Top Kindle Books for Reading in August 2016

Can you believe it’s August already?  Summer is almost over!  School is starting (parents are celebrating), vacations have been taken, pictures uploaded to Facebook and Instagram…It’s time to start thinking about Fall!  I am so ready for cooler temperatures, long shadows and pumpkin everything!  Unfortunately, I’ve still got a few weeks to go, so it’s time to fire up the Kindle and get some good reading in while I’m waiting!  Here are some of the Best Kindle Books for August to carry you through the rest of the summer.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One and Two (Special Rehearsal Edition)

I’ve been reading all of the Harry Potter books again, just so I would be ready for this!  Harry Potter is now an overworked employee at the Ministry of Magic, and a husband and father of three.  Albus, his youngest son, is fighting a legacy that he didn’t ask for and doesn’t want. 

When the past and the present come together, both Harry and his son will discover that darkness can creep in when you are least expecting it, and it will take the power of love to make things right again.

Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes

Shauna Niequist is a noted author and speaker, and her latest offering brings us a collection of essays about life around the table.  Friendships, relationships and food are all intertwined, bringing us together and reminding us that there is joy in the journey.  Complete with recipes, this is the perfect read as we head into the Fall with the holidays right around the corner.

Let’s All Be Brave: Living Life with Everything You Have

It takes courage to embrace life and live it to the fullest, and yet so many of us are missing out–letting our fears keep us down.  Annie F. Downs is learning to live courageously, and she’s made it her mission to take as many people along on the journey as she can.  Take up your flag, rally the troops and find the courage inside you to really live!

Underground Airlines

What if the world looked exactly as it does today…except that the Civil War had never happened?  What if slavery still existed in parts of the country…and what if the government would do anything to protect their secrets?  Victor is working as a bounty hunter for the US Marshalls.  He’s arrived in Indianapolis, on the hunt for the mysterious Jackdaw.  As he begins to uncover secrets long buried, he soon finds that he can no longer ignore his own past…and that he and Jackdaw are more alike than he would care to admit.

The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047

In the not-too-distant future, America is in trouble.  When the dollar is devalued overnight, and replaced by a new global currency, a once wealthy family finds themselves in a struggle to survive.  As each member mourns what they have lost, rails against a world that no longer makes sense and struggles to find an identity, it will be up to Willing to save the family and set things right again.

Vinegar Girl: A Novel (Hogarth Shakespeare)

Reading an Anne Tyler novel is a little like returning to your favorite vacation spot–things may have changed a little bit, but it’s still the same cozy place you’ve come to love.  Kate is frustrated with her life.  She is keeping house for her eccentric father and entitled younger sister Bunny, and she’s had quite enough, thank you.  When her father finds himself on the verge of a major breakthrough at the same time that his irreplaceable assistant is due to be deported, they hatch a plan to keep him in the country…with Kate as the bait.  But will she accept their crazy ideas…or have they really gone too far this time?

Flannel Gowns and Granny Panties

Ed Sterling is a writer and a marriage counselor who is about the lose everything when he publishes his new book.  Can he strike a balance between the crazy stories, his insane editor and a marketing board who doesn’t agree with his point of view?  This hilarious read will have you laughing out loud as Ed scrambles to keep it all from falling apart, and shares some of his best client stories in the process. It’s a great book to read in the Fall 2016.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

Michael Pollan challenged us ten years ago to rethink the way we eat, and perhaps no other book in recent history has done so more effectively.  Pollan doesn’t ask us to necessarily change the way we eat, but rather to think about where our food comes from–how it’s grown, processed and presented, and what effect this has on the natural world.  Eating is political, whether we like it or not, and it’s time for a re-read as we once again explore the implications of those politics.

Sipping from the Nile: My Exodus from Egypt

With all of the chaos in the Middle East, sometimes we don’t realize that there was a time before…when there was peace and freedom and life.  Jean Naggar was born into a prominent Jewish family and spent her childhood between Europe and the Middle East.  When Egyptian President Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956, all of that changed.  Suddenly Jean must find a way to navigate the murky waters of an internationally divided family scattered by hostilities that they neither welcome nor understand.  A coming-of-age story that will haunt you long after you’ve turned the last page.

American Sphinx

With an election on the horizon to choose the next President, now is a good time to look back at our Founding Fathers, and explore where we came from in order to try and make sense of where we’re headed.  Thomas Jefferson was an enigmatic man whose influence can still be felt today, over 200 years later.  Author Joseph Ellis breaks down the man and the myth, taking us past the hero-worship and into the mind of one of our most brilliant statesmen, who is both vilified and beatified in equal measure.

There you have it, friends.  Ten of the Best Kindle Books for August.  Please tell us in the comments below which ones you enjoyed, and if you found something that we missed, tell us about that too!