So yeah, August was a good reading month for me – work was quiet and I spent some time alone in Brussels, which always facilitates reading. I did well on almost every front I consider important: I read books that have been on my list for a long time, I read poetry, I read a book in Estonian (and it’s a graphic novel to boot!), I had a very good mix of genres and topics in general. The only issue I’ve got is that I didn’t read any properly big books, but that’s better suited for Autumn anyway. So what exactly did I read? Starting from the bottom.

1. Kahe heli vahel by Joonas Sildre. Who knew that a graphic novel about a composer could be such a great reading experience? Well, Joonas Sildre clearly did. This visual take on the life of Arvo Pärt (possibly the best-known living Estonian) is enlightening and moving. The imagery supports the story beautifully and it’s best read while listening to the corresponding pieces by Pärt. One of my favourite reads of the month and highly recommended to anyone who speaks Estonian.

2. Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers. I really like Chambers and especially enjoyed the first instalment in her Wayfarers trilogy – The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. I appreciate her conviction that SF doesn’t need to be all action and technology and her focus on characters is admirable. That said, I found ROASF just too quiet and the characters not that appealing (with the exception of the main alien character). No regrets about finishing the series, but not my favourite of the lot.

3. Period Power by Masie Hill. This is a curious mixture of good intentions, solid science and Goop. Some of it I enjoyed, some of it irritated me greatly and some of it I found useful. The best part of the book is its supportive and inclusive attitude towards people who menstruate and its sincere focus on making the process as easy as possible (Hill might say ‘enjoyable’ instead of ‘easy, but I’m not ready to go that far).

4. A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism by Adam Gopnik. Gopnik is The New Yorker’s staff writer and a well-read political observer. As one would expect, therefore, the book is intelligent and eloquent, but I’m not sure he entirely succeeds in his attempt to defend liberalism. I enjoyed it, but I don’t need to be convinced that liberalism is a good thing. People who have serious issues with, say, neoliberalism, are however unlikely to be satisfied with his brief dismissal stating that it never represented true liberal thought.

5. Superior: The Return of Race Science by Angela Saini. Saini’s exploration of the concept of race in science is one of my favourite non-fiction reads of the year so far. I had some small quibbles as I went through it, which in hindsight really are either extremely minor or debatable. Again, I already agreed with the author from the beginning: I firmly believe that race is a biologically meaningless category. In this case, however, I think Saini does a great job convincing if not racists, then at least agnostics. The chapter on the eminent geneticist David Reich is especially poignant. I hope that many of my Estonian friends pick this up, as the debate around these topics in my home country tends to be either non-existent or ill-informed.

6. The Perseverance by Raymond Antrobus. The first of three poetry collections I read in August, this was probably my favourite. Antrobus is deaf and many of his poems examine what that means, which was eye-opening for me. But this collection is also about his relationship with his father, a universal – and in this case heartbreaking – theme.

7. To be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers. Another Chambers, another complaint about it being too quiet and slow. It also doesn’t have any aliens, as it takes place in a different universe from the Wayfarers series – certainly a con in my book. The novella follows a space mission 200 years in human future and is admirable for its realistic take on the topic and Chambers’s customary intelligence and gentle wit. It’s just not quite for me, although I did like the ending. And the title!

8. Lanny by Max Porter. The only Booker-nominated thing I read this month (I plan to read a few more, but I’m not a booker completist) and one I really liked. I suspected I would, as I also liked Porter’s Grief Is A Thing With Feathers. What the two books have in common is Porter’s excellent depiction of children, a lyrical style, experimentation with form and use of mythological elements. If you don’t like any of these things, Porter is probably nor for you.

9. Mr Fox by Helen Oyeyemi. Mr Fox is one of the books on this list that I’ve meant to read for years and finally did, inspired by my fondness of Gingerbread, another Oyeyemy that I read earlier this summer. The book is generally considered to be inspired by Blubeard, but it’s not a straightforward retelling and I would probably not have seen that connection on my own. There is definitely a magical, fairy tale quality to the story about a writer and his muse. I do not want to say more, in fear of spoiling it, apart from noting that I find Oyeyemy’s writing captivating.

10. Sicily by John Julius Norwich. A decent, approachable overview of the history of Sicily, but not a great work of history writing. I read it because I travelled there in August and for this purpose, it’s completely fine. Full disclosure: I only read the bits I was most interested in.

11. Running Upon the Wire by Kate Tempest. Poetry book number 2: this is pretty straightforward love poetry, which I understand is unusual for Tempest. It was a nice read, although not extremely memorable. Not recommended, if you assume women can write love poetry to men only (I don’t think there are many people like this reading my blog, though).

12. Shadowplay by Tim Marshall. After the massive success of Prisoners of Geography, Marshall has republished his first book that talks about the war in Kosovo. He was a journalist on the ground back then and his account is personal and based on his sources in Balkan countries, UK and US. It is an easy read, at least stylistically, and rather fascinating, if you haven’t read much on the topic. If you have, this is probably too lightweight for you.

13. The Collection by Nina Leger. Leger won the Anaïs Nin prize for this slim book about a woman having sex with strangers and (mentally) cataloguing their penises. If it sounds French, it is. Despite that, I enjoyed it – the language is evocative and the objectification deliberate. Some readers have been shocked; I’m shocked that people still manage to be shocked about things like this.

14. The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter. I feel inadequate to the task of reviewing this, but I gave it a go here (it’s brief). It’s a classic for a reason and long may it be read.

15. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. An epistolary romance between two agents in a time war raging across the entire universe between technological and organic factions of the future? Yes, please. I could not put it down and if you do read SF, please read this. Five stars. (Disclaimer: It is divisive, though, so you might hate it.)

16. The House with Only an Attic and a Basement by Kathryn Marys. The final poetry book and possibly my least favourite, but still nice. To enjoy it fully, you need to have intermediate level knowledge of Greek mythology – if you do, the clever juxtaposition of the ancient and the contemporary makes for an amusing read. Also, the cover is gorgeous.

Finally, the +1. It’s not really a book, although Goodreads counts it as such. It’s the short story that won this year’s Hugo, called A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies by Alix E. Harrow. Technically, it is a fantasy story, but I believe most people who like libraries, books and reading would enjoy it. Especially recommended for the fans of Neil Gaiman. It is available online, so easily accessible to everyone.

What have you been reading? Any recent revalations?