Happy August! No – wait – AUGUST?! I call shenanigans. Weren’t we all just together, chatting about July? What the hell happened to that month?

READY OR NOT

That’s right, reader friends. August is upon us! For my little piece of the world, that means new neighbors coming in as the college kids next door swap out. It also means a quieter neighborhood as students return to school and parents resume normal work schedules after summer travels. Plus, August brings with it the first promise of fall – not so much with cooler temperatures, but with countdowns from everyone I know of how soon we can expect cooler temperatures 😂

I always hated going back to school after a fabulous summer of reading and pretending to be a mermaid (ICYMI – I grew up in South Florida and never willingly left the water). It wasn’t until I got to college that I began to look at each new fall semester with eager eyes.

These days, I think I’d miss the back to school scene altogether if it weren’t for the sales on fresh notebooks. (Sadly, the kind I prefer don’t usually go on sale because #notebooksnob) There’s something a little sad about growing up and out of those patterns. On the other hand, it signals change – who knows what new adventures are waiting?

SPEAKING OF ADVENTURE

Isn’t adventure one of the best things about books? Every time you start a new one, you get to set off in a new direction. You might have an idea of where the story will take you, but you can never quite predict who you’ll be as you take the journey or how it might change you. And isn’t it lovely that no two readers experience a novel in the same way?

JULY RECAP

Be proud, reader friends. I finally, finally made some progress with that backlog of books I’d been stacking up! That’s right – my plan to play catch-up in July went swimmingly (see what I did there? kinda summer-punny, right?)

Finished:

1. The Republican War Against Women by Tanya Melich
2. What’s the Matter With Kansas by Thomas Frank
3. Warnings and Wildfires by Autumn Jones Lake
4. The BadRedhead Media 30-Day Book Marketing Challenge by Rachel Thompson – currently available on Kindle Unlimited

**Please note that anywhere I’ve listed free/Kindle Unlimited availability is accurate at the time of this post, but may not reflect current status or offers if you’re reading this at a later date**

My ratings and/or reviews for the books I finished are up on Goodreads. Go check them out and be sure to add me as a friend over there! You can also add or rate The Black Wolf Series if you’re so inclined (and I’d totally appreciate it).

SO, WHAT ABOUT AUGUST?

I’m making a slight change in my ongoing list by moving two books to inactive status (seems very fancy and legit, right?). I’ve mentioned before that I have a tendency to fall way behind on books that teach new methods or share new thoughts on writing as a craft. I need more time and brainspace to absorb the minute details and learn the lessons they offer. It seems silly to keep them on my regular list when I get more benefit from reading them as they apply to my needs. So, these two are officially on the back burner:

1. The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller by John Truby
2. A Writer’s Guide to Active Setting by Mary Buckham 

TAKING THE STAGE

Here are the books that are stepping into the spotlight for August:

1. Awakened by Brenda K. Davies
2. All Fall Down by Christine Pope
3. This Kitten’s Got Curves by Alma Black – I’m on a new quest to read books by some of my online author friends, and this is where I’m starting. Yay!
4. Blackout by Dannika Dark – I’ll add the Amazon link for this one in September since it’s not available yet!

What about you? Feel free to comment below and let me know what you’re reading this month or tell me about the best book you’ve read recently. I can’t wait to hear!