Reader Roundup: August 2024
August used to be the beginning of the end for me since my mind began shifting away from summer fun to classroom curriculum. Going into my third year of retirement August just means summer is still summer, albeit the mornings and evenings a little cooler. BUT–I can keep on reading with no compunction to create lesson plans. Keep on keeping on reading.
I’m still finding lots of hammock time and books that go well with hammock reading tend to be ones where I am engrossed in the story and want to stay put for a couple of hours getting absorbed in the story. Here are my five star reads for August. Check out my other books here.
An unexpected find while browsing the library bookshelves. Sometimes serendipity picks are the best. A story that presents small town community without being snarky or saccharine while mixing in relationships ranging from family to friendships to neighbors to new love. The author manages to create realistic responses out of extraordinary situations while slipping in nuanced details like apple varieties and cake baking. For those looking for Mitford-type stories, ones where the characters and community share equal spotlight.
Not a perfect book, with its hyperbolic characters and fairly implausible plot—yet, who cares! A fun mystery revolving around perceptions and relationships and interconnections. Sutanto provides readers with an irascible new detective, Vera Wong. Forthcoming adventures will be duly anticipated.
Nonfiction can be oh so dry. Not so with The Cloudspotter’s Guide. The author combines prose with scientific facts about clouds to create a reference book that doubles as a delightful read. Readers can even join the Cloud Appreciation Society.
Rereading a mystery has one great disadvantage: the ending or twist is already known. Nevertheless, Tey’s story employing the pretender motif still holds interest due to her character scaffolding of Brat Farrar. He knows he is a bounder for deceiving the family, yet he still gains reader sympathy. Even as a reread with inside knowledge, Tey’s story maintained interest to the last page.
Pam Webb 
I think I need to get myself a copy of The Cloudspotter’s Guide! I also have experience with nonfiction being too dry or overwhelmingly factual for me to process, which results in them being set aside for “future reading” and simply never being opened again. But this one sounds lovely!
I very much enjoyed it. It’s our library’s book club monthly selection. Talking about clouds should be fun!