Everyone has been doing a July Reading post, so I figured I should jump on the bandwagon! I read seven books in July, which I’m pretty happy about, considering I didn’t read much during the week of the wedding.
Lock In by John Scalzi- I really liked this one! It’s a near-future thriller (although, I would call it more of a police procedural mystery). The world has been swept by a virus which leaves most people unharmed, but for 1% of the population it causes “Lock In”- a syndrome where the victims are unable to move or respond to stimuli, but are fully awake and aware. Various (and extremely interesting) modifications have been made for these people, and this is the backdrop for an engrossing murder mystery. The whole time I was reading it I was wishing it was a series, and now I see there is a second book!
Wordhunter by Stella Sands- Boy, was this disappointing. It has a GREAT premise- the main character is a forensic linguistics student, called upon by the police to help solve a crime. I crazily thought there would be a lot about… well, forensic linguistics in this book, but instead it was a lazily-written “thriller.” There are also weirdly casual references to pedophilia and rape. I thought maybe it was written 30 years ago, but nope- it’s from 2024. Bleh.
The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham- this was also not very good. I don’t know, a lot of these books from the “golden age” of mysteries are kind of strange.
The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson- despite the dumb title, this one was pretty good! My only quibble is, this is about a high school girl who decides to solve a murder that took place in her town years ago, and she continually puts herself in an absurd amount of danger. NO! Do not confront that suspicious character alone!!! She had plenty of people to turn to for support, but chose to keep secrets over and over again. Still, I enjoyed it.
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn- Engie and I both happened to read this odd book at the same time! Ella lives in the fictional town of Nollop, named after Nevin Nollop, author of the pangram “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Letters begin to fall off the Nollop memorial statue in the town center, and as they fall, the town council bans their use (and the letters disappear from the novel). I really enjoyed this- books about words are fun.
The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie- good solid Christie, although I definitely prefer the Hercule Poirot books.
Strange Pictures by Uketsu- this was a strange book! Divided into four parts, each chapter presents mysterious drawings which contain the answer to a disturbing riddle. Each chapter resolves, but they also all fit together to solve a bigger mystery. This was the perfect book for me to read on my trip- I read the first two chapters on the plane, put it down because I didn’t have time to read the entire time I was away, and then picked it up and finished it on the flight home.
Have you read any of these? What was the best book you read in July?
16 Responses
I liked a Good Girl’s guide to Murder and loved the Moving Finger. I’ve read the Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances, which was okay, but I felt jfic/brave little toaster vibes. I have done lots of rereads because most books I pick up annoy me. I’m doing puzzles instead.
I might try the John Scalzi- he’s hit or miss for me.
I had never read anything by John Scalzi before. I really enjoyed the writing style, the interaction between the two main characters, and the world of the Lock In virus. The actual mystery got a little convoluted, but everything else in the book was so strong, I was okay with that.
Ella Minnow Pea sounds intriguing! I will check it out!
It’s good! And it’s a quick, fun, read.
My favourite non-fiction was A Hymn to Life (but huge content warnings associated with that one). My favourite non-fiction was Good People (followed by Yesteryear, which I know you liked).
I had a great reading month in July, but I feel like I don’t have a great lineup ahead of me in August so I need to spend some time honing my TBR!
I’m glad you reminded me, because I want to request Good People from the library- you and Nicole both gave it such a glowing review.
Not only have I never read any of these, I have never heard of these! I had three five star reads in July – and one was a reread, Writers and Lovers. The other two were Dear Monica Lewinsky and Remains of the Day. Great books!
These are definitely not Nicole books! It was a very mystery-heavy month for me.
Uketsu sounds fascinating! I added that book to my library holds lickety split!
I’ll be interested to hear what you think of it. At some point I’m going to get his other book, Strange Houses.
The only one of these books that I have read is The Moving Finger. July was a pretty slow reading month, with the exception of the stellar A Hymn to Life.
August is off to a great start! I’m reading an old suspense novel called The Blank Wall, which is set in WWII and is about a wife who is writing cheerful letters to her husband overseas while dealing with her daughter’s creepy boyfriend. My Libby hold for Dolly All the Time just came in, and with all of the good stuff that I’ve heard about it, I feel like there is a 100% chance that I’m going to love it.
“Despite the dumb title” – ha, that made me laugh. It is a wonder sometimes how some books get printed. A lazy thrilled, no thanks. I’m reading a book for book club called The Ku Klux Klan in the Heartland. It has a lot of history in it, like lots of info. It’s interesting and I’m appalled and shocked at how big the KKK was. I thought it was a much smaller group of ignorant people. What on earth? As interesting as it is, I’m ready to be done with it. I look forward to moving on to something a little more fun, plot driven.
Nope. Haven’t read any of those.
I read Yesteryear (weird) and Theo of Golden.(loved it), Divorce (just ok).
I grabbed an Uketsu book from the library recently- I think it was called “Strange Houses” – but my hold came up due before I could read it! Maybe I’ll revisit it and get myself back on the holds list!
The only book I’ve read from your list is The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, which I really liked!
The best book I read in July was Empire of Pain, followed closely by Spectacular Things.
Oh, I loved Ella Minnow Pea, I read it years ago! A good reading total.