July came and went like a literary whirlwind, leaving behind a trail of rewind/fast-forward prompts (since I listen to audiobooks) and the kind of reading hangover that only comes from diving too deep into too many worlds in too short a time. What started as a modest goal to "read a few books this month" spiraled into a nine-book odyssey that had me sneaking chapters in while out walking, shopping, and even sleeping. My earpods were glowing night and day this past month.
From where we live in Mexico (Morelia), July is part of the rainy season. This means each day can start out sweltering and then end in a downpour accompanied by a thunder and lightning show that is majestic. Through it all I devoured story after story, expanding my horizons, and it reminded me why I fell in love with books in the first place. Each title offered something different—some made me laugh until my sides ached, others left me staring at the ceiling at 2 AM pondering life's biggest questions, and a few had me frantically texting friends or shouting to my husband with variations of "You HAVE to read this book RIGHT NOW."
So grab your favorite reading beverage and settle in, because I'm about to take you on a journey through the nine books that defined my July—complete with the moments they made me gasp, cry, rage, and ultimately remember why sometimes the best adventures happen between the covers of a book.
Nine Books, One Extraordinary July
Here is what I read this past month:
Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
In this achingly beautiful novel, Ocean Vuong crafts a masterpiece of modern American loneliness, where nineteen-year-old Hai's interrupted suicide attempt becomes the catalyst for an unlikely caretaking relationship with Grazina, an elderly Lithuanian widow slipping into dementia. Vuong's prose doesn't just tell a story—it excavates the tender brutalities of working-class existence with surgical precision, revealing how love and labor intertwine in the forgotten corners of America. Every sentence pulses with life, even when describing death; every character breathes with authentic complexity, from Sony with his cracked skull and Confederate obsessions to the fast-food crew who become Hai's unlikely anchors. Read my full review here.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Mark Haddon creates a mystery through the remarkable lens of Christopher Boone, a fifteen-year-old with autism, that evolves from a basic case of a dead dog into a profound voyage of self-discovery and family secrets. Christopher's razor-sharp logic and distinct way of seeing the world—complete with mathematical equations, prime numbers, and brutally honest observations—create a narrative voice so genuine that it feels like peeking directly into a bright mind that processes reality differently than ours. I kept expecting Haddon to leave Christopher's head and show us the events from another character's perspective, but he stuck to Christopher's story. If you want to learn more about autism, this is a fantastic book to read.
Dream Town by David Baldacci
Every few months, I crave a good detective murder mystery. David Baldacci's Dream Town satisfied my yearning. In the glamorous yet treacherous world of 1950s Hollywood, World War II veteran turned private investigator Aloysius Archer becomes entangled in a fatal web when screenwriter Eleanor Lamb employs him on New Year's Eve, only to vanish when a corpse emerges in her home. As Archer navigates the perilous underbelly of the City of Angels, where beautiful faces conceal cutthroat schemers and powerful movie moguls will kill to safeguard their secrets, his inquiry leads him from mob-controlled Las Vegas to the darkest reaches of Los Angeles. In this noir-soaked thriller, dreams and nightmares mix as Archer races against the clock to find his missing client while avoiding corrupt cops, violent criminals, and Hollywood elites who would rather see him dead than reveal their murderous plots.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Atmosphere launches readers into the 1980s NASA Space Shuttle program, where physicist Joan Goodwin discovers that the most dangerous mission isn't reaching the stars—it's daring to love Vanessa Ford, a brilliant aeronautical engineer, in a world that demands they keep their hearts in orbit. For me, this book felt like a missed opportunity—a novel that aims for the stars but gets lost in its own gravitational pull of overwrought drama and underdeveloped characters. Read my full review here.
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
This was my first Wally Lamb novel. In The Hour I First Believed, Lamb creates a profound and heartbreaking masterpiece that demonstrates his virtuosity as a storyteller, tying together the tragic facts of the Columbine shooting with in-depth investigations of trauma, family history, and human resilience. This tale follows Caelum Quirk, a high school English teacher whose life is upended when his wife, a school nurse, escapes the Columbine tragedy. This emotionally gripping tour de force brilliantly captures the complexity of life's most challenging moments while maintaining hope throughout its sprawling narrative, making it an unforgettable and deeply moving reading experience. I will definitely read everything Lamb has ever written and look forward to more from this brilliant author.
Heartwood by Amity Gaige
In this story, a pandemic-scarred nurse named Valerie vanishes into the unforgiving Maine wilderness while hiking the Appalachian Trail, sparking a desperate search that becomes a haunting meditation on the core strength that keeps us standing. This literary thriller weaves together the journeys of three women through their own personal wildernesses, using fractured letters to a mother and the perspectives of a determined game warden and an unlikely 76-year-old armchair detective. Raw with emotional truth and survival instinct, the novel explores how we become lost—both in dense forests and in life itself—and the mysterious heartwood within us all that guides us back to what matters most.
Isola by Allegra Goodman
If Jane Austen and Jack London were to join forces on a book in the present day, the outcome could very well be Isola. In this novel a pampered French noblewoman's world is shattered when her harsh guardian confiscates her inheritance and abandons her on a barren Canadian island as punishment for forbidden love. What begins as an aristocratic betrayal quickly turns into an epic battle for survival against polar bears, severe winters, and starvation, as Marguerite discovers fierce inner strength she never knew she possessed. This remarkable historical tale combines raw human endurance, passionate romance, and spiritual discovery in a story so astounding that it defies belief—all while remaining grounded in the genuine adventures of a sixteenth-century heroine.
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Dream Count signifies Adichie's return to fiction following a ten-year hiatus. The narrative intricately melds the experiences of four women. Through the intertwined stories of Chiamaka, a prosperous Nigerian travel writer longing to be "truly known" by another person, and three other women whose lives revolve around her, Adichie creates a deeply feminist examination of connection, resilience, and the subtle power found in female friendship. Set during the early days of COVID-19, this novel turns personal reflections into a broad exploration of identity, power, and the intricate landscape of the heart—demonstrating that the most vital intimacy can arise not from romantic love, but from the generous support women provide each other across different continents and social classes.
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
In this haunting and contemplative novel, a disillusioned conservationist abandons her crumbling marriage and career to seek refuge in a remote monastery on Australia's stark Monaro Plains, where she confronts the ghosts of her past while battling an apocalyptic mouse plague that mirrors the ecological collapse she tried to escape. Wood masterfully weaves together themes of environmental grief, spiritual questioning, and the weight of unfinished business as her unnamed narrator grapples with profound questions about goodness, forgiveness, and whether hope itself can be a moral obligation. This Booker Prize-shortlisted work transforms the quiet rhythms of monastic life into a deeply moving meditation on how we make meaning from devastation, both personal and planetary. You can read my full review of Stone Yard Devotional here.
What a remarkable month of literary exploration! The beauty of reading broadly became clear as I moved between different voices and styles throughout the month. Each book brought its own rhythm and emotional landscape, creating those wonderful moments where you finish one story and immediately crave something completely different—or surprisingly similar. The variety kept my reading fresh and exciting, preventing any sense of literary boredom.
As I close the chapter on July's reading journey, I'm already eager to see what August will bring. My ever-growing TBR pile beckons with new adventures, and I have a feeling this momentum will carry me through another month of incredible stories. Here's to the books that surprise us, challenge us, and ultimately change us—one page at a time.
What were your July reads? I'd love to hear about the books that captivated you this month and any recommendations you might have for my August adventures!
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