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I read 14 books in August, which is the most I can ever remember reading in one month. That's partly because many of these are short! There are several nonfiction books and several translated books, both of which are off the beaten path for me as well. Here they all are in author order.
Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books, by Hwang Bo-Reum: This is a surface level reading memoir, of sorts, and it was not for me but you might like it.
The Uncool: A Memoir, by Cameron Crowe: I loved this book, which goes through Cameron Crowe's teen journalist career and ties it forward into some of his later work as well.
The Carpool Detectives: A True Story of Four Moms, Two Bodies, and One Mysterious Cold Case, by Chuck Hogan: This very fun, conversational nonfiction book follows the titular moms as they investigate the unsolved deaths of an older married couple.
Night of the Mannequins, by Stephen Graham Jones: This weird horror novella follows a teenage boy who's explaining how a mannequin prank led to the murders of all of his friends.
Vampirocene, by merritt k: In this horror novella, a dirtbag podcaster type in Brooklyn watches as a pop star takes over his personal circle by preaching a vampire-flavored solution to climate change.
The Night Guest, by Hildur Knútsdóttir: This novella is about a woman who feels exhausted every morning and must find out why, and it was okay.
Mother Tongue, by Sara Nović: I felt inspired in a non-saccharine way by novelist and professor Nović's memoir of their own Deaf identity and the history of Deaf culture in the United States.
Trash! A Garbageman's Story, by Simon Paré-Poupart: Almost all working writers also have day jobs, many are working class, and I loved this class- and climate-aware memoir of a Montreal garbageman.
Superstars, by Ann Scott: This French queer classic from 2000 involves a 31-year-old woman pursuing a 17-year-old girl, so, that is gross, but it's not an aspirational story.
The Abominable, by Dan Simmons: I learned while reading it that Dan Simmons was a creepy islamophobic bigot, and also, this book is at least 300 pages too long.
Camp Damascus, by Chuck Tingle: This great novel is about a young woman who has to confront her evangelical Christian upbringing, including a conversion camp with a fresh take on . . . morality I guess.
Horror Movie, by Paul Tremblay: I'm not allowed to read any more Tremblay novels, I never like them.
Wisdom Corner, by David Heska Wanbli Weiden: This good crime thriller is #2 in a new series, by someone better known as an American Indian Studies scholar than a novelist.
Hooked, by Asako Yuzuki: I buddy read this with a new friend, and I thought it would be a fun friendship thriller, but it really blew me away with complexity and interesting threads to think about.
I will probably not read 14 books in a month ever again. Well, never say never, I guess. Have you been reading anything good?