Everything I Read in August 2026

It was another twelve-book month, wow! I read some weird (but good) little books this month, namely Kitten and Girl’s Girl. The Stalker was also very weird — more in a creepy sort of way (a good thing for me, ha!).

My favorite book this month was actually a romance: Dolly All The Time. So many of my friends had read it and loved it, and it did not disappoint. It had a famous-person, non-famous person, a beautiful New England beach town that reminded me of Cape Cod, and unforgettably great characters. Other highlights for me were the new Sarah Pekkanen (pre-order it!) and The Shampoo Effect. 

PS – last month’s list!

Everything i read in August 2026

Lastly, I would really love to hear what you’re reading in the comments! And if you are new here, check out The Library. I have kept this page meticulously updated for the past twelve+ years. It has every book I’ve read, and you can search, filter by genre, and rank from best to worst. 

Thrillers

Getting Away With Murder, by Shari Lapena

When I spotted this at the Ladybird (my beloved local bookstore), I bought it without knowing a thing, as I tend to enjoy Shari Lapena’s books. This one is about Jill and Ted, a wealthy couple in Brooklyn who have made a few bad investment decisions. They’ve grown accustomed to their extravagant lifestyle and have fallen victim to the mindset “the more you have, the more you want.” Realizing that they are on the verge of losing their beloved brownstone, they make a plan to murder Ted’s brother Greg (as one does, right?) This will, they believe, solve all their problems. They’ll just throw him off of his sailboat, and claim it was an accident. And Greg is kind of an asshole, anyway. With the two of them as the only witnesses to Greg’s death, their story will be ironclad. Or will it? Can they really trust each other? What about their longtime housekeeper? What about Greg’s ex-wife? Or the Coast Guard official who can’t seem to stop sniffing around? I’d describe this more as suspenseful than twisty (twisty is my preference) but I still really enjoyed this. Really Liked It!

Read this if you loved: Shari Lapena’s other books; this was her tenth! I didn’t love this quite as much as The Couple Next Door, but still really enjoyed it. // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

The Stalker, by Paula Bomer

I picked this up at a bookstore in Skaneateles, unable to resist the cover or the premise, but I have not seen much about it otherwise. I’m so glad I did, as I couldn’t put it down. It is deeply toxic. I will warn you that there is a trigger for sexual abuse. It is the nineties in New York, and Doughty has arrived, fresh out of BC. He is, simply put, a total monster. He’s managed to climb his way from sleeping in a bed at the YMCA to living with a book editor in her forties, in her posh Soho loft. Meanwhile, he’s actively pursuing a relationship with a bartender. He’s entitled and delusional, and tells both women that he is pursuing a career in real estate. Meanwhile, he spends his days watching VHS comedy specials (he has a real thing for George Carlin), or in the park, smoking crack. He abuses both women physically and emotionally… It’s horrible, and some scenes are really hard to read!. Still, I could not put it down. This book is compulsively readable. If you like dark and toxic, you’ll like this a lot. Really Liked It!

Read this if you liked: Tell Me Lies (and you thought Stephen DeMarco was the worst person in the world — Daughty makes him look like a puppy), You. It also, in a very abstract way, reminded me a bit of The Guest // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Whiteout, by Carola Lovering (out 3/9/27)

Carola Lovering is one of my no-miss, instant pre-order authors (you might remember her as the author of Tell Me Lies). I was so excited when she asked if she could send me an ARC. Obvious yes, obvious drop everything to read it in under 24 hours. I will warn you that this one has trigger warnings for stillbirth, postpartum depression, and psychosis. June Lyons has an idyllic life in Aspen, Colorado. She’s married to a best-selling author whose career continues to rise and rise… Together, they live in a beautiful home with their daughter Ivy. Her best friend in the world (her sister Penny) lives just across town. She’s had to put her own personal ambitions on a shelf, but life is good. And then everything changes in an instant, and her family’s world is shattered when she’s injured while skiing and loses her baby just weeks before he was due. When June wakes up, besides healing from a devastating loss, she must reconcile what has happened. Why was she skiing so close to her due date? Where was her husband? What if losing the baby was not a total accident? I raced to figure out what happened and really loved the ending. Loved It!

Read this if you loved: The Push, by Ashley Audrain // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Based on a True Story, by Sarah Vaughn

Dame Eleanor Kingman is about to throw the party of a lifetime. Her seventieth birthday, to be held at her new cliffside manor. This is her fourth home, and it’s absolutely stunning. Meanwhile, a television crew has descended on the party, where they will interview guests and create a documentary about her life and career. Kingman is a wildly successful children’s author, but her past contains secrets. And someone knows these secrets and is out to get her. For months, she’s been receiving menacing emails, threatening to expose the lie she’s kept safe for fifty years. Eleanor must figure out who is doing this, before it’s too late. Could it be one of her three daughters, all with a vested interest in her business? Her ex-agent, or ex-husband? Maybe her new agent, or the talented (but underpaid) illustrator she had hired for her most recent book. It could be anyone, and Eleanor must figure it out (while staying composed at her party) before it is too late. Liked It!

Read this if you loved: A Very Bad Thing (a favorite!) // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Promise Me Never, by Liv Constantine

Liv Constantine is like Sarah Pekkanen and Lisa Jewell for me: instant pre-order! This didn’t top The Last Mrs. Parrish, but it was still very satisfying. The ending had a fun twist I didn’t see coming; I read it in under 24 hours. Savannah is an aspiring writer with a past. She’s had a crush on legendary horror writer Bennett Bryson for years. When she manages to meet him — and get engaged just a month later, it feels like all her dreams are coming true. She moves into his mansion in Bedford, New York and that’s when cracks in their relationship start to appear as Bennett becomse controlling and removed. He’s critical of her work. He is really weird about letting her come into his office. His ex wife’s art is everywhere . . . and she’s beginning to think he may have murdered his ex. When Savannah is warned that Bennett might not be who he seems, Savannah must take action — or be next. But who can she trust? As she digs into his past, we get to know his ex-wife too. Everyone is hiding secrets! I really enjoyed this one.Really Liked It!

Read this if you loved: The Ghostwriter, Just One Look, any of Liv Constantine’s other books! // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Romance

Dolly All the Time, by Annabel Monaghan

I am not usually a huge romance reader, but so many of my girlfriends had raved about this one. And I love a fake dating romance… also, the coastal New England backdrop felt particularly appealing, as it is summer and I miss Cape Cod. Dolly is a hard-working, no-bullshit single mom, home for the summer to help out her father and disabled brother after a fire at their house. When a chance incident puts handsome (and helpless) billionaire Stewart in her path, the two enter into an unlikely fake dating relationship. Dolly will prove to Stewart’s family that he can be in a relationship, and in exchange he gives her the money to fix the roof of her family’s house. What could have been cheesy and unbelievable actually turns into a very plausible, heartfelt book. I loved the characters, especially Dolly, and Stewart’s effervescent sister Busy. I couldn’t put it down and wanted more when it was over. Highly recommend, it is the perfect summer read! Loved it!

Read this if you loved: Happy Place, by Emily Henry // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Contemporary Fiction

The Shampoo Effect, by Jenny Jackson

Caroline Lash, daughter of a famous writer and editor for a publishing company, has sold exactly one story when she decides to quit her job and pursue writing full time. She packs up her life in New York and arrives in Greenhead, Massachusetts, where she has received a prestigious writing fellowship. Almost immediately, she meets — and falls in love with Van Whittaker, a sweet and smart long-haired environmentalist-type. Van grew up in Greenhead and still runs with his childhood besties (and ex-girlfriend, Bailey). Caroline finds herself thrust into this new group: older than her, many with children. There is snobby Augusta, frazzled feminist Fran, and their siblings and spouses. But when Van learns that Bailey, who he’s been on and off with for years, is pregnant with his baby, the group dynamic is thrown off. Before she knows it, Caroline has been thrust out of the circle. What she does next will shock everyone in the town and expose long-held secrets. I really loved this. It was a bit slow at times but Jackson can make even the smallest details feel important, and wow — the characters were amazing! Highly enjoyable, especially as a summer read. Loved It!

Read this if you loved: Jackson’s other book, Pineapple Street. She writes the best characters. I would also say Ann Patchett. A bold statement, but this read a bit like Patchett. The way she describes the most mundane details. The intricate family relationships. // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Looks Perfect, by Jessica Siskin

If you love books about the influencer world, I think you’ll really enjoy this. Stella is an up-and-coming fashion designer and influencer, on the cusp of hitting a million followers. Her life is perfect, except for one thing: her boyfriend Alex seems to hate her. When she is offered $10,000 to try out a new dating app (without posting anything), she takes a chance. There, she meets “Pineapple,” who has her reconsidering everything about her career and her life. Can she and Alex fix things, or should she take a chance on this new, anonymous stranger? My favorite thing about this is the way that Siskin wrote Stella’s character. She’s not a total monster (so many books about influencers can do that), but she also makes bad decisions and falls prey to the trap of living to create content vs. the other way around. Really Liked It!

Read this if you loved: Such a Bad Influence, People Like Her, books about influencers! Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Kitten, by Stacey Yu

This is a weird little book, one that I absolutely purchased for its beautiful cover (that, and seeing it on every “most anticipated books” list. It’s really well written and I mostly loved the plot, but I feel like I have to warn you (in as vague a way as possible to avoid spoilers) that an animal dies. That’s a huge trigger for me, and I probably would have skipped it had I known that! There is a big theme of coming into your own and going from being taken care of to taking care of yourself. Katie is far from home, newly graduated from college, and very reliant on her boyfriend James, who is kind, generous, and all too happy to care for the both of them. When his parents are away, he takes care of his family cat Silver; Katie becomes a bit obsessed with her. They head out to his family’s house by the beach for a two week break where they’ll swim, connect with old friends, and lounge around. But everything else seems to fall away as she observes Silver’s every move. There were parts I liked (it really captures that tie between college and real adulthood beautifully, as well as her codependent relationship with her mother and then her boyfriend), but that one thing made it really disturbing. Liked It! 

Read this if you loved: Girls, on TV. I genuinely can’t think of anything else to compare it to! // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Girl’s Girl, by Sonia Feldman

This is not my usual book! I picked it up at Ladybird because I liked the cover and the title. But it’s much more literary (and slow!) than I usually read. I read it while up at the lake house, which was the perfect time to read it… It’s the perfect book to read when you want to slow down a little bit. The writing is gorgeous, and it really captures the little nuances that come with being fifteen: the jealousies between friends, the neediness, etc. Mina’s two best friends, Eleanor and Margaret, are her entire world. It is high summer in Ohio, and they spend their days languishing by the pool, plotting to go out, getting dressed up, and taking pictures of each other. But when two of the girls share a kiss, the group dynamic begins to change. Suddenly three starts to feel like a crowd and Mina no longer understands her place in the group. This is such a great depiction of being young: the tension, the volatile feelings that can happen between best friends… first love, first lust, all of it! Liked It!

Read this if you loved: I couldn’t think of anything quite like this, but parts of it reminded me of the Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Non-Fiction

I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself, by Glynnis MacNicol

I loved this book so much. I listened to it, which I would highly recommend, as it feels like a multi-hour catch-up with your new best friend. It’s 2021, and international travel has just opened back up. MacNicol, forty-six and unmarried without children, decides (after 16 months of living alone in a tiny Manhattan apartment) to move to Paris for a few months, in pursuit of one thing: enjoying herself. Friendship, food, and sex. It’s indulgent and wonderful. It’s also feminist, maybe even a little bit political, and I loved seeing another unmarried, childfree woman living life exactly on her own terms. Women need more stories like this to understand: You’ll be great on your own. Happy, even! The friendship stories are big-hearted and warm, the casual sex is juicy and salacious, you won’t be able to stop reading. Loved It!

Read this if you loved: I can’t say I’ve read anything quite like this (that’s a good thing), but I would say it could be a good chaser to All Fours. And I’d compare the writing to Nora Ephron. // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

You With the Sad Eyes, by Christina Applegate

This was my latest listen, and I it flew by for me. Applegate makes for a wonderful walking companion. I came for the tea (I’d heard it was juicy and very honest — it is!) but stayed for her dark sense of humor. I knew she was funny, of course, but I didn’t expect her sense of humor to be so dark. It’s definitely a side of her I hadn’t seen before, and I loved that. I loved all the parts about filming (Married With Children! The Sweetest Thing! Anchorman! Dead to Me) and, of course, the dating stories, but what struck me about this memoir vs. other celebrity memoirs is how real and human it felt. She seems really normal and grounded, just human. It was interesting to learn more about Applegate’s life, her struggle with body image (big content warning there if its a trigger), her strength through battling breast cancer and then M.S. I really enjoyed this and would highly recommend it, especially on audio. Really Liked It!

Read this if you loved: Mean Baby, Famesick // Order on Bookshop or Amazon