Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Years of August Reading

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. It's been a while since I played along, but this week's prompt was too interesting to skip! 

What did your last ten years of August reading look like? I chose one memorable August book from each of the last ten summers.

2025 - Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout

Last summer I became an Elizabeth Strout completist!

2024 - The Annotated Persuasion by Jane Austen, David Shapard

Another year of Austen in August

2023 - Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

When Ann Patchett publishes a new novel, I read it immediately!

2022 - Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

I loved this audio production and can still hear the voice of Marcellus!

2021 - The Street by Ann Petry

What a memorable experience it was to read this classic in the author's hometown!

2020 - Beach Read by Emily Henry

If ever there was a summer that called for light reading, 2020 was it!

2019 - The Leavers by Lisa Ko

I still think about this book and, sadly, it's still relevant.

2018 - The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand

If it's summer, there must be a new Elin Hiderbrand novel!

2017 - My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul

Delightfully bookish memoir from the former editor of the NYTimes Book Review.

2016 - Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

Very funny... in a passive-aggressive kind of way!

This topic was suggested by Anne at Head Full of Books.

Find other Top Ten Tuesday posts here.

 

July Reading Wrap -Up and A List of August Possibilities

It's August and still very much summer around here. We've had way too much heat and humidity (along with much of the country) punctuated by frequent thunderstorms. This past week our NYC daughter, son-in-law, and Winnie the Whippet have been here - their last visit before the baby arrives at the end of the month. Meanwhile our CT daughter and son-in-law are looking at an early October due date. It's going to be an exciting fall!

July highlights included spending the 4th with family, celebrating my birthday, a long weekend in  NYC, and a baby shower. July also turned out to be a very good reading month with a mix of new releases, a book club selection, and a classic. I enjoyed three new-to-me authors, plus a novel/memoir by an old favorite.

BOOKS READ IN JULY

Sisters of a Halved Heart by Nayantara Roy

New release, literary fiction, MMD book club selection,

my thoughts here, ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Departure(s) by Julian Barnes

Literary fiction that reads more like a memoir, purported final novel by a favorite author

My thoughts are here, ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Kin by Tayari Jones

new release literary fiction, new-to-me author

My thoughts are here,  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster

Classic, YA epistolary novel, from my shelves

My thoughts are here,  ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

ONGOING GROUP READ

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

The chapter-a-day slow read with Footnotes and Tangents continues. I'm loving this experience!

AUGUST READING POSSIBILITIES

I'm going all in for Austen in August this year!

The Annotated Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, David Shapard

(in progress)

The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow

Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley (nonfiction)

Troika: Three Generations, Three Days, and a Very American Road Trip

by Irena Smith (memoir)

How was your July? What was your favorite book?

 

The Sunday Salon : August 2, 2026

Hello friends, Happy August! We ended July with a whirlwind of activities which included another birthday celebration and a weekend in NYC for our daughter's baby shower. We tried to get back to a normal routine this week, but spent a couple of days at home midweek due to all the rain. Friday it cleared up long enough for a drive to Stonington, CT where we toured The Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House, ate lobster rolls by the water, and walked around Stonington Point. We got home just in time for another round of thunderstorms!

Recent reading//

Kin by Tayari Jones

Wow. This was my first Tayari Jones novel, but now I want to read her entire backlist. Initially I was reminded of The Vanishing Half  by Britt Bennett, but Jones quickly moved into a space all her own. Kin is a story about two motherless girls growing up together in rural Honeysuckle, Louisiana in the 1950s and 60s. By high school it's apparent that Vernice (Niecy) and Annie's life trajectories will be very different, yet their "cradle friend" bond remains unshakable. Jones tackles issues of family, race, class, civil rights, identity, sexuality, and more. 

This was a read/listen combination for me. The story is told from Vernice and Annie's alternating points-of-view and the dual-narrator audio production was excellent. This is one of my favorite reads of the year so far!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

This short, epistolary YA classic was originally published in 1912. Judy Abbot has lived in an orphanage for as long as she can remember and at the end of her senior year, she is selected by an anonymous trustee to receive a full college scholarship. The only stipulation is that she write him a monthly letter detailing her college life. Daddy Long-Legs is her nickname for this unknown benefactor and the novel consists of her four years of correspondence. Judy shares details of her classes, friends, travel, and aspirations, plus some deep feelings. The story is certainly dated and, when held up to modern sensibilities, possesses a certain "ick factor". Yet it is also charming, sweet, and so evocative of a by-gone era. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Current reading//

The Annotated Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, David Shapard

Pride and Prejudice  has long been one of my favorite novels and I'm happy to be reading this annotated edition with a small group from the Modern Mrs. Darcy book club for Austen in August.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Are you getting tired of seeing this cover yet?  I'm 65% in and the yearlong chapter-a-day slow read continues...

The week ahead//

I finally have an eye exam this week! Last spring (2025) I was getting a lot of headaches and an exam showed that my glasses were too strong. My eye had improved!? After dialing back the prescription a couple of notches, all was well. Now, just over a year later, I'm having trouble seeing and getting headaches again. We'll see what happens this time...

We're having dinner with a group of friends later in the week. And it looks like the NYC "kids" are planning to visit for one last long weekend before the baby arrives. My heart is full!

How was your week? What have you been reading?

The Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.