August 2024 TBR

This might be my favorite post of the month. The endless possibilities of what I could read! I realize the possibilities are, in fact, constrained by time, but at the beginning of the month, those 31 days seem endless.

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey - I am almost halfway through this one, but I won't finish it today, so to the August TBR it goes. It's darker than I expected. The main character was married before the beginning of the book and it flashes back to that less-than-stellar time in her life. The main plot is about her advocating for some widows so they don't lose their inheritances.

Life at the Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address by Stephen Birmingham - I started this yesterday because it's a paperback and it's short. I can carry it to work. I am trying to read the short books from my shelves to get closer to reaching that goal. I've only read 16 pages, but so far, Mr. Clark has been ridiculed for building his hotel so far North that it is beyond the fashionable district. It is right on Central Park West, but they didn't know that would be a big deal in 1883.

Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire by Peter Stark - I love those kooky Astors. In the early 19th century, Americans were getting interested in westward expansion. Lewis and Clark had just done their thing and these guys decided to found a Jamestown on the West coast and set it up as a trading capital to the Pacific. They actually succeeded in founding Fort Astoria in Oregon, at extreme costs for some. This is one of the 10 oldest books on my TBR.

Cruel as the Grave by Sharon Kay Penman - One of my challenges is to read 3 books by the same author. This is the second Penman book. I read the first one in July. I'm trying to space out the sequels so I'm not binge reading the whole set at the end of the year. Also, I'm spacing out the mysteries because I have a bunch of those left and I don't want to end up reading a bunch of mysteries in December. I do better if I can mix up the genres.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch - This book meets the challenge of reading a book being made into a movie this year. I'm not super stoked about this book, but the only other book I own that is being adapted is The Three Body Problem which is absolutely massive. This is a sci-fi book. That's about all I know. If this doesn't do it for me, I could reread a book that is being adapted, but that wouldn't count for books off my shelves. A conundrum.

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley - Here we have another mystery. Mystery/thriller to be exact. This meets the challenge to read a book set in Paris. I am just now realizing that could be a challenge because the Olympics are there this year. As opposed to choosing literally any city in the world. Duh. Anyway, in this one a woman goes to Paris to stay with her brother and he has disappeared. If this doesn't work, I have a ton of other books set in Paris. A lot are WWII related.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte - I am supposed to read a classic by a female author. I got this fabulous set of Bronte novels in a boxed set a couple years ago, so I actually have one hanging around. I thought I read this way back when, but Goodreads says otherwise.

I have a challenge to read a friend's favorite book. I asked on Facebook for everyone's favorite book, hoping someone would say one I already have. So far, the only one's I have I've already read (which is weird.) Someone did say Pride and Prejudice, so I could re-read that. I had originally planned to read Jamie's favorite book, but it's the third in a series and I haven't read the second one. Also, I'm not sure if I'm ready for that, yet. What's your favorite book? Maybe I have it and haven't read it.

I have 3 books left for my 10 oldest books challenge and 26 books left of the 50 books from my shelves challenge. I'm only a little behind on that one now, thanks to Covid. I need to aim for 5-6 books from my shelves each month to reach that goal. Luckily all the 10 oldest books count for that, so there's 3 right there. Only 23 to go.