August Reading Recap

Summer reading is winding down. Time to pull out all the cozy books for fall. Or whatever catches my eye. We’ll see what comes along. For now, here’s a report on what I read and found to read in August…

Summer Challenge

I completed a blackout on the Summer Reading Bingo from Beautiful Minutiae. Highlighted books are the ones I read in August. (I read other titles listed in June and July.)

• Place You’d Like to Visit: The Key to Everything by Valerie Fraser Luesse
• Classic: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy (free on Gutenberg!)
• Wilderness/Survival: Into the Rapids by Ann Braden
• Book in a Series: The Rules of Matrimony by Anneka Walker
• Brain Candy: Gidget by Frederick Kohner
• Debut Novel: Defending Honor by Kelly Underwood
• One Word Title: Venetia by Georgette Heyer
• Nonfiction: Practicing God’s Presence: Brother Lawrence for Today’s Reader by Robert Elmer
• Ocean: The Light on Horn Island by Valerie Fraser Luesse
• Library Book: The Hiding Place: A Graphic Novel by Corrie ten Boom
• Over 500 Pages: Heaven by Randy Alcorn
• Short Story or Novella: Chronicles of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery (free on Gutenberg!)
• Friend Rec: Re-making the World by Andrew Wilson
• Reread a Favorite: Jane of Lantern Hill by L. M. Montgomery
• Shortest Book on Your TBR: Mystery of the Vanishing Horses by Betty Swinford
• Yellow on the Cover: Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson
• Vacation or Travel: Just for the Summer by Melody Carlson
• Flowers in Title/on Cover: Under the Hibiscus by Chautona Havig
• Outside Your Comfort Zone: Death in the Jungle by Candace Fleming
• Sci-Fi or Fantasy: Wild Jack by John Christopher
• A Popular Book: The Women by Kristin Hannah
• Refreshing: The Perfect Rom-Com by Melissa Ferguson
• New to You Author: Shadowed Witness by Angela Carlisle
• Set in Summer: The Summer of You and Me by Denise Hunter

2025 Challenges

I made some progress on the reading challenge goals I set back in January.

• Bible Reading. I finished 10 books in August.
  • Isaiah
  • Galatians
  • Ephesians
  • Philippians
  • Colossians
  • I Thessalonians
  • II Thessalonians
  • I Timothy
  • II Timothy
  • Titus
• Biblical Studies Challenge. August topic: Discipleship
  • When the Word Leads Your Pastoral Search by Chris Brauns (I realize it’s kind of a stretch to fit this book into this category, but it’s the one I read in August.)
• Read Your Shelf. August topic: Space
  • The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 
• What the Dickens Book Club
  • The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

Mood Reading

And a few that just piqued my interest at the moment…

• The Overton Window by Glen Beck
• Isaiah Light and the Sea of Darkness by James Bonk
• Under the Tulip Tree by Michelle Shockley
• The Every by Dave Eggers
• Rider on a Pale Horse by Mark Goodwin

Book Hauls

I brought home several gems… and a few, “oh, why not?” titles…from my favorite thrift store, where books are 50 cents each or five for $2.00. (Least likely to ever read: Basics of Biblical Greek… but you never know!)

Autumn Challenge