What I read in August 2026
It really hasn’t got better, does it? I feel like I’ve been buffeted by unbearably hot weather and the worst kinds of bad news for the last three months solid.
The glimmer that kept me going: I finally got to see AFI, something I’d been (occasionally quite literally) dreaming of for 22 years. And I got to stay with my friends the nights either side, hang out with their cat, and go to the Ridiculously Good Charity Bookshop of Danger.
Other not-awful things: reading ten books; watching most of the new series of A House Through Time; listening to the new Chelsea Wolfe album.
Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal: My Adventures in Neurodiversity, by Robin Ince - once again, I find a book about neurodiversity incredibly relateable. Funny, that. 5*
The Seventh Bride, by T. Kingfisher - it has HEDGEHOGS! 4.5*
The Driftborn, by Simon Bullock - 3.5*
The Lodgers, by Holly Pester - 4.5*
The Maternal Element, by Kate Nicholls - 4*
Go Back At Once, by Robert Aickman - 4*
Toast for Two Tongues, by Gisèle Villeneuve - 4*
For Best Results Follow Instructions, by Alastair Puddick - 3.5*
The Last Tenant, by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir - 4*
Multitude, by Marie Vibbert - 4.5*
Looking ahead…
As expected, I started The Sourdough Compendium by A. G. Slatter in August, but didn’t get to finish it as it’s huge (plus, I had to pause a couple of times to read some books for review)! So I’ll be reading more/the rest of it in September.
I do love a portal/parallel world story, so I’m also particularly looking forward to reading Slow Burn by Amal Singh for the blog tour, and The Hollow Places as I continue to devour T. Kingfisher’s back catalogue.