The 52 Book Club's 2026 Reading Challenge - August Update

Happy Sunday everyone! Today I'm sharing my my eigth update for my August progress for the year long reading challenge called The 52 Book Club's 2026 Reading Challenge.  You can see my original tbr here.  In August, I completed 3 books for a total of 46 read so far out of 52 total books on my tbr.  Only 6 books to go!  Keep reading to see my thoughts on the books I read in August:

49. From the 800s of the Dewey Decimal System

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

Poems and Stories by J.R.R. Tolkien was on my tbr for quite awhile and I had been eyeing it at the library for a long time. While I wouldn't call all of the stories and poems featured here favorites, it was just good to read more from Tolkien that I wasn't already familiar with. My favorite short poem from this was easily The Cat. As far as I'm concerned, that one was absolutely perfection.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

44. Literary Device: Personification

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt has been recommended to me over and over again and I'm happy I've finally gotten around to it because it was outstanding. I don't know if I'd call it a favorite, but it was still an excellent read. Tova and Marcellus are wonderful and my favorite parts of the story. Honestly, I could have done with more Marcellus. Just imagine if the whole thing was narrated by him. Finally, I just want to note that the audiobook production really helped make this for me and I highly recommend checking it out in that format. Now, I'll have to try the Netflix film adaptation.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

26. Title in a serif font

❋ ❋ ❋

Pickpockets, Beggars and Ratcatchers: Life in the Victorian Underworld by Kellow Chesney was an unexpectedly academic look at the Victorian criminal underworld. I honestly had no idea there were so many different words for different types of criminals. I definitely wasn't expecting quite a long drawn out segment on prostitution compared to everything else. The tone in which the author writes of homosexuality, though, was definitely unexpected given the tone in which he uses for the rest of the book. Anyway, I'm glad I checked out the glossary at the back of the book to refresh my memory on the terms used throughout. Finally, I'm just glad I don't live in these times!

My review is also on Goodreads and The Storygraph.

Are you participating in this challenge?  Have you read any of these books?  As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!