UPDATED: July 2023 Reads
This month has been a wild ride!
July 2023 Books I’ve Read
I had hoped to finish more books in July, but it was a busy month between our week-long bike trip for a vacation to South Dakota and my sinus surgery and trying to keep up with my summer Master’s classes. So while I did not read as many books as I wanted to this month, the ones I read were pretty darn good!
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I am so glad I found this book and chose to read it. Such a different type of book than anything I’ve ridden before. The story is told by multiple narrators, one of whom is a Giant Pacific Octopus. Tova, the main narrator, is working as a janitor at an aquarium after her husband died, which keeps her mind off the loss of her 18-year-old son 30 years ago. Without giving too many details (I hate spoilers), Tova and Marcellus (the octopus) develop an unusual friendship in this beautifully told story.
I actually read the first half of this story as an e-book. Later I checked out the audiobook from my library for the second half, so I can say that no matter which medium you consume this wonderful tale, I hope you will find it delightful and heartwarming, just as I did.
Typically one of my pet peeves is when I can figure out a story twist, but in this novel, I figured it out about ¾ of the way through the book, but I couldn’t wait for the main characters, Tova and Cameron, to figure it out too! This is such an interesting feel-good novel, I can’t recommend it enough. Van Pelt does a masterful job of developing characters that the reader grows to care about. She also does a great job of balancing the themes of grief and loss with those of love and growing friendship.
The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was a masterfully told work of historical fiction. Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray present a novel that is highly accurate, and they include a section regarding their research methodology and reasoning for how they extrapolated details that couldn’t be found in research.
But beyond that, this is a fictional tale, and the authors did a wonderful job of detailing the birth, growth, and flourishment of a beautiful friendship that many considered impossible before their time.
I can’t tell you how many times while I was reading this book, I put the book down to go and research and learn more about some of the events and happenings mentioned, and I feel honored to have had the opportunity to learn more about two such wonderful and influential women.
Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale (audiobook)
⭐⭐⭐
My rating for this book is actually more like 2.5 stars, but I was nice and rounded it up to three. I came very close to putting this on my DNF list for the first half of the story as it was so repetitive, but I could already tell that the main character was autistic, and I really wanted to see what adult life, work, and romance must be like for someone on the spectrum. Thankfully I was reading this as an audiobook, so I soldiered on, and about 75% of the way through, it started to get good, and I was glad I hadn’t given up on Cassandra.
I don’t want to give spoilers, but the book’s ending just left me thinking, “So we went through all of this for THAT,” and I just felt disappointed.
Many folks had compared this book to “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine,” and I LOVED that book, so that is what really compelled me to read this…but after having completed it, I see very few similarities other than both characters being somewhat routinized in their daily lives.
The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane
⭐⭐⭐
The book’s premise is about a man named Malcolm who buys the bar he has worked at for over a decade. He’s married to a woman named Jess, who has disappeared, only to turn up living in the same small town as him but acting like he no longer exists. I REALLY struggled to get into this one. For the first half of the book, it seemed like nothing, but the two main characters were just whining about how life had not gone their way. Finally, in the latter half of the book, a little mystery appears when a bar patron ends up missing, and thankfully, there were some plot twists and developments that kept me interested. The author took a very long time to develop the characters…too much, in my opinion, but the ending did leave a good feeling with me, so I call it a solid three-star read.
Harley Davidson: The Story of a Motoring Icon by Clyde Hawkins
⭐⭐⭐
I selected this book to read as I have been reading so much fiction that I wanted to add some non-fiction and decided to read about one of my favorite things-motorcycles. This was a quick read at only 65 pages, but it was a fascinating history of the evolution of the Harley Davidson motorcycle.
We visited the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum while on our vacation, and it was admittedly fun to come back to the hotel that evening and look up and see some of the bikes I saw in the museum mentioned in this book.
Books I am currently reading:
With school starting back and my Fall Master’s courses also starting in August, it’s going to be another crazy busy month. But I’ve worked really hard to MAKE TIME for pleasure reading as it really helps to keep me centered and is a great form of stress relief.
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby
This is a thriller about the first black sheriff in a southern county. I’ve heard great things about it, so I’m excited to get into it.
Chasing Shadows by Gregory Skomal
I’ve been a nerd about oceanic creatures since I was a toddler…and I’ve been especially interested in sharks. Dr. Skomal is one of the most renowned shark researchers out there, so I’m eager to read his memoir and learn more about the magnificent creatures he has spent his life studying and working to protect.
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