August 2017 Wrap-Up

I only read three books this month, which is better than the previous months but still not a great number. I'm hoping to really drive that number up in September and October. In the month of August I worked 60 hours in the first week alone, and that was then followed by preparations for college and finishing up summer homework. I moved in about halfway through the month and have spent the past two weeks just getting acclimated and settled at my new home. I'm living my best life and having so much fun.

Now, moving on, I only read 3 books this month. One was an audiobook and the other two were required reading for a summer essay. I feel a little like a failure but it's okay because September will be better! I have so many books that I started but had to put down because I got busy and never picked back up that I can now continue on with! I'm not sure how ambitious I want to make my September TBR, if I even want to make a set list. Still, enjoy this wrap up and if you want to know about what books I bought this month, check out my August Book Haul here :)

1.
Title: Trying To Live With The Dead
Author: B.L. Brunnemer
Rating: 5/5 stars
Review

I audiobooked this book this month and I adored it! It was my fourth or fifth time rereading this book and I absolutely loved it. I thought the audiobook was done extremely well and I am incredibley excited for the second book's audio version to be released in FOUR days! 

2.
Title: Under Fire
Author: Henri Barbusse
Rating: 2/5 stars

I had to read this for school and that is part of the reason I did not enjoy this book: I was being forced to read it. I felt like the book was too verbose, monotonous, and slow for me to enjoy it. There were a few chapters where I wasn't completely bored to death, but they were very few and far between. On the upside, the book had a few lines and quotes here or there that really resonated with me or made me stop and pause to grab my highlighter. I also think that this book was eye-opening into the horrors of war and being a soldier. It gave me quite a bit of insight past what little information I had previously learned in school about wars and trench-life. I will most likely not read this book ever again, but I am grateful of the new perspective it has given me.

3.
Title: All Quiet on the Western Front
Author: Erich Marie Remarque
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Wow I liked this book a lot more than I expected too, especially since it was a book that I was required to read for one of my courses. I stopped reading this book just to analyze it and started reading it because I enjoyed it. I probably should not have fallen in love with these characters as much as I did, but it couldn't be helped in the end. I thought this book was fantastic. I thought that it showcased the war in a brilliant way. It showed soldiers fighting on the front--allowing us to see both the action these soldiers face as well as the trauma it puts them through--while also showing readers the less gritty side of war--giving us a look into the characters' comradery with each other and ability to find something fun in such a dark place. I thought that this book, unlike other war novels I've read, was very well paced and not overly-verbose. It was an excellent storyline and I feel like I have taken away from this book more than just an inside view on life as a soldier.

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Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren

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