August is Here and Quite Frankly I'm in Denial Summer is Almost Over

 While I have been enjoying some aspects of summer: not wearing a coat, early morning wake ups, and no warming up the car! I do get weary of the warm, sticky, icky weather. I also get a bit crestfallen when I see all of my flowers start to wither under the unrelenting heat. Flowers have done pretty well, but the last few weeks of super hot days have taken the fight right out of them. Iowa hasn't had much rain at all this summer, and it shows. We need rain!!

I woke up this morning and told my partner "Do you realize it's August 1st?" What he said isn't repeatable, so let's just say he was shocked to realize we're in another month. 

August is here, and wow it showed up fast. I've been reflecting a lot on my incredibly slow reading pace this year; sitting with it and thinking about the why of it all. Some of it has to do with being unable to concentrate and really dive into a story. Some of it has to do with spending much more time with my partner than I have in past years. My time to myself has shrunk a bit--not a huge amount, but enough to keep me from reading all weekend like I used to do. I definitely do think some of it has to do with phone distraction. It's too easy to read a page, then check the phone. So starting this month I'm going to put the phone away every night after 6 PM and not look at it. 

I still read every day. I never miss a day. It's not something I can do--it will put me in a crabby mood if I don't read even a few pages. So I squeeze in time early in the morning, try to read at lunch if I can. Always read before bed at night. I've been reading a lot on Twitter other book bloggers who also are struggling with reading since Covid. So I'm hoping next year my reading may return to a more normal level for me. 

Last month I started quite a few books and didn't get through them. I'm reading The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris and I'm having a hard time sitting and reading chunks of it. Mostly because I know something unpleasant is going to happen, and I'm anticipating and dreading it! But I plan on finishing it this month and getting a review out. Some other titles I've got in the hopper:

I just had to grab a Katie Fforde novel. This one is about a young chef who inherits a farm and a herd of very impressive cows. Will she succeed or fail and lose the farm?

AHHHHHH Alice Hoffman!!  This is the sequel to Practical Magic and I was lucky to receive an ARC. I've already started it and cried. This is being published in October. 

I've had a few people recommend this book. Baby steps to creating new habits. I can definitely get onboard with this. 

I picked this up at B&N and thought it looked fun. A woman with huge anxiety is pushed out of her comfort zone when she decides to spy on her husband and a woman she suspects are having an affair. 

OOH!! I've been waiting for this sequel to The Book Charmer for months. It's finally here! A return to Dove Pond and the magical Dove sisters. 

I've had this book in a pile for months and keep forgetting to start it. I need some historical fiction, and this is the ticket. One of the periods in history that fascinate me: the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. 

I've also got a few books on hold at the library, and you know I'm easily distracted by new titles. I'm making myself wait until later in the week before I visit B&N to pick up some new releases. 

Here's to August, the comfort of books, and starting new habits.