August Read Harder

Ah, August. Back to school, back to real life, back to responsibilities. We already covered that I accidentally pre-read one of my August books, My Lady's Choosing, so one down, bingo bango. I also started It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful in July, as stated in my previous update, because I figured it's non-fiction, it's a heavy topic, and it would take me a while to finish it. Look at me, thinking ahead! 

Turns out that pays off, because I finished it, and it was very emotional and educational and inspiring and fascinating. The more I read and learn about history, the more I'm like wow, fuck, growing up and "learning" about history, we really were just straight up deceived about so many things. It's truly fucked. And no wonder so many people now have their heads so far up their asses. 

And speaking of not learning about real history, last book of August, Like a Hammer, another heavy read. I'm not a huge poetry reader, so I tried to read just a few at a time to give myself the chance to really experience them, and SHEESH, powerful words, heartbreaking. It's an incredible collection of poetry, and it's so overwhelming reading about the experience of incarceration and our bullshit justice system from people living within that system. If you can get a copy of it (if you know me, you can borrow it from me!), I recommend it.

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And here we go, into the last third of the year! For challenge #4, read a book about obsession, I'll be reading the second book in the What the River Knows duology by Isabel Ibanez, Where the Library Hides. I also picked Rebel Witch, the second book in The Crimson Moth series (maybe duology?) by Kristen Ciccarelli. Maybe I'll finish one this month, maybe I'll have time for both, we'll see. Looking forward to both, though.

For challenge #19, read a queernorm book, I chose The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. And now we're going to get into a little bit of a shananigan, because this book is over EIGHT HUNDRED PAGES, y'all. Soooo, since I'm reading one book that's basically two or three or four books, I'm giving myself a freebie and using Crier's War, which I read earlier this year, for challenge #20, read the first book in a completed YA or middle grade duology. Typically I only a count a book if I specifically chose it for a challenge, but...I think I deserve a little bit of a pass with such a behemoth to get through.