It’s time for a look at my August reading life!
It’s time for another wrap-up/haul post — and some fun stats!
What I read:
(each title link will direct you to my review for more thoughts!)
emoji key:
✨ review copy → 💞 buddy/group read → 🔁 re-read → 🎧 audiobook → 🍰 graphic novel/manga
🫙 TBR jar → 🗓️ 2022 TBR → 🌻 seasonal TBR → 😻 Devour Your TBR
💫 half-star
- In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories // Alvin Schwartz: 🔁 + ⭐⭐⭐⭐ → I re-read this and read it to my son, and we both thought it was still pretty fun!
- Strange Planet & Stranger Planet // Nathan W. Pyle: 🍰 + ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ → These were so cute and I loved revisiting some of the older comics.
- Every Poem a Potion, Every Song a Spell // Stephanie Parent: ✨ + ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ → I loved this poetry book and highly recommend it to lovers of old fairytales!
- Spy x Family, Volumes 2-4 // Tatsuya Endo: 🍰 + ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ → I am OBSESSED with this series and I really need to watch the show ASAP!
- Girls From the County // Donna Lynch: ✨ + ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ → Donna is my favorite modern poet and this book was INCREDIBLE. It’s like a brilliant, bleak mixture of poetry and true crime.
- What Moves the Dead // T. Kingfisher: ✨🫙😻 + ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ → One of my favorite books of the year so far. This was flawless, as far as I’m concerned.
- Waking Gods // Sylvain Neuvel: 💞😻 + ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ → A really fun middle book in the trilogy – there were elements of this that I liked even more than the first book! I buddy read this with Misty and we’ve just started the 3rd book, too.
- The Graveyard Book, Vol. 1 // Neil Gaiman: 🍰 + ⭐⭐⭐⭐ → A decent adaptation, though I can’t say I loved the art.
- You’re the Only One I’ve Told // Meera Shah: ⭐⭐⭐ → This was just okay. I loved the idea behind it but it was very repetitive and the writing was incredibly boring at times.
- Little Eve // Catriona Ward: ✨💞😻 + ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ → I buddy read this with Ashley and we both loved it! Very dark and atmospheric, very gothic, definitely different than some of Catriona’s other works.
- Rules for Vanishing // Kate Alice Marshall: ✨💞😻 + ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ → I LOVED this and can’t believe I waited so long to read it. I buddy read this with Ashley! I adore “found footage” horror in films, so it’s no surprise I adore it in books, too.
- Kingdom of the Wicked // Kerri Maniscalco: ✨💞 + ⭐⭐⭐⭐ → I wasn’t feral over this like I hoped I would be, but I did have a lot of fun reading it with Jordyn and I’m excited to continue the series.
- Beautiful Atrocities // Ross Jeffery: ✨ + ⭐⭐⭐⭐ → I’ve been wanting to read Ross Jeffery’s work and this was a great intro to his writing. Very bleak at times!
- The Haunting of Leigh Harker // Darcy Coates: ✨💞🌻 + ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ → I looooved this and it reminded me of why I loved Darcy SO much when I first starting reading her work years ago. A solid mixture of creepiness and emotion in an intimate, at times claustrophobic home setting.
- Beanstalker and Other Hilarious Scarytales // Kiersten White: 💞🌻 + ❌ DNF ❌ → Comedy/satire books are VERY hit-and-miss with me, and this was a big miss.
- A Taste of Gold and Iron // Alexandra Rowland: ✨💞 + ❌ DNF ❌ → I’m so sorry to everyone who was expecting me to love this (or hoping I would), but I can’t keep dragging through this book. It moves at a glacial pace and I almost hate the characters. 😭
And now, for some of my favorite recent hauls:
- How to Sell a Haunted House // Grady Hendrix (eARC; adult horror)
- They Were Here Before Us // Eric LaRocca (eARC; adult horror)
- Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun // Elle Cosimano (eARC; adult mystery)
- The United States of Cryptids // J.W. Ocker (finished review copy; adult nonfic)
- A Strange and Stubborn Endurance // Foz Meadows (finished review copy; adult fantasy/romance)
- Motherthing // Ainslie Hogarth (ARC; adult horror)
- Bound Feet // Kelsea Yu (ARC; adult horror)
- You Are Home // Catana Chetwynd (eARC; adult humor/nonfic)
- These Fleeting Shadows // Kate Alice Marshall (audio purchase; YA horror/thriller)
- The Dead House // Dawn Kurtagich (gift; YA horror; thank you so much to Ashley for this and the next 2 books in this list! ♥)
- The Devil Makes Three // Tori Bovalino (gift; YA horror)
- The Honeys // Ryan La Sala (gift; YA horror)
And finally, a little life update:
August was, thankfully, such a better month than July! We made some big family choices, like trading in our little sedan for a big SUV, planning a family day trip for the holidays (we haven’t traveled ANYWHERE since pre-COVID), and nailing down the part of the country we want to move to in the next few years (we’re aiming for Vermont or New Hampshire). We won’t be making the move right away, but we’ve started planning and I’m very nervously excited!
I did spend a bit of the month in an illness flare-up, which sucked, but I had some comforting diagnostic results from a doctor’s visit last week. Also, my doctor and I have decided to dive back into diagnostics and specialist referrals in the next few months, so it’ll be good to hopefully get some answers soon. (So far my labs have established some sort of autoimmune disorder — likely rheumatoid or fibromyalgia — but we aren’t 100% certain of what it is yet)
Otherwise, it was just a month full of family time, self-care, reading, and buying way too many Halloween decorations! I hope September is just as great. 💞
How was your month? What was your favorite book you read or hauled, or what was something nice that happened in your life?
— destiny ♥
confessionsofayareader
September 5, 2022I’m sorry to hear about your health issues. I went through something similar in 2020. Blood work showed positive for autoimmune, but I have no idea which one since they’re so hard to narrow down. I hope you get some answers soon. I know how much it all sucks.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
September 19, 2022Thank you! I’m sorry you went through something similar and didn’t get clear answers – I hope you can soon, too. 🙁
dbsguidetothegalaxy
September 5, 2022Good to know about Spy x Family! I want to read and watch it soon. I recently read These Fleeting Shadows and it was absolutely amazing!
I’m glad you’re sorta moving closer to a diagnosis! I hope you get an answer soon and then can start a plan.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
September 19, 2022It’s soooo good! I really want to watch the anime now! I’m glad you liked These Fleeting Shadows, I’m super excited to read it. And thank you 🥰
Briana | Pages Unbound
September 5, 202217 books is pretty impressive!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
September 19, 2022Thank you, I was pleased!!
Sarah
September 6, 2022omg I feel like you will be moving to New England just as I’m leaving LOL, but feel free to hit me up if you ever have any Qs about stuff!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
September 19, 2022LMAO oh nooo! How sad! 😭 I think you had mentioned to me that you were leaving at some point, but I didn’t realize it would be soon! What part of the country are you heading to? 😮 (and thank you!!!)
Sarah
September 20, 2022hopefully to Portland, OR! we’ll see how soon it actually ends up being, but I am sick of New England winters LOL
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
September 22, 2022Fair! 😂 I’ve heard the winters are brutal, which is exactly what I want, but it strikes me as a potential “grass is greener” sort of scenario since I’m not used to having ANY winter at all!
Annemieke
September 7, 2022Glad to hear your doctor is taking you seriously <3
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
September 19, 2022Thank you! I love my doctor <3
Tammy Brown
September 10, 2022I love Spy Family! Can’t wait for the new Grady Hendrix book, unfortunately it doesn’t come out until 2023 here. Hope you feel more better soon.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
September 19, 2022Thank you so much! ♥
Caro @ bookcheshirecat
September 10, 2022I’m so happy to see you loving the Spy x Family manga, I love it so much and I’m eagerly awaiting the upcoming volume 🥰 It’s also great that you loved Rules for Vanishing, it’s one of my favorite spooky books 👻 Sorry about your health issues, I hope you can get some answers soon ❤️
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
September 19, 2022Spy x Family is SO freaking cute, I can’t stand it! I’m constantly gushing about it to my spouse and trying to convince them to start the anime with me. 😂 And thank you so much, Caro, I hope so too. ♥
frayedbooks
September 14, 2022You had a really great reading month!! And planning to move, that’s exciting! I live in NY so I’ve traveled the northeast a bit and it really is beautiful – I personally love Vermont, I have a friend who used to lived there so I visited quite a bit, but NH is similar of course so I don’t think you could go wrong with either state!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
September 19, 2022Thank you, I’m so glad to hear it!! 😀 Vermont or NH would be PERFECT, I think. I feel silly saying this, but every time I look at photos of the northeast, I feel like I’m homesick for a place I’ve never even lived. 😭 Just really hoping it pans out ASAP!!
frayedbooks
September 22, 2022Aw I can totally understand that homesick feeling even if you’ve never lived there! I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you!