Welcome to August!

This will likely be a shorter intro than usual, as I didn’t have the chance to read much in July. I had my mum, sister, her spouse, and my three young nephews visiting for the first half of the month from Scotland.

Then I had friends visiting the next week, and the final week of the month, I spent in Toronto with my family. It was a very hectic month, with not much reading accomplished. Any downtime I had was reserved for work. Even when I found the time to run, I needed to clear my head, so I listened to music instead of a book. Still a wonderful month, but I wish I had managed to slip in some reading!

The only book I actually read from start to finish was The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware, and this was a re-read. I’m a big Ruth Ware fan, but I recall not enjoying that one as much when I first read it. I wanted to go back and re-read it to refresh my memory before reading the sequel, and seeing the adaptation.

I was even more disappointed with it this go-round, to be honest. I found the characters dull and hard to distinguish, and the protagonist fairly annoying. I’ll still read the sequel, as I’ve enjoyed various other books by Ruth, but I may wait a little while before diving into it.

I’ve started reading First Strike by Stephen Leather. This is the 21st book in the Spider Shepherd series, which is one of my all-time favourite series. However, the story is based on the Nova music festival massacre, and while I generally appreciate mixing reality with fiction, there’s something about this particular topic that just feels off-putting.

I usually fly through those books, but I am struggling with that one. I don’t know if it’s the topic, or that it feels forced, as if the plot was shoehorned in to keep up with current events. The massacre occurred in October 2023, and the book was released in June 2024. It does feel a bit of a quick turnaround.

I finished listening to None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Great narration and production, and a very good thriller. Recommended.

I’ve struggled to get an audiobook going since then. I started listening to Watching You by Lisa, only to realize I’d listened to a portion of it before, and decided to read it instead, as the jump in characters and timeline was too difficult to keep track of. I tried The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager, but I just wasn’t enjoying the narration at all. There were a couple of others I tried, but after the 10% mark, I wasn’t hooked at all, so I gave up.

Oh well – August is a new month, and I have very few social plans. A new work schedule is set up, which should allow me a lot more free time, and I plan to take advantage of it with a lot of reading!

Neat human interest story – Dan Pelzer’s family keeping his memory alive via his reading list.

As always, be sure to check out Book Notification.

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And so much more – sign up today at BookNotification.com. And of course, it’s free!

Each month we give away 5 $25 Amazon gift certificates to random subscribers. 

To win all you have to do is be a subscriber. Nothing more! When we go to hit “Publish” we take a list of all of our subscribers, throw them into a random draw and those are the winners.

Our winners this month are:

– Bonnie J. from Royersford, PA
– Marea K. from Manchester, NH
– Claire P. from Hercules, CA
– Wanda W. (e-mail ends with dell5) from USA
– Patti from Aurora, OH

All of you have been e-mailed. If you don’t see anything, check your junk folder or contact me.

Graeme
OrderOfBooks.com

Jokes of the Month

If William Wordsworth was alive today, what would he be doing?
Trying to get out of his coffin.

My friend wasn’t quite sure if she’d like Jane Austen’s books, but I gave her plenty of encouragement and now she loves them. All she needed was a little Persuasion.

Shakespeare walks into a bar. “Not you again”, says the landlady. “You’re bard.”

I ripped off my fingernail while I was setting up my new bookcase today. It was a shelf-inflicted injury.

I’m tempted to tell you my latest cookbook joke, but I’m rising above it.

How do you start a speedreading competition?
On your bookmark, get set, go!

My teenage son always starts getting moody when he gets about halfway through a new book. I guess he’s just at an awkward page.

(Jokes from The Book of Book Jokes by Alex Johnson)

Book Recommendations

In this section, I give 3-5 random book recommendations from readers of the newsletter. They can be old books, they can be new. Feel free to e-mail suggestions to me. Just hit reply. If you wish to add a description for the book around the same size as the ones below that’d be great too! 

A Thousand Natural Shocks by Omar Hussain: Keith wrote in to recommend this novel by a new author. Here is what Keith wrote:

“My favorite audiobook of the month was the 2025 release: “A Thousand Natural Shocks” by debut author Omar Hussain, read by Ramiz Monsef. I am unable to categorize this book. Most of the text is almost a stream-of-consciousness monologue, but with other characters and multiple sub-plots woven in.”

“The story starts with a reporter with a small California beach town newspaper who is desperately trying to erase a traumatic memory. A combination of self-imposed sleep deprivation and drugs aren’t working well enough, so he joins a cult that promises eradication of his past and a fresh start with a new identity. As his mind and life disintegrate, the reporter manages to arouse the attention of a long dormant serial killer, and the story suddenly morphs into a thriller. This was an extremely well written book that grabbed my interest immediately and then held on for dear life, supported by an excellent performance by the reader. More please!”

The CIA Book Club by Charlie English Jan wrote in with a list of books that she had read recently and really enjoyed. One that stood out was The CIA Book Club by Charlie English. I was a big fan of the cover, and this one has made various lists such as the NYT’s “Best Books of 2025 So Far” list.

For nearly 50 years after World War II, the Iron Curtain split Europe, with no battles fought but a quiet psychological war unfolding instead. George Minden, head of a secret CIA book program, played a key role by smuggling millions of banned books into Eastern Europe to challenge Soviet censorship.

Based in Manhattan, his team used everything from balloons to briefcases to deliver these works, which found a particularly eager audience in Poland. There, the books were quietly shared and eventually reproduced underground, contributing to the collapse of censorship, and ultimately, the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Home Front By Kristin Hannah: After reading The Women I’ve been meaning to read more Kristin Hannah. Susan wrote in to recommend this one and maybe it will be next on my list. Here is what Susan wrote:

“I have read a few of her books, most recently THE WOMEN which was incredible.  I would say that this one ranks right with it.  It was published in 2012 and I can’t say where I read about it but it was worth every minute!!  It’s the story of two women, Black Hawk pilots, dear friends,  who are in the National Guard living their lives with families, children, etc., when they are called up to go to Iraq with their unit.”

“How the mission plays out and how their lives are forever changed is an incredible story.  Half of the book centers on PTSD and how it damages those who suffer from it.  But it also deals with the effects on the families when these brave souls return home.  I pretty much cried for the last 100 pages. It was so descriptive, moving and heroic.  I would recommend any Veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan or Viet Nam to read this as it might be cathartic at the very least.  All I can say is I thank them every day for their service!”

American Nightingale by Bob Welch: Nice to have a non-fiction recommendation in here; need more of those! John wrote in to recommend this one. Here’s what he wrote:

“Briefly, it is the biography of Frances Slanger, a Polish immigrant who overcame every obstical to become a nurse, who then joined the U.S. Army and was one of the first women to land on the invasion beaches of Normandy in June of 1944. She was killed in Normandy on October 21, 1944.”

“I recommend this book because it is the story of one person’s life long quest to make the world a better place, despite the odds against her, which at the time were, to an average person, insurmountable. I find it exceptionally well researched and written, and once I had begun to read it, could not put it down.”

The Seven Sisters Series by Lucinda Riley: AJ wrote in to recommend this historical fiction series, which she binged and described as “incredibly good!” An interesting note about this series is that the author passed away while the series was ongoing, and her son assumed the writing duties to bring the series to a conclusion.

It’s a sweeping historical fiction series that follows seven adopted sisters, each named after a star in the Pleiades, as they search for their true origins. With each book set in a different part of the world and blending present-day mysteries with richly detailed pasts, it’s perfect for readers who love emotional family sagas, global settings, and hidden secrets that span generations.

August Book Of The Month

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter: Exciting news for fans of Karin Slaughter, as the author of the Will Trent series is starting a new series.

Her latest series is called the North Falls Thriller series, and the first book is We Are All Guilty Here, which releases on August 12th.

North Falls is a quiet town where everyone thinks they know each other…until two teenage girls go missing during the fireworks.

Officer Emmy Clifton takes the case personally after failing to help her best friend’s daughter. As she digs deeper, Emmy learns the girls weren’t who they seemed, and neither was the town. Everyone has secrets, but some are worth killing for.

10 More Notable Books Releasing in August

Brought to you by BookNotification.com where you can get updated on all the upcoming books by your favourite authors with your own personalized calendar!

Check out August’s 50 most popular book releases.

August Charities

While I appreciate all offers of donations to show your appreciation for the site and newsletter, I’d much rather you do that by supporting some great causes.  Each month I pick a few select charities broken down by our most popular countries or topics that you can support instead.   Thanks! Feel free to donate to a similar charity but in your own area.

I rotate this list each month.  Feel free to suggest a favourite charity – hit reply.

Pictures of the Month

Thanks for all those Carla! That one really resonated with me after July!

Send in your own to site@orderofbooks.com or by replying!

Images, jokes, etc. We’ll take it all!

Your Thoughts!

Last month I asked where your favourite reading spot is. The answers are later in the newsletter.

This month’s question is based on a question from a reader, Edmund.

He has a youngster who is learning to read, and he asked if I could suggest some authors, past or present, for them.

I thought it would be a great idea to throw it out to the readers of this newsletter, so we can get a nice variety of answers.

What books would you recommend for younger readers? And in what age groups?

It’s certainly a tricky one because times change, so I believe the answers will be more anecdotal than purely based on recommendations. When my son began reading, from about the age of 8 through 14, his favourite books were the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney. I don’t believe they are anywhere near as popular now as they were back then, though.

I grew up reading Enid Blyton. I thought they would be timeless, and as an adult, I still go back and read them, having a jolly good time. However, I could never get my kids into them.

Anyway, if you have any recommendations for books for younger readers, please send them in and be sure to specify the target age group.

E-mail us your feedback to site@OrderOfBooks.com or just reply to this e-mail, and we’ll pick the best comments and feature it in next month’s newsletter. Five people will also randomly win a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.

Reader Mailbag!

Click here to read.

Book Notification
Order of Books » Newsletter » OrderOfBooks August 2025 Newsletter

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