When I started my Substack, I told myself that I’d never put any pressure on myself to write about anything in particular or to make myself publish on some kind of schedule. I had a lot of anxiety about that the first year, but I’ve settled into the fact that this is a hobby that is meant to bring enjoyment and not anxiety. Even so, I have posted a recap of all the books I have read each month since the beginning, and I don’t want to lose my streak.
So here are my August reads, one-third of the way through September. You’ll remember that July was a very depressing reading month. Not only did I read only about half as much as I usually do, but I enjoyed very few of them. I’m glad to share that August was a slightly better reading month in terms of numbers and a much better reading month in terms of content.
One reason I had been reading less this summer was because I took on a second client for whom I was doing at-home admin work. For reasons I will not go into here, I separated from that client halfway through August. It was a hard decision but I don’t regret it. While I wouldn’t say it gave me any more free time—my role as president of the high school marching band boosters has consumed much of the last several weeks—it did lessen my mental load and my anxiety, which has made me want to read more. September is already shaping up to be an even better reading month!
I usually separate my monthly reads into different categories, but with how late I’m posting this and how few books I read relative to other months, we’re just going to do a run-through in no particular order.
A Big Gospel in Small Places: Why Ministry in Forgotten Communities Matters by Stephen Witmer ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book was an encouraging read as a pastor’s wife in a small town. It can be really discouraging to be at a small church at times, especially when there are other large churches nearby that seem to keep growing. This book was a good reminder not that big churches are bad, but that most churches are small, and there are unique opportunities to share the gospel when you live in a small town. Having never lived in a small town until we moved here 6.5 years ago, the phrase “it’s a small world” is too cliche to even use. My daughter’s elementary music and chorus teacher is married to the director of the high school marching band. My best friend’s sister-in-law is the nurse practitioner our kids see. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been about to introduce two people to each other and it turns out they know each other from something 15 years ago or, sometimes, they are distantly related. I’m still not totally used to it, but I’m seeing how beautiful it is to put down roots in a place like this.
I did not watch Girls or any of the other things Dunham was involved in, and maybe because of that, I didn’t immediately get sucked into this book. It was a chore to read. It had a lot of graphic sexual descriptions, many of which seemed unnecessary, and it was also just really sad. She has been through a lot of hard things to be sure, but she has also made a lot of questionable decisions that she didn’t seem to want to examine in this memoir, which is what I usually find most interesting in a memoir. I finished it so I could say I did, but I did not enjoy it.
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Perhaps not surprising given the name and the cover, this was a weird book. I only read it because I saw Karen Swallow Prior (not) recommend it. It sounded right up my alley. It turned out to be a little more in the magical realism category than I liked, but it was also a compelling book. I honestly think every mom of young kids should read the early chapters where the main character is describing the monotony of life with toddlers. I haven’t been in that phase for many years, and yet I almost wept at how seen I felt.
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller ⭐⭐⭐
This book was disappointing. I have wanted to read it for a long time because I have enjoyed many of Heller’s other books, and then I saw the trailer for the new movie when we went to see The Odyssey. But this book was just boring, which is saying a lot about a book that takes place at the end of the world.
The Family Man: Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh by James Lasdun ⭐⭐⭐⭐
While I already read a comprehensive book on the Murdaugh murders, this one was more of a psychological analysis of Alex Murdaugh himself. I found it fascinating, because the author is British and had a very outsider’s perspective of life in the South. At the very end of the book, he gives what he thinks is the best explanation of what happened that terrible night, and I thought it sounded extremely plausible.
The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I got this book at a used bookstore and was so excited because I couldn’t find it at our local library. Did you know that there was almost an Ebola outbreak in Washington, DC, decades ago? Neither did I. This book traces the history of Ebola and also outlines the very scary epidemic that almost occurred in our country.
The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny and Melissa Fung ⭐⭐⭐
You guys know I love Penny’s Inspector Gamache series. I also enjoyed the book she wrote with Hillary Clinton. This one was not good. It felt contrived and poorly written. Everything that happened, I felt like I saw coming, and the main character was dreadfully annoying. There are many more political thrillers way better than this one.
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I know I read this book as a child, but I had no recollection whatsoever of the plot other than it was something about people living forever. It was recently released as an audiobook with Alexis Bledel of Gilmore Girls narrating it, so I checked it out on Libby. This was a quick and delightful listen. I’m committing to going back and reading more of these kinds of books, because they are always even better than I expect.
When People Are Big and God Is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man by Ed Welch ⭐⭐⭐
The theme of this book was good, and it wasn’t a bad book, but I just don’t enjoy Welch’s writing. Many of the chapters felt redundant, and I found my mind drifting often. I also am not sure that the topic of this book is something I particularly struggle with (although I certainly have other weaknesses and sinful tendencies), so maybe that’s why it didn’t land. If you do think you struggle with this, though, you should give it a try.
Whistler by Ann Patchett ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was the best book I read this month. Ann Patchett can do very little wrong in my eyes. She actually narrates this one, and it was wonderful, although her books that are narrated by Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep are even better. I don’t even want to describe the plot of this book very much because it is better to let it unfold. I will say that at one point I was a little annoyed because like so many other books I’ve read recently that were published in the last decade, there is a central character who is homosexual. In many of the other books I’ve read, this plot point overtakes all other plot points to the detriment of the book. In this book, though, it is a thing that exists but does not become the entire book. This may be a dealbreaker for many of you regardless, so I wanted to mention it, but I still found the book powerful. One particular scene made me weep (and one of my best friends who also read it said the same). I’d especially recommend this book to the eldest sisters among us.
I always love sharing my reads, even though this one was late. I’d love to know if you’ve read anything good recently! And as always, if you’re not subscribed, please do so that you don’t miss future recaps.