Book of the Month
There’s not much activity to report this month, as I took a two-week blogging break. But along with keeping up with the Reading New England and Back to the Classics challenges, I was kept busy getting ready for some coming attractions.
These include the third annual Witch Week, which I’m pleased to announce will take place once more from October 31 to November 6, featuring contributions from some of my favorite bloggers. Watch for more details early in September.
As for my book of the month, Naomi Novik created a fabulous imaginative world in her Temeraire series, and the ninth and last book, League of Dragons, was a worthy conclusion. But I’m left with many questions, and I hope that Novik may consider returning to the same world but perhaps jumping a century or so. I need to know what happens now that dragons are being admitted as members of Parliament.
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Reviews
- Carry On was a heartfelt and moving memoir of an ESPN reporter and the story she couldn’t let go.
- In Johnny Tremain and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation I found two very different takes on the American revolution.
- Three Men in a Boat took me on a rambling journey that is deservedly a comedic classic.
Other Books Read
- Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather – Reread
- The Shortest Way to Hades by Sarah Caudwell – Reread
- Looking for Betty MacDonald by Paula Becker – Review to come
- League of Dragons by Naomi Novik
- The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding – Review to come
- Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart – Review to come
- The Worst Witch series by Jill Murphy
- Worlds Afire by Paul Janeczko – Reading New England
- Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace
- Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
Other Features and Events
- How do you follow other blogs? was a fun topic to explore with others.
- I featured Candlewick Press, an exciting success story in independent publishing, for the Reading New England publisher spotlight.
Shared in the Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer, the Month in Review linkup at The Book Date, and the Monthly Wrap-up Round-up hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction
The Emerald City Book Review Archive 
Now that Novik has finished the series, it is time for me to settle in and finally catch up! I have most of them. I will have to figure out which ones I am missing! Glad the series ended well, though.
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The details from some of the past books are vague in my mind, so at some point a reread of everything in order would be good.
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I’ve also loved (laughed) Three men in a boat – listened to it on Librivox and it was great! I don’t know any of the other books you’ve listed here, but I will stop around and have a look! Hope your week will be great! Here’s my Sunday Post: http://marelithalkink.blogspot.co.za/2016/08/the-sunday-post-double-up-to-100.html
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I can imagine it would come across very well as an audiobook. Glad you enjoyed it too.
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You did very well for having two weeks off! Happy August!
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Thanks, Freda, I hope you have a great month too.
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Love your Candlewick Press spotlight!
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Oh good, I always fear that no one else is as interested in going behind the scenes with publishers as I am.
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You wrote some wonderful reviews this month and will have to add Three Men in a Boat to my tbr. I’ll be curious what you think of Something Wicked This Way Comes. I read it earlier this year and was impressed by Bradbury’s writing. Have a great week Lory!
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I’m also interested to see what I think of Something Wicked This Way Comes. I like Bradbury’s writing too, but I always thought that book looked too scary for me. I seem to be becoming slightly braver as I get older.
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I love Candlewick Press, they produce some wonderful children’s books! I’m fascinated by the goings-on at publishers, so you’re definitely not the only one!
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Hooray, I’m glad to hear that. I hope to do some more features of this kind, so watch out for those.
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The Three Men in a Boat audiobook was really funny, and I enjoyed The Worst Witch ones also (although I have only listened to a couple, since they aren’t on Audible anymore). I haven’t read Small Gods yet since there are just so many other Discworld books to finish first. And I am very grateful to Candlewick for bringing Ambelin Kwaymullina’s The Tribe series to America.
Sunday Summary #17
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Small Gods was filling in a gap in my Discworld reading. It’s the new edition from Folio and I wanted to see if I thought it was worth buying.
I had not heard of the Tribe series — looks fascinating!
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Wow there are 9 books in the Temeraire series?! I’ve not even read 1 but I would love too as I’ve heard good things 🙂 I wish you more happy reading in September and I look forward to more reviews.
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Ha ha, yes, that series did become quite a collection. The Aubrey/Maturin series (which it somewhat resembles, except with dragons) was up to 21 books, though, when the author died…
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Have to go check out your post about Candlewick Press. I love success stories like that!
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I love Candlewick!
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A break is always nice but still a great month for you! Going to check out your discussion posts now!
My August Recap!
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Thanks for visiting, Eva!
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I am adding genre stickers to the books in my classroom library, as it’s easier for students to locate and return books by that instead of by author. I just realized that each book has the publisher on the spine, and I’ve been paying attention to which ones are from Candlewick, as well as noticing which other publishers I see frequently. Again, not something I’d really paid attention to before, so thanks for bringing it up!
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It’s pretty cool when you find a publisher you like and can look out for.
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I loved Uprooted, but have yet to read anything of Novik’s. I’d really like to get to this series though! Dragons are always fun and I’d love to see how she writes them.
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One of the best things about the series is that there is not just one variety of dragon – they exist all over the world and have very different characteristics and relationships with the humans in their environment. I think you’d find it quite interesting.
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