August 2022 Reads

What a month of reading! From fun page turners to yet another attempt at the dreaded (for me!) short story collection to a book that I think will be an all time favorite… read on for more details.

The Boys Club by Erica Katz- The Boys Club was perfect for beach reading. I read this one in two days on our annual trip to the Jersey Shore. I never dreamed of working in a big law firm but this read made me very glad for that!

The Trees by Percival Everett- Wow. I am reading as many of the Booker Prize Long List books as I can and this one was fantastic. I would have never picked it up were it not for the long list and I am so glad I did. If you were ever unsure about today’s police brutality being the modern day form of lynching, read this book. I have no doubt in the connection anymore. Also- I highly recommend this on audio. I think I might have missed the dark humor in print.

The Caretakers by Amanda Bestor-Siegal- Fast paced, characters to both love and hate and a mystery- my perfect combo for beach reading.

The Colony by Amanda Magee- The Colony is another Booker Long List read and another book that I would never have picked up without the list and the recommendation from fellow Fiction Matters readers. This is a book about art, language and family that I will be thinking about for a long time.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan- This is another Booker book… I really enjoyed this read and it definitely got me thinking despite its short length. I do recommend reading this one in the winter if you are at all a seasonal reader.

Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda- I am determined to find a way to like short stories- I am being very stubborn about this and thanks to the Fiction Matters bookclub, I sort of enjoyed this collection :) I was also reminded while reading that story structure in different cultures can be different from the structure that I am used to and remembering this helped me to enjoy these stories a bit more…

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry- I LOVED this book and if possible you should listen to it on audio. I am hesitant to say anything else because I am afraid I will not describe it well enough. I like to wait a little bit after finishing a book to be sure but as of now, I am pretty sure that A Fine Balance will go on my favorites of all time list…