I went into August pretty hopeful because I had a solid plan set up for the month! I was going to be reading the books that I own physically but also own a kindle copy, so even though I wasn’t reading physical books, I could still make a dent in my phsyical TBR.
I ended up having a great reading month, with a decent chunk of my phsyical TBR read (though one of them definitely only counts because I purchased a physical copy after the fact…) and I’m glad this was the route I went down. It took the pressure off me having a strict TBR to stick to, but a helpful guideline! And I liked that!
Here is what I read in August
So. Many. Five. Star. Reads
What was my August?! I’ll tell you what, brilliant. It goes to show that typically if I am buying the physical book it is because I’ve got a pretty damn good idea I will love it. I can’t help the ones I get in subscription boxes, but the ones I’m choosing to bring into my home, I have a good history of getting it right!
Reading Stats for August
Stats about the types books I read
| # Physical Books off TBR | # of Days Read | # of Pages Read | # of Kindle Books | # of Audio Books | # of Books Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 31 | 4,665 | 9 | 2 | 10 |
Stats about the Ratings I gave the books I read
| Joined 6⭐Club | 5⭐ | 4.5 ⭐ | 4 ⭐ | 3.5 ⭐ | 3 ⭐ | Less than 3⭐ | DNF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 4 | 4 (2 4.75) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Book Bracket Entry – Favourite Book of the Month
book of the month
The Poet Empress by Shen Tao
Without a doubt, the book of the month has to be The Poet Empress. It is 2026’s shout it from the rooftops till everyone picks up a copy read… This was just so good, truly. The heartbreak and these characters will stay with me.
Runner up
Vicious by V.E. Schwab
I hoped I’d love this, because it’s a friends favourite read, so I was thrilled to have loved it as much as I did. I really thought nothing was going to top Vicious this month! I was convinced it would be the book of the month. Goes to show how much I loved both this and TPE though.
Biggest Surprise of the Month
Sorrow & Strangers by Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune
It has to be the biggest surprise because I never imagined I’d get an early copy of this! As soon as it landed on my kindle I knew I was going to be picking it up immediately. I will say, S&S hurt me bad with all the grief exploration it does. But still, it is a very good read and I love these characters. But no, it was an actual surprise to have a copy of this so naturally it’s the biggest surprise.
Any 2026 Challenge progress?
26 in 2026
We did make progress!!! After a month of no progress, I’m happy to report we did read some of the books from our 26 in 2026 list! They are:
- Starside by Alex Aster
- Vicious by V.E. Schwab
- Heir of Illusion by Madeline Taylor
Both were excellent reads, and both kind of unexpected pick ups in August! But I am glad I read them both because they were great.
BINGO!
We also made bingo progress! Including getting our first BINGO!
Read a book that has your favourite colour on the cover – my favourite colour at the moment is burgundy (though I promise you I spell it wrong any time it’s posted on instagram…) and US edition of The Poet Empress that I own is covered in burgundy! So, with crossing this one off, we got our first BINGO!
Read a book by an author that shares part of your name – well, as mentioned it was a surprise that I actually ended up with an eARC of Sorrow & Strangers written by Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune. This was the book I always intended reading for this prompt. I’m sure that when I thought of it there were other authors I was thinking of too, but as we got into the year I knew this was going to be this read!
Read a book because the blurb sounds awesome – Heir of Illusion by Madeline Taylor was picked up initially because of the blurb. It’s not often I actually read the blurb before purchasing books because I do just love reading books blind, but this was one of those that I picked up because of the blurb and I finished it in August!
But there we have it, three squares crossed off! And our first BINGO secured! I can call this bingo board a success now! I’m still going to try and get a few more bingo’s by the end of the year though!
Read 120 books in 2026
We are sadly still behind on this goal, as Goodreads reminds me every time I look at it… but it’s okay! I had an unexpected interruption to my reading but I am reading my usual amount again so even if I don’t reach 120, at least I’m reading again. I still think I’ll reach 100 books, which was my initial goal before a friend convinced me to up it, so I think I’ll be happy regardless.
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