Hello!! Sorry this roundup is coming super late. The first week of September was full of drama and sleepless nights and I kind of dropped the ball with this. Thank you all for being so patient with me.

So,

August was a bad month for reading in that I didn’t read much. I didn’t even manage to read the targeted amount of books that I wanted to. I just got stuck in that mindset of not wanting to read and my mood was definitely leaning more to the negative side. Anyway, I did at least manage to read 4 books and listen to 4 stories via audiobook and podcast.

With such a small pool to acknowledge, this round up will be a short one!

The Good

I loved reading ‘The Midnight Library’ by Matt Haig, that book very much got under my skin and allowed me to view things in a way I had not before. There were a lot of moments in the book that I related too and overall I thought the writing and characters were fantastic.

I enjoyed revisiting ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ by Roald Dahl, I thought it was very clever and certainly lived up to the memory I had of it. It was also nice to be reminded of the original Willy Wonka and not his film adaptations.

I loved listening to ‘The Sandman’ by Neil Gaiman audiobook, that was a stellar listen for me and so imaginative and creative. It was interesting to see all the stories unfold and I didn’t get lost or tripped by the multiple characters and crossovers.

Both the ‘Casefiles’ Podcast and the ‘Serial Killers’ Podcast were great listens. I started with episode 1 of each and was blown away by the information and the sheer research that had gone into the episodes. Both these podcasts are accounts of real crime, so not for the faint hearted.

The Bad

‘Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator’ was definitely not as good as I remember it being and I did struggle to keep my focus while reading it. I think a lot of my problem was that I felt the book was an unnecessary sequel to the original which just didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

I listened to the first 3 episodes of ‘Myths and Legends’ and found the story of Yvain fell so far under my expectations that I actually feel mad about listening to it. (I will however, listen to a couple more episodes before I make a decision on the podcast itself).

Creepy

‘The Memory Woods’ by Sam Lloyd wasn’t good or bad but it super creeped me out. Even writing this, I’ve remembered the ending of that book and I’m still weirded out by it. It’s a kind of story that seeps into your bones.

Reviews:

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – ★★★★★

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl – ★★★★★

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl – ★★★

The Memory Wood by Sam Lloyd – ★★★★★

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman – ★★★★★

Casefiles: Episode 1 – The Wander Beach Murders

Serial Killers ‘The Werewolf of Wysteria’ Episodes 1 & 2

Myths and Legends Episode 1-3 ‘The Story of Yvain’