What I Read: July

July was a great reading month! I read more than usual (seven books in total), and I loved nearly everything I read. Very satisfying. :) As always, click on the titles to read my Goodreads reviews!

Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry. Wendell Berry is my dad's favorite author, so while I've been buying his books as gifts for my dad for years, I had never actually read any of them myself! I did really enjoy this. It's slow moving, but it felt so realistic and the writing style is very nice. I definitely plan on reading more of his books!

I'll Have What She's Having, by Erin Carlson. I loved this book. It was such a fun read with lots of behind the scenes details from one of my favorite movies, You've Got Mail! (Plus Sleepless in Seattle, which I also enjoy a lot.) Many more details in my review.

Why I Am Not Going to Buy a Computer, by Wendell Berry. My first dip into Berry's nonfiction, and it was very thought provoking (but occasionally over my head!). This is a tiny collection of two of his essays that are connected to each other...the second one is a sort of response to the first one.

Rilla of Ingleside, by L.M. Montgomery. So this is the end of my first complete read through the Anne series! It was such a nice conclusion. It didn't feel like an Anne book at times to me, because it's set during WWI and is a lot darker than most of the other books. But the pretty writing and lovable characters are still there! I cried multiple times during this book. (Basically anything related to Dog Monday turned me into a baby...)

The Good People, by Hannah Kent. Just like her first book, Burial Rites, this book was dark and atmospheric and haunting and impossible to put down. I didn't really know much about it going in. It's set in the 1820s in rural Ireland, in a community of people whose Catholic faith is mingled with folklore and beliefs in fairies and changelings. It was depressing and hard to read at times, but so, so good.

Paris, My Sweet, by Amy Thomas. The one book that I read this month that disappointed me! Years ago I went through a spell where I bought lots of travel memoirs, and a lot of them happened to be about Paris. (There seems to be a much higher number of them written about France than about anywhere else!) This is one of the last ones I had left to read. Being someone who loves chocolate (and sweets in general) and travel memoirs, I thought I would love it! But the author was annoying and wishy-washy at times, and it felt sort of shallow.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I read this book about 7 or 8 years ago now. I didn't remember much about it, except that I liked it, and I've planned on rereading it for a long time. With the new movie adaptation, this seemed like a good time! I don't know what took me so long, because I loved this book. It's so charming and funny while still touching on darker topics related to WWII. I can't wait to see the movie!