 Hello friends, welcome back to my channel if you're new here, I'm Megan and today we're talking about all the books I read in August. I, guys, Britain, England, UK had no summer. We had no summer and just, just, just as I come to terms with like, okay, fall's gonna happen, I'm gonna embrace autumn, I'm gonna embrace the coziness, we, it's hot as f... it's so hot. So, there's that. If I start sweating, mind your business. And I have been quite ill the past couple days, so if I look, my glands, my throat glands are very swollen and it's quite painful to talk. So I've put the camera quite high to hide it, so hopefully you won't see. Just forgive me if I don't seem as exuberant, but I'm gonna try to. I like chatting to you, you kind of cheer me up. So, we're gonna chat about all the books I read in August. August was a pretty good reading month. I read a lot of books that I'd been really excited to read, books that I'd been meaning to get around to for a long time. And of course we're gonna go through my statistics and the first part of the suggestion, then we'll get into disappointments, surprises, and hits. I also, in between that, I missed out the part where I will go through every book and tell you their rating. So shall we just get into it? We've got nothing else, you know, to wait for. It was a pretty good month, let's chat about it. I actually generally feel like I'm on holiday. Like, it's so hot. Just as I accept autumn is coming and like, getting the mood, I'm supposed to be doing my full TBR next week. I can't do it in these circumstances. Are you tough enough for the job? No. So in August, I read 12 books. That's pretty much my average. I'd say 11 to 13 a month is pretty much where I sit. But I need to up that a little bit in these last couple months of the year. Because, like, a lot of videos I want to do. So wish me luck on that. Because yeah, we've got to speed things up a little bit. I read 4,300 pages. Total nice round number. I don't know if I've ever heard like a round number like that before. Average pages per day is 139, and average pages per book is 358, which is longer for me. Sometimes that averages out if I read some novellas or something, that averages out to like 200 and something, 220, sometimes it's been before. But it was all pretty much like longer novels, bar maybe one book this month. So that's what it averages out to. My average rating was a 3.66. That has been like, my average rating the past couple months pretty much. Since I've been in this kind of five star drought, where I haven't had many five stars since the first couple months of the year, that's kind of what my average rating has hovered around. And the average time a book spent on my TBR was six months. Let's get into the pie charts. Let's see what stats we've got here. So in terms of genres, I read two contemporary, one fantasy, two historical, two horror, one mystery, one romance, two sci-fi and one thriller. That might be some of the best split of genres I've had in a while. That's such a good variation of genres. Oh my God. I like reading a good variation of genres. So yeah, that makes me happy. In terms of ratings, I had one one star, one 2.5, two threes, four fours, three 4.5s and one five. I don't give out a lot of 4.5s. I was looking at this actually live with my patrons the other day and I think I've only given out one of the 4.5s this whole year. But for some reason this month there was quite a few books that were like just almost a five but not quite that. You've been very very harsh. Nice to meet you Kelly. Which is annoying because I want more fives. But I have to be honest, you know, it would be better for me if I gave them fives but I can't lie. They are 4.5s. In terms of how I read the books, two audio books, six were physical and four I had the physical and the audio book. In terms of audience, 11 were adult and one was YA. I really have not been reading a ton of YA this year. I'm sorry. I really switched to more adult stuff which has been a big shift in my reading. But I feel like I'm also like rating stuff lower nowadays. So maybe I should read more YA. I don't know. Maybe it's an issue. In terms of series stats, one was a companion novel and 11 were standalone. So I didn't really make any series progress this month. But at least I didn't start any. We must be grateful for small messages. In terms of where the book was from, three were from Book of the Month. One was gifted, seven were books I bought myself and one was from the publisher. In terms of author status, three were debuts, three were new to me and six were authors I read from before. That is a split I usually like to keep. I like to have half authors I haven't read from before be that debut or new to me and half authors that I have read before and I'm reading more of their backlist is usually the split I like to keep. And usually I don't tell you this but I just want to show you the stats for years in which the books were published because seven of the books I read this month were from 2023 which I'm really proud of myself for. We did it, we did it Joe. Because I think this year I've only read 16 2023 releases which bearing in mind I've read 99 books this year that could be better. That definitely could be better. So I'm really happy I really made an effort to read 2023 releases this month and hopefully will continue to do so in September as well. Okay let's get into all the books I read this month and their individual ratings. First I read The Unsinkable Gretta James which I gave five stars All The Dangerous Things by Stacey Wellingham which I gave four stars. I can't believe I read that in August. It feels like I read this ages ago. It feels like I read this a lifetime ago but I read that in August. The Southern Book Cubs guide to Slaying Vampires which I gave a 4.5 Kaikei which I gave three stars The Stationery Shop which I gave 4.5 stars Yellow Face by R.F. Kwong which I gave four stars A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher which I gave 4.5 stars Wayward by Amelia Hart which I gave 2.5 stars Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez which I gave how many? Four stars. I always said three that's because I was thinking of what I'm going to talk about next. I gave Yours Truly four stars In The Lives of Puppets by T.J. Koon which I gave three stars In the vlog I originally said I was going to give this 3.5 but I have since lowered it to a 3. Merge In The Family by Kara Hunter which I gave four stars And then there's another book that I read which I gave one star But you'll see that in a vlog next week I asked my patrons because hopefully these next couple months I am going to be getting a bit ahead of my reading So I may read books in months that you then won't have seen yet in vlogs And I was like should I say what book it is Or do you want to not be spoiled and wait for the vlog And they said wait for the vlog, don't say what it is Just say that you read a book that you gave that rating So I read a book that I gave one star And you'll see that next weekend Okie dokie let's get into my disappointment surprise and hit starting with my disappointments So the first one that I want to chat about I don't want to chat about it I don't want to discuss it I don't want to do I don't want to chat about it I don't think we should And it is In The Lives of Puppets by T.J. Koon Talking about your boring next Now I gave this a three star A three star is not a bad rating But considering everything else I've read from T.J. Koon was a five star This was very disappointing So all you need to know about this is there is kind of like a Pinocchio retelling We've got this boy who's human who lives with all of these robots basically His dad is one, his friends are one And then something happens to his dad And they have to go on this kind of like Wizard of Oz-esque style quote And there's a lot about this that I feel like is very Wizard of Oz-y Like a lot of the plot points particularly in the latter half are like just Wizard of Oz Like rip off basically This just didn't hit for me T.J. Koon's other books really spoke to me And I feel like they were really trying to say something And I got the message and it resonated with me And this just didn't I wasn't entirely sure what this book was trying to say throughout I feel like it was a little bit confused as to like what its core message really was And it just didn't emotionally connect with me And I was really bored I'm so sorry The latter third was probably my favourite part of it I found the first two thirds very boring I didn't feel like the writing was as beautiful as T.J. Koon's writing usually is And you know also because these characters are robots They are just they have like I said in the vlog They have a shtick I'll leave all the vlogs of this month linked down below by the way But yeah the robots have a shtick that they stick to And they never really like evolve from really They are very one dimensional characters because of the nature of what they are But that just didn't make an enjoyable reading experience for me So yeah a three isn't bad because I still think there's good aspects to this book It just wasn't what I know from T.J. Koon And then my other disappointment was from the same vlog And that was wayward I gave us a 2.5 This one is an intergenerational story of these women Throughout history one from the 1600s One from the 1940s One from present day Who were all related And it's about their individual stories Right firstly this is pitched as witches If you're gonna say witches Give me witches I don't know how many times I have to say that Don't promise me witches If you're not gonna go for a vibe Witches need to be an atmosphere A vibe A feeling A moment And it just didn't give me it Yes there's like a little bit of magic But like I also said because this is A triple timeline We'll go into that in a second But that did make it difficult to like establish a vibe Because it's like three different vibes But yeah listen We know I don't love dual timeline This was triple timeline And I just felt like each of the stories Had very little nuance to them Had very little detail to them Had very little growth to them Because they each are only making up a third of the book Is like 370 pages These are each making up 120 pages of the book And so there wasn't much room For them to go on a journey And the three stories are pretty That you know the ones that we've read from before You know they're very Done stories And I didn't feel like any of the story lines Bought anything new to the table I could basically predict Where each one of them was gonna go From the get go So this really wasn't for me It's been a really popular book in the UK this year And We're just gonna put it down Surprises I would say I only really had one this month And that was The Stationy Shop By Marjan Kamali I had never heard of this book And I read this for Jennie's booktube twin test Which I did at the start of this month And I really did enjoy this So we're following these two characters In Iran at a time of great political upheaval And they fall in love And then we kind of follow their lives afterwards And I once again Bulled Bulled Sobbing Crying Screaming On reading sprints with my patrons When reading this The last like 50 pages of this book Dear God I was so messed It just wasn't quite a fire for me But like everyone was like Megan You've been crying for like 40 minutes How are you not giving us a five But it just wasn't quite a five Okay I loved learning more about the Political setting at this time That this is set But really it's about these characters And it's about love And it's about life And it's bittersweet And it's beautiful And the writing was gorgeous And it is a book That is intending to make you cry That is the one thing I will say about it Like sometimes there are these books Like Traveling Cat Chronicles I can think of many books that like They want to put you through it Emotionally And sometimes I'm like Hmm You know You wrote this as like Horribly as you could To make me cry But I really did enjoy it And I would recommend it Because yeah I hadn't heard of it before And I'm glad I've read it this month So hits I usually only include five stars If I've had them But I do want to give a little shout out To the other two 4.5s that I had this month So we had A House of Good Bones By T. King Fisher This one A fallen character Who goes home To her mother's house And it is also her grandmother's house That they lived at for a while With her grandmother Her mother now owns it And her mother has changed Right Her mother was very liberal And now she's putting up a fricking Confederate wedding Painting up in the kitchen The whole set of grandmas It's about a lot of things right It's about How parents can change As they age I also think it's about Family trauma And family You know How one generation tries To improve things For the next generation And protect the next generation But more than anything I loved the writing of this This was my first I feel like true T. King Fisher I read a house Um Not a House of Good Bones This one Who's the dead Earlier this year And really enjoyed it But I think it's maybe a bit Different from her usual Writing style Whereas this one Oh I loved the main character Like she was so In reality right She was so Like mentally Like how You know sometimes when you Read books I'm like a person acts As if no real person Ever acts Like when something weird Happens They just go on with it Rather than be like Like as a real person Word She was really funny She was really funny And I was maybe T. King Fisher Cause I feel like this Writing style Is just going to be Like my favourite thing I'm obsessed I said in the vlog How the I listened to the audiobook In particular for this The narrator reminded me Of the narrator from Nancy Drew The Nancy Drew games Right And some people are like Some people who also Love the Nancy Drew games Are like I have to go read this I'm scared you Won't feel the same It's just something That clicked in my brain The way that The book was written And the way the narrator Was narrating things Really reminded me Of the way Nancy used to talk In those games I loved the Nancy Drew games Growing up I still want to play more Maybe I should just Buy another one And like play it Wouldn't that be fun So yeah Really enjoyed this It's only short But I think it really Packs a punch And I loved the kind of Way that the horror In it built And then my other 4.5 was a southern Book club's guide To saying vampires By Grady Hendrix This is by far My favourite Grady Hendrix This is set in the 1990s in like America suburbia These women Have this book club We're following mainly Patricia Guy moves in And like maybe he's a vampire I really really really really Really enjoyed this There's again a funny book It's my kind of horror Yes there's absolute gore In this there's moments I was reading this I was like Jesus Christ Like that is disgusting There's moments in this That are absolutely horrific But Grady Hendrix Writes with this bit of fun Right He writes with this Bit of like Nudge nudge wink wink You know Like mm-hmm You know I just loved the writing So I loved the narrative voice I loved what this was saying About women Women The pressure on women The pressure that In relationships That still exist today Of like being a certain person In the relationship And like the Responsibilities that women Often undertake It's also vampires And it's a lot of fun It's camp It's ridiculous It's over the top I had so much fun with it I almost gave it a five star I just had a few problems With like The other women The book club I never really got to know them And the ending I just wasn't sure Exactly You know How it would have done If it was a five star For me But I cannot recommend this Enough It was so much fun It was Such a fun read I always really Really enjoy his books And I want to recommend them Really widely I feel like Some people say They haven't loved this I don't get that Personally But okay You do you But I just Like everyone Could have a good time With this one And then my actual Biggest hit Was the first book I read this month If you saw the vlog I read this in a vlog Where it was the finale To wrap it up And I couldn't stop reading Until I found a five star So I was having to unwrap the books I couldn't choose What I was reading And I read this first So I gave it a five star Now Contrary to what I just said about The Grady Hendricks book I wouldn't recommend this To everyone Because It is Fairly simple Right Like we're following A character Whose mother has just died And she goes on the cruise That her parents Are booked in like Her mum's place And it's really about Grief And it's about working through that She's also Like a world famous musician Who's recently had a breakdown on stage So there's like There's grief And then there's like Working out her creative job Right This just hit me I cried multiple times in this And it just got me It just got me What it said about Grief You know Particularly there's a part Which is talking to her dad And what it says About like I'm losing The person you've been with Like I can't even Don't Like your whole life That's when you've loved your whole life Like how do you move on from that It just got me I also think it helped This is a set on a cruise in Alaska I went on a cruise to Norway last year And I felt like I could It's in my life Like you know Kind of you know Glaciers and stuff I feel like I could really Imagine the setting The setting was very very vivid to me And it just felt like a comfort read Right I don't think this is The greatest work of literature Right Contrary to like Other five stars I've given I just feel the need to like Preface this one Because you might read it And be like But it got me It got me on the day And I was like Oh, it's five stars It's five stars I can't lie I wanted to read more in that vlog I wanted to read more than one book So again It would have actually benefitted me If I hadn't given this five stars Contrary to the 4.5 So I should have given five stars But I can't lie It was a five star And I just Loved it I loved it It was just such a lovely read So Don't know if I'd recommend it to everyone But I really really loved it There we have it That was my August wrap up I need to go like Stand in the freezer I'm going to take everything out of the freezer And just stand in there Because I'm so hot But let me know How your August went In terms of reading I would love to know Was it a good reading month for you Did you enjoy what you read Let me know down below Some of your hits Or surprises Or disappointments Of the month And I will see you very soon In another one Bye