August readings weren't august, but they were really enjoyable

Only 5 books and 1,892 pages.  But two of them were pretty long.  So there you go....

The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker (563 pages).  Nora's life is far from perfect.  Her grad school thesis is at a dead end.  Her long distance boyfriend comes to visit, not to propose but to let her know that he is getting married.  To someone else.  When she bumps into a strange man at school, he tells her she only gets three.  Turns out, it's wishes she's getting.  And when she wishes for a different life, she gets it.  In a whole other realm.  She is swept up in the magical world of Illissa and her handsome son, Raclin.  Days, weeks, months later, she finds herself married to Raclin.  And in a darker nightmarish world than she ever could have imagined. Nora finally escapes Illissa's clutches, only to find herself unable to get home.  She is taken in by Aruendiel, a powerful magician who begins to teach her magic.  Eventually, after magic and wars, Nora finds a way home.  But is home really where she wants to be anymore?  It reminded me of one of my favorite young adult books, Time at the Top (the heroine only gets three in that book as well) and True Blood (the show more than the books).  It took me 17 days to finish this book.  More for the length of the book and the lack of time I had to devote to reading.

Four by Veronica Roth (285 pages).  This was a prequel to the Divergent series, only told from Four's perspective in four separate "stories."  Why he joined Dauntless, his initiation process.  And eventually meeting Tris.  It was kind of cool to read scenes from his perspective.  He saw such a different side of Dauntless than Tris did, being a member and an initiate trainer.  Apparently, Roth originally started the series with Four as the narrative character.  Let's face facts- this series isn't Shakespeare.  But this one was just as enjoyable as the others.  It only took me 2 days to finish.

The Great Santini by Pat Conroy (471 pages).  This marks my fourth Conroy novel.  Arguably the one that truly started it all for him.  The one that told the truth about his family life.  Well, a fictionalized version of his family life.  Bull Meecham was quite a character - equally parts loved and feared by everyone who knew him.  He was an ace Marine fighter pilot.  And a violent, yet amusing, family man.  His son Ben hated him.  Yet yearned for his respect.  I can't imagine growing up in a household like that.  I'm surprised that Conroy turned out even halfway normal (and understand why other family members didn't).  Finished this one in 2 days flat- it was nice to have some downtime by the pool finally.

The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls (267 pages).  Her first novel was a memoir.  Her second book was called a novel, but was more of her family history (just the history that occurred before she was born).  This one was a novel, pure and simple.  No family history.  Which allowed her creative abilities to shine.  The story was pretty good.  Liz and Bean (real name Jean) are basically abandoned by their mother.  So they go to live with their uncle in Virginia, in a town their mother ran from long ago.  And they begin to learn some of their family history (ok, fine.  There was family history in the story.  Just not Walls' personal family history).  Integration has just made its way to this small southern town.  The girls slowly start taking part in the community.  Then, Liz is attacked by the local mill foreman.  Which starts a chain of events that affects the whole town.  It was an easy read- it only took me 2 days.

Becoming Josephine by Heather Webb (306 pages).  Historical fiction- my favorite!  This book covered the life of Marie Josephe Rose Tacher de la Pagerie de Beauharnais Bonaparte, from when she left home until she became divorced from the love of her life.  I learned several facts about Josephine Bonaparte that I didn't know.  Like that she was born in Martinique.  And originally went by the name of Rose.  And was imprisoned during the Revolution (her first husband was guillotined during their imprisonment).  And had an affair with one of Napoleon's lieutenants that caused his complete adoration of her to fade, just a bit.  Yes, the story was historical fiction, which means some of it was fiction.  But a lot of it was historically based.  And the fact were amazingly interesting.  Took me 5 days to read (but that's because I don't get as much reading done during the work week as I do on a pool weekend.  Not because I didn't enjoy the book!)