Well hello September! You sure crept up on me.

In fact, so did August. I never did do a recap for July.

But before I get into my recap, I want to let you all know that R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT has a new mystery/thriller book group starting up this month that I’ll be facillitating.

Our first meeting is Wednesday, September 17th at 7pm and we’ll discuss Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger.

If you live in the area I hope you’ll join us!

Have you read anything by William Kent Krueger? Ordinary Grace will be my first by him. I’ve heard nothing but good things about his novels from other readers and bloggers like Jennifer over at the Relentless Reader who reviewed Ordinary Grace last summer.

Now, on to the recap. Links go to my reviews. I have plans to review unlinked books, but we’ll see how that goes. Pre- and post- vacation threw me out of my routine and I’m hoping to be back in the saddle with my projects this week.

Here’s what I read in July and August

Fiction:

• The Quick by Lauren Owen — Touted as the literary vampire novel of the year. Decent plot, got off to a good start, but I thought the story fizzled out towards the end.
• The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara — So glad to have finally read this one. Caught me a bit of a Civil War bug with this one.
• The Bone Seeker by M.J. McGrath — Solid mystery novel, a good read. Review copy.
• This is the Water by Yannick Murphy —  Interesting thriller both in form and content. Review copy.
• Steel Magnolias by Roberty Harling — If you liked the movie, read the play. It left me jonesing to see a stage production.
• Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little — Did the starlet who spent 10 years in the slammer for murdering her mother really kill her mother? I didn’t really care, but I enjoyed reading this one. Fresh narrative voice. Review copy.
• Gutenberg’s Apprentice by Alix Christie — Released date 9/23/14. Historical fiction about the men behind the printing of the Gutenberg Bible(s). Look for review on 9/11. Review copy.

Nonfiction:

• Born on the 4th of July by Ron Kovic — I was curious about this book ever since I saw the movie in 1989. So glad to have finally read it. It’s a brilliant time capsule of the Vietnam era and a combat veteran’s experience of dealing with and healing his war wounds.
• Women Heroes of World War I by Kathyrn J. Atwood — YA history. Excellent reading for teens and adults. If you want to read something about women and WWI, this is a solid jumping off point. Review copy.
• Death in the Baltic: The World War II Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff by Cathyrn J. Prince — I always thought the Titanic was the worst maritime disaster and never heard of about this tragedy where over 9,000 civilians died when the German ship Wilhelm Gustloff was torpedoed by a Russian sub in the Baltic toward the end of WWII. Fascinating subject matter, but the editing could have been stronger.