August has always been one of my favorite months of the year. I love the feeling of transition that it brings, mostly because for the majority of my life it has meant starting an exciting new year of school. This year my academics are starting a little later (I’m coming, Oxford!) but August nevertheless brought a lot of change for me. Here’s what I was up to last month:
In August I read a total of 10 books:
- The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster
- The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
- Light in August by William Faulkner
- The Portable Faulkner by William Faulkner, edited by Malcolm Cowley
As per usual, it’s difficult to choose a favorite book of the month because I was fortunate to have read many great ones. This month it’s a tie between Flipped and The Sound and the Fury because I love them both for different reasons.
August mainly consisted of working, reading, and saying goodbye far too often. Many of my friends have left for their study abroad adventures or simply moved back to campus for the semester, which means that I’ve had to say goodbye to them before I leave for Oxford in a few weeks (eek!). Among the many farewells was one to my brother, a freshman at Wheaton this year. It’s so strange to be home while everyone is back at my favorite campus!
Here are some notable posts from my blog this past month:
- “Well, at least you’re reading something…” | Discussion
- What Cats Do | Book Tag
- Is there more to Jane Austen than romance? (YES) | Discussion
- Liebster Award | 5
- An Accidental Book Haul
- Goodreads Book Tag
- An Appreciation Post
- A Classic Couple: Great Expectations and A Prayer for Owen Meany
Here are some posts that I loved reading this month (there are so many!!):
- Mikaela shares 10 of her most secretive bookish confessions
- Whispering Gums takes us through 6 degrees of separation from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
- Inside My Library Mind compiled Hermione Granger’s Reading List
- Olivia shares helpful tips for book buying on a budget
- Shanah explains how blogging can be a frustrating but wonderful catch 22
- Shruti lists seven kinds of book bloggers we’ve all come across
- Lauren motivates us to beat procrastination with helpful tips
- Shanti explains how she organizes her shelves on Goodreads
- Maggie discusses how she never reads the synopsis of books
- Nadette shares her many forms of writing inspiration
- Lacy gives tips on how to read more productively
- Rachel explains the idea of a ratings twin and how she found hers
How was your month of August? What was the best book you read? Did you do anything really fun or exciting? Let me know in the comments section below!
Yours,
HOLLY
Thanks so much for linking to my post! ^_^
You’ve obvious had a great month of reading! I’ve been meaning to get started on Faulkner. I’ve been planning on reading The Sound and the Fury first and then move on to his other works. I’m so glad you liked it—it just makes me want to take the Faulkner plunge asap! 😁
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I think starting with The Sound and the Fury is a great idea. That’s what I did (solely because I had to read it for a class freshman year) and it’s a really good introduction to Faulkner’s fictional Yoknapatawpha County.
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Sounds good! I’m definitely reading Faulkner next. 😁
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I really love your Wrap Up posts! And you’re going to Oxford? That’s so cool!
Thank you so much for linking to my post, I am really glad you enjoyed it!
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Thank you! I’m so excited to go… only 17 more days! 🙂
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Ah, thanks so much for linking back to my post! 😄 I hope you have so much fun at Oxford! 🎉
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Thanks so much!! ❤
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Thank you for linking to my post!
I love all of the classics that were on your list for August! At the beginning of 2017, I made a goal of slowly chipping away at a few of the classics that have been sitting on my shelves for years, and I’ve been enjoying them more than I originally anticipated.
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Of course! 🙂
That’s exciting! Which one has been your favorite so far?
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I really enjoyed Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, even though I’m not typically a fan of plays
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I can’t believe that August is over already!? AHHHH
It looks like you had a super productive month though!! I didn’t read as much as I wanted to, but I also was on the road for the second half of the month, so I didn’t really have time to do much then.
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Right?! It feels so strange that it’s already September.
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I can’t wait until you get to Oxford and can tell it all about it! I’m sorry you have to say goodbye to everyone, though. It’s hard to leave home to go somewhere new.
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I’m so excited!! Saying goodbye is really hard, but I prefer to think of it more as a “see you later!” 🙂 Thanks!!
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Wow, you had a great month reading so many books! You always inspire me to read more classics.
And thanks for sharing my post! I really appreciate it 🙂 ❤
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No problem! 🙂
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Wow you read a lot of fantastics books. I have always wanted to read War and Peace but I am so intimidated by it.
Congratulations on Oxford. That is such an accomplishment!
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Thank you so much!
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I read The Picture of Dorian Gray just recently, too! I quite enjoyed it, even though basically all the characters are awful XD
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haha that’s so true! Sometimes awful characters are the most fun to read about 🙂
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I’ve been meaning to get The Picture of Dorian Gray but haven’t managed it yet. I’m ever hopeful though that I’ll get around to it someday soon! Thanks for linking to Hermione Granger’s booklist post, I found it completely spot on.
Good luck in Oxford! 🙂
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Thanks! I highly recommend The Picture of Dorian Gray– it’s such an eerie, fascinating read!
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Good luck with the school year! I like that you read so many classics. Before I started blogging, I used to read tons of them. I need to get back to that.
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Thank you!! Classic literature is probably my favorite genre ❤
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It looks like you read some amazing books in August! Oxford! That’s so exciting!
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I’m so excited to go! ❤
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Wow thanks so much for the mention! And 10 books this month?! That’s amazing!
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No problem! And thanks! 🙂
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how did you read 9 books AND “war & peace”? 😀
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haha don’t worry, I didn’t read the entirety of War & Peace this month– I’ve been chipping away at it since the beginning of the summer 🙂
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ok, i thought you were a reading machine in august 😂 that book is huuuuge! 😱 i am slowly making my way trough it!
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It is ENORMOUS. What part are you at?
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still at the beginning. i am doing one-year-of-war-and-peace – i read one chapter a day 😂 i am now 150 pages in
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That’s such a cool idea! It’s a great way to break it up 🙂
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yeah, it doesn’t make it that indimidating 😀
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I’m reading Dracula right now! I can’t believe it took me so long to actually start it.
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Oooh what do you think of it?
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I love it so far. I’ve been alive 29 years & I’m FINALLY reading. My only criticism is Stoker uses very long, winded sentences. Especially for diary entries, then again, they were more proper back in the day, they focused more formal writing. I can’t say much because I use long winded sentences too. Haha. The suspense is building. Dracula knows he tried to send letters through the gypsies. Ahh!
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Ooh, that’s such a good part of the book! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
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I’m sure I will. I love it already. I usually read before bed so I will continue. Dun dun dun. 😉
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10 books? That’s awesome!! 🙂
I loved Flipped! I’ve read it so many times! 😀
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Flipped is amazing! Definitely a new favorite of mine ❤
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Lovely wrap-up, Holly! I am so excited for you to go to Oxford, I can’t wait to hear all about your adventures there 🙂
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Thank you!! 😀 I can’t wait to go!
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wow! That’s a lot of books in a month!
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I don’t know how I read that much haha : )
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10 books in August is great! And I hope you have a great time at Oxford; it should be an incredible experience.
I had a great August myself. I turned 29, read 21 books, and attended Gen Con for the first time. Oh, and I reached 100 followers on my blog and published my 200th post, so it’s been an eventful month.
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WHOA, you had an amazing August!! 🙂
Thanks so much!
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Wow, you read so much! I really want to read The Picture of Dorian Gray as I’ve read one other Oscar Wilde book and I adored it, so I definitely need to read the rest of his works.
I hope you have an amazing time in Oxford – I’m sure you’ll have an incredible time! ❤
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Thanks so much!! ❤ I highly recommend The Picture of Dorian Gray. I've read it twice and there is still so much to take away from it.
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The champions are born in August.
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Congrats on reading 10 books- that’s awesome Holly!!
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Thank you!!
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So enjoyed your summary and review.
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Thank you!
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I hope you still have time for monthly recaps while you’re in Oxford, because I can’t wait to hear all about it! And see pictures. Saying goodbye to so many people is hard. Do you think you’ll be homesick at all? (I think you’ll be too busy having fun.)
I really liked Shanti’s post about her goodreads shelves!
Here’s my August recap 😊
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I feel like I’ll probably be homesick a little (especially at first), but I’m hoping that I’ll be too busy exploring to dwell on it. And don’t worry, I’ll be doing plenty of updates 🙂
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Ahhh you’re going to Oxford soon!! It must be so strange that your brother just left for Wheaton while you didn’t. Buttt it’s because you’re going on such an exciting adventure!! Really hope you’ll have a great time Holly and I can’t wait to hear all about it 🙂
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Thanks so much, Michelle! It definitely feels weird still being home when everyone else is at school…. I’m counting down the days until I leave! 🙂
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How cool is it that you’re going to Oxford! That’s my favourite place to visit in England. And I’ve got a hoodie and souvenirs to prove it 😉 And you managed to read twice as many books as I did so congratulations on that!
The best book I read last month was A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas and I’m still hung op on it.
Here’s my August Wrap Up .
xx Yasmine @ Swissbookworm
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haha an Oxford hoodie is definitely on my list of souvenirs to get 🙂 I’ve never read anything by Sarah J Maas but everyone seems to love her books so maybe I should…
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Sounds like you had an amazing August! Ten books is a lot, that’s five times more than I’ve read this month… XD (Ahh school sucks the fun out of reading sometimes) Congratulations!
Wow, Oxford should be amazing! I love visiting there, my family and I go every year because we have relatives, and it’s such an incredible place.
Just found your blog, really happy I did because I love reading too so I’m excited to find some more of your posts to inspire me for new books to read! 🙂
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That’s so cool that you have relatives in Oxford! I’ve never been to England before so I’m really excited 🙂
Also, welcome to my blog! Thanks so much for stopping by!! 🙂
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I know! Since I’m a UK-er (not a word… XD) my family visit England quite a lot. It’s a long drive though…
Thank you! ❤ And you're very welcome! 🙂
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Oh I’d be interested in seeing what you think of Heart of Darkness, if you decide to do a review. I liked it, but it’s pretty hit or miss with most folks.
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I enjoyed it, though it was VERY intense. I’ll probably do a full review of it soon!
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