August 2020 Reading

Hi All,

I read a few more books this month - partly because I got a few books for my birthday that I was keen to read and partly thanks to participating in my first 24 hour readathon.

Book 1 - Ladies of Letters by Carole Hayman and Lou Wakefield

I absolutely loved this book. There were real laugh out loud moments which I find rare to find in books as a rule. I was keen to read this when I found it as I remember a few years ago Mum and I watching a few episodes on TV. I couldn’t remember much of the content but I know we found it funny and I ended up reading this book over just a couple of days. It’s a series of letters going back between two older ladies and these contain all the dramas that unfold in their lives. If you are looking for a light-hearted read, I would really recommend this.

Book 2 - Own The Day, Own Your Life by Aubrey Marcus

This was one of the books I got for my birthday and I’ll admit that I was almost put off by it’s size but it’s got about 100 pages of references and further reading so it wasn’t as long as it looks. It’s split into chapters about different facets of your life - sleep, exercise, diet, etc and contains a lot of tips on how to improve these to have the best day - to own your day. I wanted to implement so many things after reading this but slowly slowly. A great read if you really want to get in control of your day.

Book 3 - The Gypsy Madonna by Santa Montefiore

This was a nice read about a man who reflects back on his life, trying to understand the actions of his loved ones and what happened. I love the writing of Santa Montefiore, definitely one of my favourite authors. Her writing is so descriptive and you can picture exactly what is going on and get lost in the book. This wasn’t my favourite. Some of her books I’ve found gripping and I can’t wait to finish them. This one didn’t give my that feeling but it was still a nice story.

Book 4 - Babysitters at Shadow Lake by Ann M Martin

I read this as part of my reminiscing reading this books in the past. I ordered myself all the Babysitters Club Specials. I didn’t remember this book though. I love how these books are written by the different characters which let’s you experience the trip or adventure from several different people. I would really recommend the Babysitters Club series to a young person as I think everyone would be able to relate to at least one of the characters as they are all quite different.

Book 5 - The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir by Jennifer Ryan

I don’t even know where to start with this book. What I thought was going to be a light and fluffy book about a choir had more drama than any other book I’ve written in a long time. Surprise deaths, dark deeds, romances. This was a fantastic book and is definitely going to be read again! Written as letters and diary entries, again you see things from different characters points of view and really connect with some of them. Brilliant read!

Book 6 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I read this as part of a readathon and I loved it. I really enjoyed the films and I was worried the book might spoil them a bit. I don’t feel it did but I did feel there was a lot more in the book that could have been incorporated into the film. A great read. I feel you got to know some of the characters a bit better and understood the thoughts of Katniss more. I can’t wait to read the rest.

Book 7 - Starring the Babysitters Club by Ann M Martin

I didn’t remember this one either and I’m sure I had read this! It was a quick read, again one I read as part of the readathon. We saw a jealous side to one of the characters which I was almost pleased about. In some of the books I felt they were almost all happy and chirpy all the time so it was nice to see a darker human emotion in there.

I’ve a large pile to get through in September and need to catch up on quite a few to hit my 100 books in a year target!!!

Let me know what books you read this month and if you’ve read any of my list above :-)

Catch up soon x