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Hi fellow readers! Another month has passed and it's September now. I know some of you are excited because September means fall. Even though there's technically no fall season where I live, I still like the idea of fallen browning leaves, pumpkin, fireplace, snuggling with blanket while sipping hot chocolate or tea and reading books. Sounds cozy, huh? Anyway, since it's September already, it's time for August wrap-up. Here are the books I read in August.
Books read in August
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Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1) - Beth Revis (★★★) |
Across the Universe is the first book in the Across the Universe trilogy. It's a young adult science-fiction with a mix of dystopian book and a bit of mystery. It has such an interesting premise. I've never read a book like it before. The entire story of the book is set in a spaceship called Godspeed, which gives off claustrophobic feeling. The colony living in the ship has a ruling system that begs for a rebellion. Basically almost everything on the ship is covered in lies. It's such a fun read and I really enjoyed it. I've written a full review of this book which will probably be up on August later.
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A Million Suns (Across the Universe #2) - Beth Revis (★★★) |
A Million Suns is the sequel to Across the Universe. It still follows Amy, Elder, and the people living in Godspeed. It is set three months after the events in Across the Universe. Because it's a sequel, I won't spoil the plot of this book. This book has a lot more mystery elements than the previous one. There's more seeking for clues to reveal the truth behind the mission that sent Godspeed in the first place. It was more thrilling than the first book. Then again, that's probably because the first book focuses on the world building. I still enjoyed reading A Million Suns, although there are moments when I think Amy is annoying. I understand her eagerness to go to the new planet, but her impatience sometimes annoyed me. I mean, she must have realized that no matter how hard she tries to get her old life back, this new planet, Centauri-Earth is NOT the same planet as her Earth. Nevertheless, if you like Across the Universe, I think A Million Suns is worth to try.
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Shades of Earth (Across the Universe #3) - Beth Revis (★★★) |
Since Shades of Earth is the last book in the Across the Universe trilogy, it's difficult to talk about it without giving any spoilers. What I can talk about is how much I don't like Amy in this book and how I like Elder more. He's grown on me. His character has developed quite nicely throughout the trilogy, but somehow Amy is getting more annoying. In terms of pacing, the first part is kind of slow and boring. As the book nears the end, it becomes more exciting. This book does have different tone than the other two and unfortunately I couldn't explain why without giving any spoilers. I almost gave it a meh review, but then I reached the part where the author decided to play with my feelings. All I'm saying is, it's an okay book but it's still a satisfying conclusion to this trilogy.
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Love is A Choice (Across the Universe #0.6) - Beth Revis (★★★) |
This novella is set before the event in Across the Universe. It follows Orion slightly before he was the Recorder in the Recorder Hall. It gives more background story to his character. Reading the original trilogy, I admire Orion for his meticulousness. But because I didn't know his way of thinking or why he did what he did, I dislike him. After reading the third book and this novella, I appreciate him more. If you've read the Across the Universe series, I would suggest reading this novella to give more context to Orion's character.
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As They Slip Away (Across the Universe #2.5) - Beth Revis (★★★) |
As They Slip Away is another novella from Across the Universe series. This time we follow several side characters who appear in the original trilogy. It's a story of Kayleigh, Harley, Bartie, Luthor, and Selene. If you've read the series you will recognize the names except for Selene. She's actually one of the side characters in the series, but we never really know her in the original trilogy until this novella. It's sad and scary because of Luthor. Again, if you've read the trilogy you would know what I meant. This novella fills some gaps in the trilogy and I think it answers some questions from the original trilogy. If you want to know more about the 'crazies' in the hospital before Elder came, you could read this novella.
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13 Reasons Why - Jay Asher (★★) |
13 Reasons Why is published years ago, but it gets the spotlight again recently because of the Netflix adaptation. I didn't like this book. Had I read it when I was younger, I might relate to the characters in this book. It's just that I'm too old to relate to them, but too young to see it from parents' perspective. I've written a full review of this book if you want to check it out.
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Boy, Snow, Bird - Helen Oyeyemi (★★) |
Let me tell you, this book is an enigma. It took me longer to read than I expected to. I also didn't enjoy the reading experience. In conclusion, this book isn't for me. But if you want to know more about my thoughts on this book, feel free to read my full review.
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The History of Love - Nicole Krauss (★★★★) |
I've been meaning to read this book for a long time. I heard many good things about it, but I also heard how this book is being compared by Jonathan Safran Foer's book. Thankfully, I haven't read any of Foer's books so I didn't have a certain expectation. I ended up loving this book. I've written a full review of this book if you want to check it out.
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Review Posts in August
Scheduled Suicide Day - Akiyoshi Rikako
Room - Emma Donoghue
Penance - Kanae Minato
The Great Zoo of China - Matthew Reilly
Scheduled Suicide Day - Akiyoshi Rikako
Room - Emma Donoghue
Penance - Kanae Minato
The Great Zoo of China - Matthew Reilly
August Favorites
Book
The History of Love
YouTube Series
Buzzfeed: Unsolved
A YouTube series, yeah, I know and no, it's not a YouTube Red series. It's free to watch. It's just the way YouTube organize playlists nowadays enable creators to group their videos which are part of their regular programming into series with seasons, like a TV show. Lately, I've been watching Buzzfeed: Unsolved series. I've known of this series for a while. Most people who commented on any of Buzzfeed videos mention this series and how it's the only Buzzfeed videos they're waiting for. The title of the videos from this series are intriguing too, but I can get easily scared by these kind of videos that I didn't watch it. That is, until I ran out of YouTube videos to watch and I was bored. Buzzfeed: Unsolved is hosted by Ryan Bergara and Shane (Brent for first several episodes) from Buzzfeed. Each episode, Ryan would present us with one unsolved mystery and theories surrounding it. Buzzfeed: Unsolved started with one unsolved crime per episode, but then it gets a spin-off series in which they delve into the supernatural. So currently, there are two Buzzfeed: Unsolved series, Buzzfeed: Unsolved True Crime and Buzzfeed: Unsolved Supernatural. The hosts manage to tell the tale in such a compelling way and the dynamic between the two hosts make the show interesting to watch. Ryan is a believer while Shane is a skeptic. These two often argue whether the theories presented are valid or not. If you like true crime, ghost story, or history, you might want to check this show, but I won't guarantee you'll get the satisfaction of solving the mystery though; because they're not really trying to solve them, they're just (kind of) talking about it which is fine by me.
Podcast
I've been listening to Lore since last year but I was saving up some episodes to listen to later. I only subscribed to a couple of podcasts so I didn't want to run out of episode to listen to. But now I subscribe to many-many podcasts so I don't need to worry about that anymore. I like listening to Lore while I'm coding. Somehow it makes me less scared (of the story, not coding). Anyway, if you like historical non-fiction or horror in general, I recommend this podcast to you.
There you have it! I don't include a music section because I didn't make any playlist for August. I just wasn't in the mood to listen to any particular type of music and spent most of my time listening to podcast. I manage to read 6 books and two short stories. I'm currently reading Stephen King's Bazaar of Bad Dreams and The Vegetarian by Han Kang. I love King's book so far but I'm only a few pages into The Vegetarian so I can't tell anything about it yet. August was pretty good. How about you? Did you have a good reading month?
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