Lifestyle

August Reads

by jayerockett |

August was a good reading month for me, so instead of labouring out a bunch of giant reviews, I figured I’d do a quick round up of the most notable reads instead, just enough for you to decide whether or not to read it yourself!

The Bone Clocks – David Mitchell

Now technically, I read this in July whilst I was on holiday, but I had to reread it in August because I felt like I missed something. This was a wildly ambitious book, split into six sections each narrating a different part of Holly Sykes’ life, as told by the characters who cross into it, and each written in a startlingly different style.

I’m not going to go into too much detail but in essence, this book shouldn’t work but it does. It’s a strange hybrid genre of half real-life fiction, and half fantasy. It’s bizarre and strange, you go through the book wondering when Mitchell will really reveal what’s going on, and yet, it never really feels like you get the full view.

In essence, this book is weird, long, and kind of confusing. But I loved every minute of reading it, because Mitchell is a genius story teller.

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

I picked up this book because everyone in the world seemed to be obsessed with it, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Whilst Kondo makes some valid points throughout the book, I was put off by the fact I think she might be a bit nuts. There was only so much of her talking about thinking of how socks feel, and thanking my shoes for their hard work that I could take.

Eleanor and Park – Rainbow Rowell

Not one to shy away from a good YA Fiction, this received rave reviews all around so I added it to my reading list.

It might not be the most unique plot, but there was something about this book that really tugged at my heartstrings. Maybe it was the personable writing style, but I really felt like I connected with both Eleanor and Park as characters, and this book really captured something beautiful about young love. The way Rowell encapsulates emotion and translates that to words is just beautiful.

“Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.”

Landline – Rainbow Rowell

After reading Eleanor and Park I was itching for a bit more of Rowell’s writing style, so I picked up Landline. This isn’t a YA novel, and it definitely feels a lot more grown up. I didn’t identify with it as much as I connected to Eleanor and Park, but I loved the storyline and still enjoyed Rowell’s writing style. She writes a good book. 

Every Day – David Levithan

One more YA before we turn in, this is an interesting concept for a plot. Written from the point of view of ‘A’, who wakes up every morning in a different body, not only does it make for an intriguing storyline, it also opens up an interesting discussion about gender, as ‘A’ identifies as genderless. It’s a different and intriguing read, and another one that gave me all the feels. Most importantly, it makes you realise the value of one single day, and how you shouldn’t waste a second of it.
What have you read recently?