My reading slowed down a bit this past month, but only because life got busy! And I still had a pretty solid month of reading overall, all things considered – a nice mix, and some books that I absolutely loved. Here’s everything I read in August.

Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore

(I got an ARC of this from NetGalley, but it’s out now!) I really loved this story – it has really great queer rep, found family, romance, and ghosts, but the non-scary kind. Ezra’s family owns a funeral home, and he can see ghosts, which isn’t quite the ideal combination, and is why he tried to get as far away from the family business as soon as he was able. But after some family drama a la Grace and Frankie, Ezra agrees to step in and help fill in for his mother now that she’s no longer working there. But while there, Ezra meets a ghost who just happens to have been the husband of his cute new neighbor… a ghost who keeps breaking all the “rules” that Ezra come to understand the ghosts always follow. I learned a lot about Jewish funeral and mourning rituals while reading this, which I loved. I thought it also handled death and grieving and life in a really beautiful way.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

This is the epitome of a cozy fantasy book – it had just enough action to keep me invested and interested, but didn’t have heavy world-building that a lot of fantasy does have. Emily Wilde is the preeminent scholar of faeries, and she’s working on writing an encyclopaedia of all the different types. So she goes to a tiny village to research the Hidden Ones – the most secretive faeries – but runs into trouble because she finds herself much more comfortable with the company of faeries than she does people. Soon, her colleague Wendell Brambleby shows up and charms the town, who start to open up to both of them. When Emily finds herself getting a little too personally involved in her work, she may have to learn to trust people after all.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

I absolutely loved this book – it’s literary fiction combined with a mystery, but not fast-paced like a thriller. And it’s so perfectly moody and atmospheric; it’s set at summer camp, which I always love even though I’ve never actually been to one! Barbara Van Laar is found to be missing from her cabin at camp one morning, which would be a problem in and of itself, but is even a bigger problem because her family owns the camp, and her brother went missing years before and was never found. The story alternates back and forth between present day and the past; trying to solve the mystery of what happened to Barbara while also unwinding the Van Laar’s complicated history with the camp. There are a handful of different POV’s, too, but they all come together perfectly in the end. It’s definitely one of my favorite books of the year.

The Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda Montell

This is the only non-fiction I read this month, but it did not disappoint. It delves into all the different psychological biases and heuristics that affect our day-to-day lives and the decisions that we make, without us even realizing it! I’ve taken a few classes that have covered them before, but this was done in such a relatable, easy-to-understand way that it felt so much more approachable. I especially loved the chapter on manifestation, one of the most popular forms of magical overthinking in my opinion, but each different section was great. It’s also really funny! I did the audiobook version and found myself chuckling out loud as I listened. If you’re even remotely interested in how we make decisions in the information overload age, I definitely recommend this.

All Fours by Miranda July

This is another of my favorite books of the year – this is a bit weirder of a book, but weird in the way I love. It’s a really great story about a woman in mid-life, which isn’t something we get a lot of in a really good, authentic way. A somewhat famous artist decides to drive across the country to New York for a meeting, and then back to her home in LA, as a way to have a creative adventure. Except she gets only 20 or so minutes away from her home to stop for gas and lunch, and ends up checking into a motel and staying there instead… never telling her family about her change of plans. It’s definitely more character driven, and is a fascinating look into a woman’s sexual desires, domesticity, and career. It’s funny but deep, too. A bit explicit but not over-the-top or gratuitous.

Rachel Weiss’s Group Chat by Lauren Appelbaum

(I got an ARC of this from NetGalley, it will be out on September 24.) I always feel bad writing a bad review, but I really didn’t enjoy this book. It’s billed as a Pride and Prejudice retelling, and I get where the parallels come in, but the characters felt extremely shallow. Rachel Weiss works in a job she hates, and she’s turning 30 this year and her mother is obsessed with making sure she gets married – most recently, to the son of the neighbors who just moved in next door. Rachel is completely opposed to the idea, and frequently takes her complaints to the eponymous “group chat” with her three other friends. The premise is promising, but I just did not think it was well carried out – I was frequently frustrated with how every character acted. And there was a #MeToo plotline / joke that I just really didn’t think was appropriate.

The Family Experiment by John Marrs

My favorite part about John Marrs books is that they all take place in a universe with technology that is just slightly more advanced than ours, but feels totally plausible in the not-too-distant future. A tech company has created a way to have a virtual child in their online universe, and to get ready for the launch, they’ve decided to host a reality show. Contestants will all have to care for their virtual child, and the winner will be given a choice: to keep the virtual child, or to get a big payment that could help them start a family of their own in the real world. Each of the couples (or the single, in one case) chosen seem perfect for this challenge… at least on the surface. But just like any reality TV show, secrets start to unfold. I listened to this on audiobook, and the full cast recording was great!

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