Every month I try to read at least one book from the following categories: nonfiction, devotional, and fiction. And this year I’m participating in the 2018 PopSugar Reading Challenge, so I’m also going to be listing which category my books fulfill. If you want to join in on the fun, you can check out the list of categories here! This is my July 2018 Reading List, my brief reviews and book recommendations for July 2018. Hopefully I’ll provide you with some inspiration for your future reading as well!

Books Finished:

Mischling by Affinity Kovar

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book with characters who are twins

The fictional story of twins in one of Mengele’s camps, I thought that this book would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, I just didn’t connect with the characters like I thought that I would. The story was horrifying and heartbreaking. But I just didn’t love it quite like I expected.

Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer by John Douglas and Johnny Dodd

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book by two authors

I listened to this in audio, as my husband is a huge fan of true crime and had already purchased it from Audible. I’ve read John Douglas previously, and do enjoy his books. This book was very, very good. But the narrator is not good. He mispronounces words, and doesn’t have an engaging voice. So I recommend the book, but not on Audible.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book about mental health

This book reminds me so, so much of The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, but with a female protagonist. The story is told from the perspective of a woman with serious mental illness. It is haunting.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book you meant to read in 2017 but didn’t get to

The structure of the book, telling essentially short unrelated stories that peripherally deal with Olive Kitteridge, threw me off at first. But the pieces tied together to paint a beautiful picture of a flawed but good woman. I just can’t recommend this book high enough.

Speed Girl: Janet Guthrie and the Race That Changed Sports Forever [Kindle in Motion] by Stephan Talty

I’m a fan of drag racing, and there are few (but more all the time) female racers. So the opportunity to read about the first woman racer in NASCAR and INDYCAR. The struggles and sexism that she faced were shocking. But her perseverance and grit are inspiring.

The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book involving a heist

I really didn’t like this book at all, which is surprising because I’m a big fan of Grisham. It is the story of law students who were not qualified to attend law school, and paid way too much money to get into the only school that would take them. They then decide to rip off a company to try to ‘make it right’ after practicing law without law licenses or even law degrees. But the characters struck me as naive and whiny. I borrowed money to go to law school, and finished at the height of the downturn in the legal economy. This meant essentially no jobs for my husband or for me. But we were practical and chose to go to law schools that didn’t require borrowing six-figures. And we worked hard after law school to get our careers where we wanted them to be. And we both practice criminal law, so the story just struck me as self-centered, false, and immature. I didn’t like it.

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

I’ve been meaning to read this for quite some time, but wasn’t ever sure that I was ready for it. It’s such an amazing true story of God’s work in hard, terrible situations. I’m so glad that Corrie survived World War II and the concentration camps to tell it.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book from a celebrity book club (Reese’s Book Club)

The story of female spies in World War I and II, and the story of a lost young woman right after World War II, this book is fantastic. I loved every minute of it, and trying to figure out exactly how the pieces fit together. I definitely understand why Reese Witherspoon picked it for her book club…hopefully she’ll turn it into a movie.

Chu’s First Day of School by Neil Gaiman

This short little children’s story is about a panda who is nervous for his first day of school. It’s sweet and adorable. The audio version is performed by Neil Gaiman, who is a fantastic narrator (in addition to his stellar writing).

The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection (including The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, The Wolves in the Walls, Cinnamon, and Crazy Hair) by Neil Gaiman

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book with an animal in the title

Also performed by Neil Gaiman this collection of short stories is fantastic. I enjoyed them all, and they were a great way to pass the time while I was driving this month. I recommend listening to all of them.

Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks by Annie Spence

This is a series of letters from a librarian to the books and bookshelves in her life. It is sweet and sassy and fun and serious. And it is easy to read, or listen to, in small chunks of time. I really liked this book, even though (or perhaps because) it added a few titles to my To Be Read List.

Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a bestseller from the year you graduated high school

I graduated from high school in 2002, and this short little book appears on Amazon’s best seller list from that year. This little book is a parable, and a classic, and has been on my To Be Read List for quite some time. I listened to it on audiobook, and it didn’t take long. I’m glad that I read it, and recommend it for others, especially those who are business owners or thinking of starting a business.

Books in Progress:

Twelve Women of the Bible by Lysa TerKeurst (My bible study just started working through this book and the associated videos)

Life by Keith Richards and James Fox

Testament of Youth: An Autobiographical Study Of The Years 1900-1925 by Vera Brittain

Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t by Simon Sinek (My overdrive checkout expired on this, so I’m waiting for my new hold to come up on it so that I can finish it.)

Flawed Convictions: “Shaken Baby Syndrome” and the Inertia of Injustice by Deborah Tuerkheimer

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

Books Abandoned:

Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen