thief, but the book was AMAZING!!! I do really want to see the movie now. :)
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