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August 2022 Wrap-Up

 I started a new job this month, so I've been pretty busy, but still had time for some reading! Normally, I would be coming up on a really busy time of year right now, but I'll have to see if that's true in my new non-education job. It will definitely be different--although I will still have a batch of Hebrew school kids on Sundays (which will also be new for me!). 

Books Read This Month

  1. Once and For All by Sarah Dessen--This is my first Sarah Dessen book and won't be my last (I actually immediately started reading another one!). I watched the Along for the Ride movie on Netflix and had a feeling I would like the book even more, but there was of course a wait for that one, so I got this one first. I enjoyed all the wedding planning details and slow burn romance. 
  2. The Searcher by Tana French (book club read)--Definitely wouldn't have picked this one on my own, but it made for an interesting conversation about the morality Western society values in our detective fiction, and how that's changing, plus I loved the atmospheric descriptions of the Irish countryside. Can finally say I've read Tana French, and would consider reading her other books. 
  3. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen--Finally got this one off the waitlist! Such a strong atmosphere in this book--maybe because I'd already seen the movie was part of it, but it just creates a strong nighttime (and daytime) world for Auden and Eli and their friends. Dessen has such a strong understanding of trauma too, and her writing has so many insightful, poignant lines--I love the idea of a "Best of Times" picture frame where you keep switching out the photos. 
  4. Yearbook by Seth Rogen (book club read)--Another one I wouldn't have picked on my own, but I was surprised by (and interested in) the amount of Jewish content; also the stories surrounding the making of and controversy around The Interview. I would have enjoyed some Freaks and Geeks content. I didn't realize Rogen started as a stand-up comic and mostly works as a writer, but both of those make sense. He definitely seems like an interesting person, and I highly respect how he uses his platform to stand up against anti-Semitism and discrimination in general.

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