Read:
The Eighth Life – Nino Haratischvili (Scribe, 2019) (translated from the German by Charlotte Collins & Ruth Martin)
Sorrow and Bliss – Meg Mason (Harper Perennial, 2022)
Uh…that’s, uh, that’s it.
Did Not Finish:
Shimmer – Alex Pugsley
I had an e-ARC of this short story collection and I’m generally able to forgive a lot in story collections. I got through the first story, which had a lot (A LOT!) of swearing but when I started on the second story and found that it also had a lot of swearing, I decided to DNF. Your mileage may vary but I’m not that into swears.
Currently Reading:
Joan – Katherine J. Chen
Liturgy of the Ordinary – Tish Harrison Warren
The Human Factor – Graham Greene
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd – Agatha Christie
2022 Goals:
Books Read: 51/80 (2 in July)
Books Reviewed: 45/51 (2 in July)
Translated Works: 5/10 (The Eighth Life translated from German)
Books Owned: 7/20 (none in July)
Books from the TBR pre-2020: 11/20 (none in July)
Current TBR: 232 (previously 232)
Thoughts:
Can I defend myself by saying that at least I’m consistent? Summer is not a strong reading time for me. My schedule’s all out of whack, we’re on holiday, the kids are around. I don’t get the reading done that I do at other times of the year. Also, in my defense, one of the books that I did read this month is over 900 pages long.
That said, the two books I read in July were excellent. There will be a review of The Eighth Life on Wednesday and one of Sorrow and Bliss (hopefully) next week. Two new to me authors I’m really happy to have been introduced to. I’m also quite enjoying all my current reads.
What’s Next:
My less than stellar reading output for July means I’m woefully behind on my 20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge. 3 of the 4 books I’m currently reading will count toward my list but even once I finish those I still have 10 more on my list. Will I read 10 books in August? Maybe! (Probably not.)
We’ve got some more camping coming up so I’ll be bringing along some books from my own shelf (in case they fall overboard on the kayak). Choosing simply based on size and weight, I think I’ll bring along The Sympathizer and The Baron in the Trees. Once I finish Joan I’ll start on How to Fall Out of Love Madly which is an ARC that releases this coming week. That’s probably optimistic enough for August.
Here’s my complete 20 List: (6 out of 20 read)
ARCs:
An Island – Karen Jennings
1000 Coils of Fear – Olivia Wenzel
Joan – Katherine J. Chen (currently reading)
How to Fall out of Love Madly – Jana Casale
Ghost Eaters – Clay McLeod Chapman
Library Books: (I left 2 blank spaces originally and have filled one with Sally Rooney and the other with Nino Haratischvili)
City of Thieves – David Benioff
Fleishman is in Trouble – Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Five Tuesdays in Winter – Lily King
Beautiful World, Where Are You – Sally Rooney
The Eighth Life – Nino Haratischvili
Owned Books:
Life & Holiness – Thomas Merton
The Human Factor – Graham Greene
The Sympathizer – Viet Thanh Nguyen
Liturgy of the Ordinary – Tish Harrison (currently reading)
Pastoral – Nevil Shute
The Cocktail Party – T.S. Eliot
The Tiger’s Wife – Tea Obreht
The Breadwinner – Deborah Ellis
The Story of a Marriage – Andrew Sean Greer
The Baron in the Trees – Italo Calvino
Karissa Reads Books 
Hey, The Eighth Life is the size of three books – that’s a huge amount of reading by anyone’s standards!
Thank you!! It feels like it should count as 3 books! Have you read it?
Yes, a few years ago when it was first out in hardback! An absolute giant of a book in that format. I really enjoyed it and have recommended/sent it to lots of people since!
It’s just so physically large! I brought it with me on holiday in July which was a little impractical!
Laughing at your excellent reason for only taking books you own on a kayak 🙂
So glad to know you’re behind on the 20 Books challenge – I don’t feel so alone now… 😉
I’m so behind! I knew I would be but I thought I’d do better than this!
Hey, a translated work might count for more! Sometimes they’re hard to get into, depending on the translator. Also, Elle pointed out that it’s a huge book. I wonder if some day there might be a variation on 20 Books of Summer that is page numbers instead of books. I wonder because when I was doing the challenge, I loaded the reading list with very short books. This works out early on, as you read them quickly, then backfires as all the reviews that need to be written sit in the queue, lol.
Counting page numbers would definitely boost my count. I didn’t have trouble getting into this one and the translation (I think) was really good. I brought this book with me on our road trip in July and it wasn’t super practical for reading at a campsite or while out and about because it was just so physically large!
Will that be your first time reading The Murder of Roger Ackroyd? Despite adaptations and similar premises elsewhere, it is one of only few books I would give anything to read again as though for the first time!
Yes, I just finished it recently and it was my first time reading it! I’d seen a TV version of it before, I’m sure, but I’d forgotten the ending so that completely caught me by surprise! It made for a very satisfying read!