Amy Scott's Thoughts

Bookish Thoughts for July

I’ve let myself have a fictional July (aka a month of fiction-only reading)! Summer feels like the perfect time to dive into fiction and to leave the non-fiction on the shelf for a while. I promise I will return to non-fiction reading in August, but July was the mental break I needed. I had so much fun this month discovering new authors. Angela Bell, Becky Wade, and Denise Hunter were all new authors for me. Pepper Basham was also a new author from last month that I read more of in July. Essentially, my July reading was mostly Hallmark movies, but in book form. It was perfect!

Highlights of the month were A Novel Proposal, The Island Bookshop, and The Collector of Burned Books. I love books about books and the first two I mentioned also had summer, beachy vibes. The Island Bookshop was the first time I’d read contemporary fiction from Roseanna M. White. The Collector of Burned Book was WWII historical fiction, which isn’t her usual time period. Roseanna M. White also released a fantasy novel recently and I read it last month. I’ve been impressed with her ability to write across genres and challenge herself with new things.

Another fun treat this month was listening to the audiobook version of The Host by Stephanie Meyer. I’ve read the book twice and watched the movie. I was told the audiobook was well done and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see (well, listen) for myself. The Host is a thick book – over 600 pages. It made the audiobook 23 hours along. It was a commitment! It was neat to hear the story in a new way and it’s a book that I will definitely re-read again (but maybe not listen to… that might have been a one and done experience due to the length). I read much faster than I listen!

I have a stack of library books to work through in August as well was some annual re-reads I want to revisit. I’m watching new releases by some of my favorite Indie authors stack up in Kindle Unlimited. I’ll have a long TBR when I subscribe again (probably this fall). Thankfully, my local library, the Libby app, and my home library have kept me plenty busy this summer and they will continue to do so. I’m a happy bookworm!

Top Picks for July

The Book List for July
1 Star = I did not like it. 2 stars = It was okay. 3 stars = I liked it. 4 stars = I really liked it. 5 stars = It was amazing.

• Memory Lane by Becky Wade – 4 stars
• Rocky Road by Becky Wade – 4 stars
• Uneasy Street by Becky Wade – 4 stars
• Positively, Penelope by Pepper Basham – 3 stars
• Loyally, Luke by Pepper Basham – 3 stars
• Some Like It Scot by Pepper Basham – 4 stars
• A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell – 3 stars
• Before We Were Us by Denise Hunter – 4 stars
• A Novel Proposal by Denise Hunter – 4 stars
• Riverbend Gap by Denise Hunter – 3 stars
• Mulberry Hollow by Denise Hunter – 4 stars
• Harvest Moon by Denise Hunter – 4 stars
• Sweetbriar Cottage by Denise Hunter – 3 stars
• The Island Bookshop by Roseanna M. White – 4 stars
• The Collector of Burned Books by Roseanna M. White – 4 stars
• The Host by Stephanie Meyers – 5 stars