What I read in August 2025
August was another long month, and the first week of September has been a long week. As well as going to my first gig since November 2019, and making some good choices at Norwich Games Con, I’ve had my first competitive magazine publication, in issue 18 of The Kleksograph. Download the PDF (no alt text or heading tags, I know…) to read my Gothic short story, Two Dreams.
My review schedule is still looking rather sparse, so if you want a book reviewed soonish, now’s a good time to ask! Feel free to contact me on Instagram or Mastodon. I especially enjoy reviewing autobiogaphy, other non-fiction, short stories, and sci-fi.
People of Abandoned Character, by Clare Whitfield - 4*
The Transcendent Tide, by Doug Johnstone - 4*
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space, by Adam Higginbotham - 4.5*. Very good but very long, leading me to…
On the Calculation of Volume I, by Solvej Belle, translated by Barbara J. Haveland - 4*. A much shorter read! The main character’s vocation as a rare book seller snagged my interest, leading me to…
Once Upon a Tome, by Oliver Darkshire - 5*. I especially liked his stories of visiting haunted-seeming locations, and so my next read was…
The September House, by Carissa Orlando - 4*
Everything Will Swallow You, by Tom Cox - 4.5*. Here’s where the associative reading breaks down – I read this next because my pre-order arrived in the post!
Barrowbeck, by Andrew Michael Hurley - 4.5*. Wasn’t sure where this was going at first, but after the first couple of short stories, I got proper into it.
Rogue Protocol, by Martha Wells - 4*
Black River Orchard, by Chuck Wendig - 4*. Another really long one, though it didn’t feel it.
Looking ahead…
September is another light month for reviews (not many blog tour invitations have piqued my interest recently, not sure why), but I am most of the way through The Great Deception by Syd Moore (the follow-up to The Grand Illusion) for a post next week, and I’m enjoying it immensely.
Last week, I ditched the gym for an impromptu trip to see Helen Charman speaking about her book Mother State: A Political History of Motherhood. My brain got a real workout, as everything she said sparked off all sorts of connections (including, of course, with my PhD)! So I’m very excited to actually read it. If any book can induce me to write a review unprompted by a tour date or author/publisher request, I reckon it’ll be this one.
I’ve been wanting to read Death of the Author, by Nnedi Okorafor, since it came out earlier this year, simply because it sounds amazing. The price has dropped to 99p on Kindle for the month, so now is the time!