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Reading List for August

August is back-to-school month around here, and I think we’re all very much ready for that. Jona always loves school and seeing his friends, Violet could not be more excited for kindergarten, Aaron is ready to get back to teaching high schoolers and not wrangling our kids, and I am looking forward to having a quiet house again! Plus, after a busy month of a fun vacation to the lake, followed by (no fun) getting COVID, a regular routine is welcome.

Here are the books I plan to read next month, my August reading list:

What to Read in August

The Measure by Nikki Erlick. A mom I met from Violet’s soccer team asked if I wanted to join her book club (which, OF COURSE I DO!), and as the newest member I get to choose the next book. This is what I picked, because I hear it gives you a lot to talk about. It’s about an imagined future in which every adult receives a wooden box on their doorstep, and the string inside the box represents the length of your life. The story centers around eight characters, and the decisions they make about their boxes and how their lives are changed. I can’t wait to read it.

Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett. I loved Rabbit Cake by this same author, so I was excited to read this when it came out. When we went to Colorado in June I picked it up at Tattered Cover bookstore there but I’ve had so many library holds to get through it’s taken me a while to get to. It’s about family and friendship, with enough strangeness mixed in that makes me intrigued yet not put off. I’ve heard wonderful things about it.

Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall. This is my nonfiction personal growth pick for the month, and it’s one I’ve had on my list for a long time. Feminism and women’s rights are something I’ve been passionate about for a long time, but I know that my own perspective is limited. This essay collection is a critique of mainstream feminism and explores how race, class, ability, sexuality, and more intersect with gender.

Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould. I haven’t heard much about this novel that was published in 2020, but I remember hearing about it on Sarah’s Bookshelves Live a while ago and it sounds right up my alley. It’s about a woman who moves to New York in the early 2000s to try to gain success as a songwriter, and ends up falling for a captivating musician. Fifteen years later she’s still in New York but has a teenage daughter, who is endlessly curious about her father. I love a mother-daughter story, and I’m intrigued by the music element woven through this one.

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow. This sounds like a complicated family story that tackles themes of racism, inheritance, faith, and community—basically, it sounds right up my alley. It has a gorgeous, striking cover, and when I first heard about it on an episode of All the Books! last year, I added it to my TBR immediately.

The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton. If Memphis is the fiction version of catnip for me, then consider The Sun Does Shine the nonfiction version. It is Hinton’s own memoir of his experience being arrested and imprisoned for 30 years for a crime he didn’t commit, and his journey to survive prison, sustain hope, and also fight for justice. Just reading the description of Hinton’s memoir gives me all the feels.

What are you hoping to read this month?

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