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Today, let’s start by mentioning a title you won’t see in our Reading Life Review until September’s edition.  In an effort to keep it fresh on our brains, we have not yet started to (re)read Shelby Mahurin’s debut Serpent & Dove, but it’s on the reading schedule, and soon.  We know some of our dear readers have started it already, and we are so delighted (and you’re welcome to slide into Nikki’s DMs with commentary, but not Ashley’s, not yet at least).  If you haven’t started yet, you have until Friday, September 18 at 7:30 p.m. CST to complete this YA fantasy novel, so you can join us in conversation about it.  Fall beverages suggested, registration is open here.  

Ashley IN MEDIAS RES

• The Revelation of Louisa May by Michaela MacColl
• Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat; The BRRRR Rental Property Investment Strategy Made Simple by David Greene
• Ninja Selling: Subtle Skills. Big Results by Larry Kendall
• Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine  by Mike Michalowicz
• Louisa Alcott Collection: 39 Works by Louisa May Alcott
• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

Nikki IN MEDIAS RES

• The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran
• Sanditon, Lady Susan, & The History of England by Jane Austen
• Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick by Zora Neale Hurston
• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

Ashley FIN

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling*
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling*
• The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
• Bromance Book Club (#1) by Lyssa Kay Adams
• The Gilded Wolves (#1) by Roshani Chokshi
• Undercover Bromance (#2) by Lyssa Kay Adams
• Becoming Us: Using the Enneagram to Create a Thriving Gospel-Centered Marriage by Beth McCord and Jeff McCord
• One Hot Scot by Donna Alam
• Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz
• Badd Ass (#2) by Jasinda Wilder
• Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women #1) by Evie Dunmore
• The Silvered Serpents (#2) by Roshani Chokshi

*Completed in July

Nikki FIN

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
• The Future of Feeling: Building Empathy in a Tech Obsessed World by Kaitlin Ugolik Phillips
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
• The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray
• The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi
• Undercover Bromance (#2) by Lyssa Kay Adams
• The Gilded Wolves (#1) by Roshani Chokshi
• One Hot Scot by Donna Alam
• The Silvered Serpents (#2) by Roshani Chokshi
• The Hidden Flame (#2) by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke
• The Damascus Way (#3) by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke
• The Betrothed (#1) by Kiera Cass
• The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

I listened to a podcast yesterday that has struck me as I’m looking at my list of books for this month.  The interviewee was saying she struggled to get into Jane Austen’s books because of the style of speaking which is so different than the one we use 200 years later.  As we recently discussed, I adore the way Zora Neale Hurston writes dialogue for her characters in Their Eyes Were Watching God.  While there is a hundred years (give or take) between Austen and Hurston, and Hurston and the present, I find a lot of similarity in my personal reading experience of the two.  I have to be in the frame of mind for reading the unfamiliar phrasing in a way I don’t when I read more recently published works (as most of my other books are).  If readers enjoy Hurston’s other works, I highly suggest Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick.  I’m only about half way through, but as it’s a book of short stories, I feel very confident in the recommendation.  Don’t skip the editor’s note or the introduction by Tayari Jones.

My Facebook friends know I was on the launch team for The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn’t, and Get Stuff Done by Kendra Adachi because I kept talking about it, #sorrynotsorry.  If you’re looking for a new outlook on your out of control to do list, this might just be the book you’re looking for!  I have read a few books on systems to organize or inspire me to get more done, be more efficient, etc. (and am in progress with one right now), but this is actually the book (and the podcast) that I needed, especially during the season of the virus that shall not be named.  Adachi outlines 13 principles that you can pick from to frame different aspects of your life.  “Name what matters” is a recurring theme on The Lazy Genius Podcast, which I’ve been listening to for about a year, and y’all, it’s been a game changer for me and got me through five months of having two working adults and two elementary age children at home.  And that’s only one of the 13 principles.  I read it once, via the electronic ARC, and I wasn’t finished before I pre-ordered the case bound-hardback from my local indie (because a dust jacket is not conducive to being a Lazy Genius according to Adachi – see, she’s brilliant).  If you want to learn more, check out the introduction, first chapter, or my two most favorite recent episodes on school and morning routine.  In case you haven’t noticed, I’m 100% into this kool-aid and I’d love for you to join me.  One note I do want to make for readers, Adachi is a Christian, she’s worked in vocational ministry.  This book isn’t churchy or preachy, but there are references to Christianity interspersed (mostly in the “you are enough” category).    

Overall, I’m pretty pleased with how my back to school reading has gone.  The children are mostly settled into a rhythm (and now that I’ve typed that Monday morning will be a struggle bus) and I’m working on finding mine.  I’m trying to figure out how to make working out a priority when I don’t have a class to make (see, I need systems and routine, and to decide once – another Lazy Genius principle).  I’ve also gotten to read five books from my holds list, so that’s another win, despite 77 that remain.  The struggle is real!  

How are you feeling about your reading this month as summer is winding down?

~Nikki 

I never realized how much I truly need a schedule and a system until these strange pandemic times, and even though I have said multiple times to Nikki that I’m not ready to read The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn’t, and Get Stuff Done by Kendra Adachi I should probably move that up on my TBR because today and this past week in general has been a struggle bus for me, too.  I was feeling really good about my reading life until I finished The Silvered Serpents (#2) by Roshani Chokshi on Thursday night with a tolerable respect for Friday’s needs as I was done by approximately 11:30pm. But I haven’t done much reading since then.  Remember how I just said I don’t have a schedule? Bedtime is an adventure every night; I figure if I’m in bed by 11ish and asleep by 12 I’m doing well so that 7am doesn’t feel like it has arrived too soon. 

There aren’t many books this month that I have read that aren’t blog titles! You’ve read our review on The Gilded Wolves and I know you are waiting with much anticipation for us to discuss The Silvered Serpents on Thursday. And then you’re familiar with The Bromance Book Club and Undercover Bromance. One Hot Scot and Badd Ass are two titles from the Heart.Wants.Books. weekend of Romance habit. Jo & Laurie will have to wait until December’s Alcott extravaganza, and well, Bringing Down the Duke is also a contender for a review.  That just leaves me with Becoming Us a book about the enneagram and how we can use it to grow in a Christian marriage. I’m just going to leave my discussion about that to state it didn’t meet expectations but I am not sad I read it. If you’re interested on how the enneagram can bring you and your spouse closer to a fulfilled life together and in Christ, then move this up your TBR. If you’re just looking for information about your enneagram type and how to function in relationship with your spouse’s type, read the second half of the book first as that is the reference information you are looking for.

I’m really looking forward to September’s theme and I hope everyone is ready for virtual book club on Friday the 18th! We are keeping an eye on amazon to see if the kindle version of Serpent and Dove  goes on sale during this week, as Blood and Honey releases on Tuesday and you can preorder for $9.99, however, as of this post our book club title is still holding steady at $10.99. Watch our socials for updates on kindle book price changes!  Y’welcome.

~Ashley