Autumn is such a fun time to host a book club. You can have so much fun with decorations, costumes and Pumpkin Spice everything. Even if you don’t get into Halloween or Pumpkin Spice specifically, fall is a gorgeous time to read with friends. The weather is nice and cool, perfect for sipping mulled wine by the fire pit while you discuss your latest read.

I am including six books on my Fall 2020 Book Club list. Two are pretty traditional book club choices, The Vanishing Half and The Midnight Library. Three are dark, spooky seasonal choices, The Haunting of Hill House, The Sun Down Motel and The Five. One to Watch is on the lighter side, but still has plenty to discuss.

All of these books (except Haunting of Hill House) have at least a four-star rating on Goodreads and thousands of reviews. I included the classic, Haunting of Hill House, as a personal recommendation.
​
I have included links to discussion questions for all suggested titles.

Cleo McDougal is running for President. She is a thirty-seven year old single mom and Senator and she is not stopping there. Before she officially begins her campaign for the presidency she embarks on a tour of no regrets. Making amends and correcting the wrongs of her past.

Some of the regrets tour is for show, and some of it is to get ahead of bad press, but Cleo is genuine in her quest to right wrongs. She truly wants to apologize for her mistakes and confront those that have harmed her. She is determined to make the most of her tour.
​
I found Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing to be a thoroughly enjoyable, quick Political Fiction. I have seen this book categorized as romance and it is not, the only thing romantic in this book is the portrayal of politicians. This book is Contemporary or Political Fiction, with feminist tendencies.

Moon Hunters is a difficult book to sum up in a tidy blurb. This is one of those unusual books that doesn’t follow a standard plot trajectory. Conflicts don’t resolve the way you think they will. It meanders. It doesn’t go where you think it’s going to go. It’s different.
​
The story centers on Leilani Ani. She is the descendent of an eccentric millionaire movie star who colonized a remote island during a global pandemic. They have always lived under the assumption that the “old world” was dead. After a catastrophe Leilani and her husband leave the island in search of resources. 

This will be an interesting September.

Most kids will be back to school in some capacity. Some kids will be business as usual with added safety precautions and mask requirements, and some kids will be learning from home.

I know parents have agonized over their options. I hope that whatever choice you made or situation you find yourself in, that you are healthy and safe. 

Luckily, there are some amazing books being released in September! A little something to look forward to and distract you from how crazy everything is right now!

One of the first phrases in Grownup is “hand job”. If this bothers you, please follow this link to my Haunting of Hill House review. You’ll find it to be much more enjoyable and still spooky.

Grownup is a short story by Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl. The print version is 64 pages, the audio is just over an hour. So if you are looking for something quick and twisted, this is your book!

The unnamed main character, we’ll call her “Hand Job”, because if you’re going to read this, you’ll need to get used to it!
​
Anyway, after giving something like 23,000 hand jobs in her professional career, our heroine moves to the front office to work as a “psychic” (it’s better for her carpal tunnel). After a few confidence boosting “psychic” transactions, she meets Susan. Susan is desperate for help dealing with her haunted house. She is convinced that her malevolent home is destroying her family and her life. 

I love Taylor Swift. I am not going to lie. I am a full on adult and I just love her.

I even liked her when there was that whole Kardashian “scandal”. Not sorry. I will never side with the Kardashians over Swift, I don’t care how many bitchy recordings they have of her! Not gonna happen!

I think most people would agree that Swift’s music is generally upbeat, catchy and fun. It might not be your absolute favorite music, but you probably won’t switch the station either. Unless you’re like a total metalhead or something, but even then…

I wasn’t lying when I included Beach Read in my May 2020 Can’t Wait Book List. I really couldn’t wait to read it. As soon as this book was available for download at my local library I checked it out!

January Andrews is having a bad year. It’s basically a country music song, her Dad died, her boyfriend broke up with her, she’s basically homeless… You’ve heard this song.
​
She has a book due to her publisher and the worst case of writer’s block. She has no idea how she can possibly go from zero words and zero ideas to having a book ready. In any amount of time. She is in a bad place. 

Happy August readers! We have officially begun our last full month of summer. For some of you that means more time inside curled up with a good book, avoiding the heat. For others it means getting a little bit more time reading outside in the nice weather. Wherever you are, I hope you read some great books this August!

Follow this link for new release books, August 2020 Can't Wait Book List.

I always encourage people to use their local library to access free books, ebooks and audiobooks. Unfortunately, that is not always an option. So it is nice to know that many online bookstores provide inexpensive access to thousands of ebooks. Sorting through their selections can be overwhelming, which is why I compiled this list of best e-books for $3 or less.   

Some of these books are by well-known popular authors, some of these books are by new and upcoming authors. Most have hundreds, if not thousands of four and five star reviews. All of these books are relatively new, having been published within the last two years.   

The Sun Down Motel is a “No-Tell-Motel” on a deserted stretch of highway on the way to nowhere. It’s a dark and dangerous place where people go to sell drugs, have affairs, and dump bodies. On a slow day, the ghosts outnumber the living.
​
The story follows Victoria, the night shift clerk of Sun Down Motel in 1982 and her niece Carly in 2017. Both are trying to solve the many mysteries surrounding the motel. Why do the lights flicker before the woman appears, who is the kid dressed for summer in the middle of winter, and who is the smoking man? Will they solve these mysteries or wind up becoming ghosts themselves?

When the world went on lockdown, book bloggers responded one of two ways. They either immediately published a list of doomsday books or a list of uplifting books. I was in the second category. I was beyond stressed about our situation and needed something to help me relax. So I published this list of Funny, Happy, Cozy Books to Help You Relax! If you are still really stressed, please check it out!

At this point, however, many of us have started to accept our “new normal”. We know that if we practice social distancing, wear masks, and wash our hands we can limit our chances of contracting the virus. For now, our food supply chain is operational. We don’t have the shortages we did when this started. Things are different and they will be for a long time, but I have less uncertainty, fear, and anxiety than I did in the beginning. I hope you feel the same.

My Dark Vanessa is a difficult, but important book. This is not a book you read for pleasure, this is a book you read to get a better understanding of sexual abuse and trauma.

Vanessa is fifteen when she goes to live at a prestigious boarding school. She is a misfit and a loner, she’s not interested in normal teenage activities. She’s not interested in spending time with other girls and she’s not interested in dating boys. She is interested in men, and particularly her forty-two year old English professor.

My Dark Vanessa explores the issue of consent. Specifically, consent between a physically and emotionally mature young woman and a much older authority figure. Can an intelligent and mindful minor girl give consent to an adult man? 

After wading through hundreds of upcoming titles, I have narrowed the list of August New Release Books to these seven exciting titles. I flipped through book review catalogs, book blogs and library chat forums to ensure that I found the most interesting and original new books.

There are so many good books coming out this month, it was hard to narrow down this list! I ended up including the best upcoming books from a variety of genres including, Political Fiction, Non-Fiction, Historical Fiction, and Romance. These are the seven stand-out titles for August! Hopefully there is something for everyone!

I exclude sequels and anything that will not have broad appeal. 

Testament to Murder is a 1920s murder mystery set in a coastal French mansion. Malcolm Is dying and has invited his closest friends and relatives to be with him in his final days. He intends to select an heir, but there is a catch…

Every day a new heir will be selected from the party. Whoever is heir the day Malcolm dies inherits everything.
​
Malcolm anticipates this scheme will put his life in danger and maybe even shorten his suffering. He expects that he will learn the true nature of his heirs. Like most experiments, the outcome is rather different than expected.

Reading can be an expensive hobby! Especially if you like to buy new hardback editions of popular books. If you read a new book every week, your hobby can add up quickly. You could easily spend $1300 per year on books!

I always encourage people to use their local library to access free books, ebooks and audiobooks. Unfortunately, that is not always an option. So it is nice to know that Amazon provides inexpensive access to thousands of ebooks. Sorting through their selection can be overwhelming, which is why I compiled this list of Best e-books for $2 or less.  
 
Some of these books are by well-known popular authors, some of these books are by new and upcoming authors. Most have hundreds, if not thousands of four and five star reviews. All of these books are relatively new, having been published within the last two years.   
​

Hope, or “Hopeless” as she is known by her enemies, is your average teenage girl. However, Hope is literally trying to survive high school. She is so sickly and allergic that it seems the entire world is slowly killing her. Will she even make it to graduation?

Nobody seems to expect anything of her. Teachers are constantly asking her if she needs to go home, and her parents are kind, but clueless. The only people who seem to notice her are the ones who try to make her life worse. The bullies.
​
Until the new boy starts school…

Summer is a great time to get in some quality time with a good book blogger! If you are looking to find that perfect read for vacation, the beach, or just staying in, find a book blogger and they will find you the perfect book! It’s what they do.

Book bloggers are basically professional readers. Most read at least 50 books per year, some read HUNDREDS. Not only do they rate and review all these books, they also collaborate with other bloggers, so they know ALL THE GOOD BOOKS!!! They can give an in depth analysis of all the books in their niche and they know the most popular books in every niche. Book bloggers are truly book experts.
​
There is a whole world wide web of book bloggers. Each has their own unique style and their own unique selection of books from their favorite genres. Finding the right book blogger for you, is all about finding a blogger in your favorite genre, with a writing style you enjoy. Reading a book review, should be like having a conversation with your best friend. Trust me, your book blogging best friend is out there!  

Talking to Strangers is not about *exactly* what I thought it was about. I thought this book would be about human psychology and sociology with the goal of making it easier for me to actually talk to strangers. Or even other humans in general. Instead, it pointed out all the ways we miscommunicate with each other, often disastrously, in an attempt to encourage us to be more mindful??? I am now even less sure of how to talk to stangers…
​
That’s not to say that I didn’t like this book. I heart Malcolm Gladwell. His books are always thought provoking and intended to better the individual and society. Love, Love, Love! 

The aptly named Oona Out of Order is about a woman who is living her life out of order. One day she is 19, the next she is 51. She jumps through time on her birthday every year and spends 365 days as an older or younger version of herself. She is often surrounded by people she doesn’t know, in a time she doesn’t understand, in a body she barely recognizes.

The story starts in 1982 and spans 35 years. One year she is ordering an Uber from her IPhone, the next she is posing for a Polaroid. One year she’s going to a funeral, the next she is making the most of every moment with that person.

Montimore illustrates the difficulties of life out of order, but also acknowledges that there would be benefits. Oona has advance knowledge of the stock market, which provides her with a more than comfortable lifestyle. She is often devastated by events and circumstances, but finds she gets second chances. Just like every life, there is good and bad.
​

To say this book is complicated is a massive understatement. Paperback mysteries are complicated. This is Agatha Christie on Groundhog Day with body-swapping.

It made my brains fall out.

7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is set at a crumbling, remote estate in 1920s England. The house is full of guests and servants that would rather be anywhere else, with anyone else. The story takes place on an eight-day, eight-body loop that has repeated an indeterminate number of times.
​

After wading through hundreds of upcoming titles, I have narrowed the list of July New Release Books to these eight exciting titles.

I flipped through book review catalogs, book blogs and library chat forums to ensure that I found the most interesting and original new books.

​I try to include a variety of Fiction, Non-Fiction and even Young Adult books. This month’s selections include a dark fairy tale, a cutesy romance, and zombie horror, to name a few. Hopefully there is something for everyone!

I exclude sequels and anything that will not have broad appeal.