“She reads books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live.” – Annie Dillard

I finally got back into the habit of reading a little bit every day and was able to finish 5 books in July! Woohoo! Lots of good fiction reads this month. I’ll have a few more non-fiction to write about after August, but there were just too many great stories recommended to me in July and I wanted to read them all!

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson – The third in the Stormlight series, this book really started to bring multiple characters together both in partnership and conflict. There is some really interesting character development and growth, but some of it felt too slow. Like, we were seeing someone’s day to day growth rather than it matching the pace of the rest of the story. Not sure if that makes sense, but I wanted certain characters to reach conclusions faster than they did and that made parts of the book really slog along to me. But overall I am loving this story and I can’t wait to see where it goes. There were some unexpected revelations made in this installment that set up some interesting philosophical questions that I hope are explored in depth in the next book.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – This book is about a mysterious competition between magicians that takes place on the backdrop of an equally mysterious and enchanting traveling circus. It was recommended by a friend as one of her top five books. I struggle with what to say on this one because the story is really good and unique and inventive. And I was invested in the characters and what was going to happen to them. But also it felt difficult to read. I kept picking it up, excited to see what was going to happen next, only to end up putting it down again after 15 pages because it was taking too much mental energy to follow along. So I’m not sure if I would recommend it unless you are up for a challenge.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – On the opposite end of the spectrum, I found this book incredibly easy to read! Devoured it, quite frankly. It has such a unique premise, the main character has an opportunity between life and death to try out all the different lives she could have had if she had made different choices. While the moral of the story is pretty unsurprising, I thought the way Haig gets us there was fun and thought-provoking. It’s a quick read and I’d definitely recommend it! I think it would be a great vacation read or for a book club to discuss.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones – This book was good but heavy. It took a bit for me to really get into the groove with the characters and how the book is written. It is told from varying viewpoints, mostly the two main characters. And it jumps forward through time, so you have to pay attention to the clues that tell you how much time has passed. The main premise shines a spotlight on our current justice system, but the story as a whole makes you think about the implications of all the different parts of a person — being a parent, being a husband or wife, being in love, being open and honest, being successful, being loyal, being true to yourself — and while the story is so vastly different from what my life looks like day-to-day, I still felt cracked open at the end. Highly recommend, but know you will be getting yourself in deep with this one.

Hallelujah Anyway by Anne Lamott – I saw someone mentioned they had read this on instagram and I decided to check it out. This is a very Lamott book in that it interweaves big lessons with her own personal experiences (and failings), bible stories, and tales from other people’s lives. She focuses on the idea of mercy, who deserves it, who gives it, who receives it, etc… I think a lot of people would say they struggle with the idea of mercy, both in giving and receiving. I do especially as an Enneagram 1. I have high standards for myself, the people around me, and the world at large. And when things don’t meet those standards, I consider the idea of justice more than I think about mercy. So this was a good read for me at this point in time. It’s a short book, about 100 pages. I’d recommend if you like Lamott’s writing style and if you are good with overtly Christian content.