Goodreads/TBR Monday: August 10th, 2026

Goodreads Monday/TBR Monday is a bookish meme hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog invites you to post about what books are on your Goodreads “to read” lists or TBR lists, the progress you have made on your current books and reading challenges, and any other bookish news!

Hello, reader!

It’s time for another Goodreads Monday! I’m still sitting at 829 books on my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf which isn’t bad. I usually add at least one or two books to my digital TBR a week 😂 Now it’s time to see what random book I’ll be judging. Will it get to stay on the TBR or will it get tossed?

Read further to find out!

Random Goodreads Pick

Book:
Hamnet

Author:
Maggie O’Farrell

Publisher:
Tinder Press

Publication Date:
March 31st, 2020

Pages:
372

Genre:
Historical Fiction

Synopsis:
Drawing on Maggie O’Farrell’s long-term fascination with the little-known story behind Shakespeare’s most enigmatic play, Hamnet is a luminous portrait of a marriage, at its heart the loss of a beloved child.

Warwickshire in the 1580s. Agnes is a woman as feared as she is sought after for her unusual gifts. She settles with her husband in Henley street, Stratford, and has three children: a daughter, Susanna, and then twins, Hamnet and Judith. The boy, Hamnet, dies in 1596, aged eleven. Four years or so later, the husband writes a play called Hamlet.

Award-winning author Maggie O’Farrell’s new novel breathes full-blooded life into the story of a loss usually consigned to literary footnotes, and provides an unforgettable vindication of Agnes, a woman intriguingly absent from history.

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the sunday post

The Sunday Post: August 9th, 2026

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The Sunday Post is a blog news meme created by @CaffeinatedReviewer! It gives you a chance to post a recap of your last week, whether that pertains to books or not. You can talk about however much (or however little) you would like.

Hello, reader!

It has been a lazy Sunday here in the McBookNerd household, but now it’s time for another edition of The Sunday Post! I’m not feeling too great today, but I wanted to get on real quick to wrap up my past week on the blog and in real life. And then I’m going to lie back down with my book, haha.

Right, let’s get to it!

Week in Review

I had to work five full days at work because I wasn’t working a weekend and it felt so long 😂 Coming off of a weekend where I wasn’t feeling the best, the work week definitely dragged. I felt like I did a lot while simultaneously getting nothing done, ya know? Ugh… here’s hoping this up coming week is a bit more productive.

In more exciting news, my husband and I spent yesterday celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary! Our actual anniversary isn’t until tomorrow but going out on a Monday night is not feasible for this almost 44 year old. I need my sleep! Anyways, we took a dinner sunset cruise in the Boston harbor and it was absolutely magical. The food was delicious, the weather was perfect, and the views were just stunning. We spent most of our time on the top deck enjoying the sunset and the weather. And our waiter brought us a special anniversary dessert! It was the perfect night 💕

Today was less fun because I was not feeling great. It was nice to be able to rest, though, and I think I really needed it. Here’s hoping this next week is a good one!

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book blogger hop

Book Blogger Hop: Editor, Writer, or Reader

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The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Crazy-For-Books and is currently being hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Every Friday, a new question is posted for book bloggers to answer in the coming week. The purpose of the hop is connection and community. You can discover new blogs to follow, new books to read, and you may end up with some new followers, as well!

This Week’s Prompt

Do you see yourself more as an editor, a writer, or just a reader?

Submitted by Billy, Coffee-Addicted Writer.

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first lines friday

First Lines Friday: August 7th, 2026

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First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? If you want to make your own post, feel free to use or edit the banner above, and follow the rules below:

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

If you’re sharing on social media, don’t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays!

Hello, reader!

Happy First Lines Friday, everyone! I hope you all had a good work week and are ready for the weekend. I know I am because this work week was looooooong. Now, it’s time to lose myself in talking about one of my favorite things. The book I’m featuring today is one I started reading recently. I get the feeling this is one that a lot of you will recognize quickly because I feel like one of the few people who hasn’t read it 😅😂

The first line had me intrigued, so let’s see if it gets you, too!

The Line(s):

“I am dangling, and it is only my father’s blood-slicked grip around my wrist that stops me from falling.”

The Build Up:

The Reveal:

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monthly tbr

August 2026 TBR

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Hello, reader!

We are in the dog days of summer or at least it feels that way here in New England! It has been hot and muggy and sunny. I’m a summer girl, so I’ve been loving it 😁 I think it’s good reading weather, as well, since it encourages you to stay inside with the A/C and curl up with a book, haha. But to the point of this post! It’s a new month and, with that, comes a new monthly TBR! I have no solid reading plans for August, so this is gonna be a bit of a random mix.

Now let me share my August TBR!

The Book Club Reads

Always Fully Booked (AFB) Book Club
- The Will of the Many by James Islington
- That’s right, y’all. I’m finally going to be starting this series! This book has been all over the place the past couple of years and I was getting a severe case of FOMO because I hadn’t read it yet. Thank goodness for book clubs because it gave me just the nudge I needed to bump this up the TBR. So far, I’m having a great time with this!
Literally Dead Book Club
- We Don’t Talk About Carol by Kristen L. Berry
- I know absolutely nothing about this book, lol. I didn’t know it existed until it was picked for this book club! I’m honestly waffling about whether or not I’m going to participating in this read. I have a couple of big books I want to get through in August and this one might ended up getting skipped because of that. We’ll see.
Weirdo Book Club
- A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee
- We have another instance of a book club pushing me to read a book that is already on my TBR! In this case, this poor book has become a shelf veteran because I have owned it for ages and haven’t picked it up once. I was, obviously, intrigued by the premise of the novel enough to pick it up, so I’m looking forward to finally giving it a chance.

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www wednesday

WWW Wednesday: August 5th, 2026

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It’s time for another WWW Wednesday! This is a bookish meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words where bloggers answer the 3 Ws:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

If you’d like to learn more about any of these books, click on the cover to be taken to the Goodreads page.

Current Reads

The Secret World of Briar Rose by Cindy Pham: Y’all, I’m stalling out on this one 😣 I don’t know if it’s just because I’m reading the e-book and that is my least favorite format or if this one is going to end up not being for me. I’ve but the audiobook on hold at my library to see if maybe it’s just a format thing. It’s bothersome because I’ll find myself really loving a section and then my enthusiasm swiftly peters out. I’m hoping the audiobook will help me sink into it.
The Will of the Many by James Islington: I’ve only read the first chapter so far and I’m already hooked! There are so many juicy secrets I can sense lingering right under the surface. I’m excited to dig into the story and see if I can figure them out. I’m enjoying the writing style, the setting, and the main character. He seems very intriguing. I’m certainly excited to read more!
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas: This is my current audiobook read. I was looking at my 26 books in 26 list that I have been woefully neglecting because I couldn’t decide what my next audio read was going to be. This was the first one that was available in Libby and, so far, it is a hit! The world being built is so lush and vivid that I just want to luxuriate in the story. I’m loving the characters, too. I feel bad for neglecting this book for so long but I’m happy I’m finally giving it a chance.

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top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Covers With A Summer Vibe

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Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish back in June 2010. It is currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and, as is stated on the blog, it was “born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.”

Hello, reader!

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is a cover freebie! So, since we’ve entered August, the last full month of summer, I figured I’d make my favorite season the theme! I’ve picked some books that I’ve enjoyed that have covers that give me a summery vibe! It doesn’t necessarily mean that anything contained within the book is summery, but the cover makes me think about hot weather, lazy days in the sun, and vacations.

Now let me share what I’ve picked!

Books I Am NEGLECTING

Heartstopper Vol 3 by Alice Oseman
The Someday Garden by Ashley Poston
Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood
The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

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goodreads monday

Goodreads/TBR Monday: August 3rd, 2026

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Hello, reader!

The weekend is over and it’s time for another Goodreads Monday! I’ve gotten down to 829 books on my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf which honestly surprised me! Am I, someone notorious for ignoring her TBR, actually picking books from it??? Look at me go 😂 Now I’m going to randomly choose a book that is still chilling on my digital TBR and decided whether or not it gets to stay.

Let’s see what we get!

Random Goodreads Pick

Book:
Red Queen

Author:
Victoria Aveyard

Publisher:
HarperTeen

Publication Date:
February 10th, 2015

Pages:
388

Genre:
Fantasy/Dystopia

Synopsis:
This is a world divided by blood—red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance—Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.

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the sunday post

The Sunday Post: August 2nd, 2026

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Hello, reader!

Well, we have arrived at the 8th month of the year. I honestly can’t believe it’s already August! Soon, the kiddos will be going back to school and we’ll be getting ready for Fall. Which is my second favorite season, so I’m not mad about it, haha. For now, though, it’s time for another edition of The Sunday Post!

Let’s dive on in.

Week in Review

This week was a pretty productive one at work, which felt nice! I got a lot of admin work done, though there’s still a lot to do for our upcoming inspection. We’re smack dab in the middle of summer vacations, though, so I’m finding myself on the bench more often than not at work. I don’t mind it too much because I love working the bench in microbiology!

Life outside of work was less fun this past week. I’ve been having some abdominal pain and I ended up making an appointment with urgent care on Friday. I feel like I’m falling apart y’all 😭 My 40s have been no joke! Anyways, I ended up needing a CT scan, then there was a fire alarm so we had to evacuate, so I ended up being there for six hours. All for them to say it was something they can’t really treat and to just take ibuprofen for the pain as needed. For… like… ever?! They did refer me to a specialist so hopefully they can help cause I’m not keen about just being in pain 24/7…

That being said, my weekend was pretty lackluster 😅 I slept a lot and read a lot and felt generally crummy because we had had plans for the weekend! Sigh… hopefully next week will be better.