Hopefully I'll do a better job with the blogging in the fall. I'm hoping for a slower fall than summer this year--usually, fall/beginning of winter is busier but after this summer, I'm doing my best to slow down and breathe.
Books Read in August 2026
- The Red Heart by James Alexander Thom (Book club read)--A long, very '90s historical novel about an apparently real-life white woman who was captured as a child from her Quaker family and lived out her life among the Delaware and other Native American tribes. Once I got past the long-winded style (once so familiar to me!), I enjoyed the book and all the research the author put into it, although his commitment to verisimilitude was actually a little jarring to me since I'm both not accustomed to and suspicious of that style of historical fiction these days. However, after reading more about the author, his process, and his other books, I think he's genuinely trying his best for a thorough and detailed depiction of what happened through the vehicle of fiction.
- Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein (Other book club read)--I'd wanted to read this for a while so I joined a new-ish book club that was reading this to help encourage me. I'm glad I read it--it differs significantly from Oliver Twist, but this version of Fagin captures the reality of what it might have been like to live Fagin's life in 18th century London--and made me very glad I don't. Fagin also is what I would consider a truly morally grey or trickster character--not one of your shadow daddies who would be a villain if he wasn't a love interest--but someone who umambiguously makes his living as a thief and yet would never intentionally commit murder. I also love how Epstein depicts the fascinating Fagin/Sikes relationship, and lets that tension stand.
- Hello My Name is Sharkbait: A 2,000-Mile Adventure on the Appalachian Trail by Michael Neiman--Neiman was my camp counselor back in the day, and I've followed him on social media and bought his book when it came out. I finally had a chance to read and really enjoyed it. I like a lot of these types of trail memoirs, even though I doubt I will ever do a thru-hike like this myself. This one is on the long side, and maybe more detailed than it needed to be, but definitely a good read for someone planning their hike or someone like me who is just interested in all the mundane little details of a journey like this.
- Embrace by Bal Khabra (Goodreads giveaway)--I have won 3 Goodreads giveaways ever, and this is the second is the last two months! I've probably entered hundreds, for context. Anyway, enjoyed this very swoony college hockey romance, especially the male protag, and love the diversity and depth of the characters!
- When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi (Another book club read)--The moon has turned to cheese--what happens scientifically, culturally, politically, and economically--a fun, quick read for lovers of conceptual and humorous sci fi.
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