As is usual in the summer holidays… I totally failed to follow my reading plan.

Here’s what I actually read in August –

From my list:

I read The Saga Of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue, which was a traditional Viking saga that i really loved… apart from the bits that were just lists of names and places that all sounded the same! My favourite things were the bits where a character played their part and then it said ‘and then X was no longer on this saga.’ It was great knowing you could just forget a person and their thread of story because they wouldn’t be coming back later!!

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas lived up to all the hype and I think it is going to make a great film if they are true enough to the book and that film is going to upset a lot of white men in America in a good way. It is a brutal but honest feeling depiction of police brutality in America towards the black community, where they shoot first and avoid asking questions after. It is shocking but in a way that needs to be shared. This book makes you think and makes you rage, in a good way.

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch was utterly adorable. A perfect summer read that broke your heart and then pieced it back together and left you with all the fluffy feels. Set in Italy, it was full of beautiful scenery and description, plenty of gelato and lots of heart. I really recommend it if you want an easy feel-good read.

Bedtime Stories: A Collection Of Erotic Fairy Tales by Jean Johnson (which was the Smut Club book – actual smut for once! Woo!) WELL! A full book club post will be coming about this one and… shall we just say it may be reminiscent of that other time I ranted about books with sex in. Slightly different rants to come but, well, it wasn’t my favourite erotic collection ever. I did not need an erotic version of The Frog Prince in my life for a start.

Aaaaand then I fell off my list. So I also read:

Floored by Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson and Eleanor Wood (yes, all of them!) This was great fun. Seven authors, each taking on one of each of the six main characters (and an omniscient narrator) made for a vibrant cast and I really loved the style of the book. It was a great story of friendship and the many different ways we come of age, and how sometimes the friends you only see every few years are sometimes your best ones despite the time and distance between meet-ups.

Deception by Teri Terry – Book #2 of the Dark Matter series (previously known as the Contagion series), the first of which I picked up at my first trip to YALC and really enjoyed, this carried on where the last book left off and I really enjoyed it. I hadn’t realised how much I read books set in America as effectively fantasy lands until reading this one set in the UK. The epidemic sweeping across the country means something to me, the scale means something – it adds an extra layer of emotion and understanding to the story that I hadn’t realised I didn’t get in books where it is set in a country that is really as alien to me as the moon. The only problem now is… I don’t have book 3.

Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban (Illustrated edition) by J. K. Rowling (and Jim Kay) – Obviously this is a re-read for me but it was a first for the kids. They were particularly fond of Buckbeak, and Sirius when he was a dog – they are definitely my kids! As soon as we finished they wanted more but we are waiting for the illustrated editions to come out so they have to wait for book four! In the mean time we have picked up the illustrated edition of Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them to tide us over!

I also read a couple more sections of The Book Of The Year by No Such Thing As A Fish.

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Okay, September reads time! This month, I have chosen:

The Invasion by Peadar O’Guilin – Book #2 of The Grey Land series I have had it since it came out and I can’t wait any longer! I loved The Call and am excited to jump back into the world.

Hurrah For Gin by Katie Kirby – I have loved all Katie’s things I have seen in the blog world and I am looking forward to reading the book version which I received for my birthday.

On Murder Considered As One Of The Fine Arts by Thomas De Quincey (Penguin Little Black Classics #4)  – This month’s Little Black Classic has an amazing title but I have no idea what to expect inside the pages!

Counting Stars by Keris Stainton – This is my borrowed book for September, I failed to read Augusts one. Oops.

How Do You Like Me Now by Holly Bourne – I love Holly Bourne’s YA fiction and I am looking forward to reading her novel aimed at adults. The blurb sounds awesome: ‘Turning thirty is like playing musical chairs. The music stops, and everyone just marries whoever they happen to be sitting on.’

Truth or Dare by Non Pratt – I am in a YA kind of mood at the moment so I pulled another one off my shelf that has been waiting patiently for me to pick it up for… quite a while.

The Book Of The Year by No Such Thing As A Fish – Still nibbling away at this one!

Smut Club Book – Whatever that may be!

(Forgot the Penguin classic and the No Such thing As A Fish Book off this. And we haven’t picked the Smut Club book yet so…)

What have you got on your summer TBR?