hullo, books of august!!
collected here for your convenience are all of august 2025’s weekly reading book review videos! along with nifty links to bookshop.org where you can learn more about each title— and support a local indie bookstore if you choose to buy online! :D yay!!
we looooove book mail, no?? :D
many happy, colourful reads to you!
💖xo,
*hallie 🤓
✨📖 weekly reading book review august 2025: episode one!! 📖✨
☔️ this week i finished:
🌳 A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN by betty smith
📚 currently reading:
💛 THE UNDEAD FOX OF DEADWOOD FOREST by aubrey hartman
🎭 HENRY VI PART 1 by wm shakespeare
📚 hope to/might read next:
🎭 HENRY VI PARTS 2 & 3 (i’m way off pace for my #brushupyourshakespeare2025 challenge! 🙈)
📝 ANDROMEDA by therese bohman
ohhh i love this paperback: https://bookshop.org/a/5254/9781635424188
mine is from book of the month. my referral link to try for $5: https://www.mybotm.com/4fk6zo9eig4
✏️ & if my car can get me to the theatres for the sc new play fest this weekend, i may carry to read:
🩰 THE SECRET STARLING by judith eagle
🐱 MORNINGS WITHOUT MII by mayumi inaba
🖤 LIFE FOR SALE by yuko mishima
📺 also watched:
🪡 the first two episodes of the new PROJECT RUNWAY on disney+! yay art sports & christian siriano!! :D
what stories are you loving right now?!?
✨📖🎟️🎭🎬🩰🎨🎧📝📺📚
puddle*jumping for studio time as my car gets towed,
💖xo,
*hallie 🤓
✨📖 weekly reading book review august 2025: episode two!! 📖✨
while my week was FULL of shows & panels at the south carolina new play festival this week, i also managed to read some books! 🥰
📚 this week i read:
🦊 THE UNDEAD FOX OF DEADWOOD FOREST by aubrey hartman
🎭 HENRY VI PART 1 by wm shakespeare
🔎 HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER by kristen perrin
😬 MORNINGS WITHOUT MII by myumi inaba
🪴 GROWING HOME by beth ferry , art by the fan brothers
b&n special edition shown in video: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/growing-home-beth-ferry/1146384374?ean=9781665989817
📚 currently listening:
🎧 audio re*read of THE DALLERGUT DREAM DEPARTMENT STORE by miye lee
sequel: https://bookshop.org/a/5254/9781335015358
audio book on libro.fm: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781488230851-the-dallergut-dream-department-store
📚 currently reading:
🏝️ THE ISLANDS OF ELSEWHERE by heather fawcett
📚 reading next:
🪐 PROJECT HAIL MARY by andy weir
(hosting two nights of book club next week bc it filled so fast! 😂)
📚 miiiiiight read next:
💜 DRAMA by raina telgemeier
💙 MURDER TAKES A VACATION by laura lippman
what stories are you loving right now?!?
😸🎨💛📝🔍📗🎧🎬🎭🩰🎹
💖xo,
*hallie 🤓
👉🏽 south carolina new play festival blog(s) coming later this week
https://www.halthegal.art/artist-blog
👉🏽 + a bonus SNAIL MAIL GIVEAWAY coming to my substack newsletter (join for FREE here: https://halthegalstoryart.substack.com/subscribe ) 🚕🌇🎭🍎📬
👉🏽 link to FREE STICKERS to celebrate evelyn skye‘s THE INCREDIBLE KINDNESS OF PAPER (that comes out tomorrow!!!) here: https://www.creativeinspiredhappy.com/p/book-swag-artist-collaboration
✨📖 weekly reading book review august 2025: episode three!! 📖✨
🥳 this week i read:
🩵 THE ISLANDS OF ELSEWHERE by heather fawcett
💜 DRAMA by raina telgemeier
❤️ ANDROMEDA by therese bohman
my copy from book of the month: https://www.mybotm.com/4fk6zo9eig4
📚 currently reading:
💛 PROJECT HAIL MARY by andy weir
🤎 BAMBI by felix salten
💙 MURDER TAKES A VACATION by laura lippman
🎧 + an audio re*read of THE DALLERGUT DREAM DEPARTMENT STORE by miye lee so i can read the sequel, THE DALLERGUT DREAM-MAKING DISTRICT next!
book one audio: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781488230851-the-dallergut-dream-department-store
🎬 i’ve also been watching the (new!) PROJECT RUNWAY ( yay dramatic "art sports!" bahahaha!) & i started the new season of WEDNESDAY on netflix, but it’s realllly gory gross horror this second season & i dunno if i’ll keep going… ☹️
what stories are you reading/loving/enjoying right now?? :D
🖍️
travel*bug colourful happy mail from me here:
https://halthegalstoryart.substack.com/p/midmonth-bonus-markers-four-giveaways
g'luck, and many happy, colourful, magical reads to you all!! :D
💖xo,
*hallie 🤓
✨📖 weekly reading book review august 2025: episode four!! 📖✨
🥳 this week i read:
💙 MURDER TALES A VACATION by laura lippman
🧡 PROJECT HAIL MARY by andy weir
📚 currently reading:
💛 A FORGERY OF FATE by elizabeth lim
🧳 miiiiiiight read next/pack for my quick nyc trip:
💜 THE SECRET STARLING by judith eagle
🩵 ORPHAN ISLAND by laurel snyder i’ll get to meet her next month at highlights!! 😳🥹🫠)
💚 COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE by haruki murakami
🖤 THE LIBRARY OF THE DEAD by t.l. huchu
what stories are you loving right now?!
🥰📚✨💜📖🎭🎬🩰🎨
👉🏽 & make sure you enter my GIVEAWAY via my free newsletter to WIN some happy mail grom my eminent adventurings!! 🥰📭💌🥳🖍️
till soonish,
💖xo,
*hallie 🤓
august was wild and wonderful at the end there, and here are the books that'll stick with me the most from these past 31 days or so:
THE ISLANDS OF ELSEWHERE by heather fawcett
middle grade (for all ages!)
i'm obsessed with her gently magical middle grade books. and this one is an emotional vacation to visit grandpa -- where we learn that great grandma used to be a pirate (the kind that robs from the rich to give to the poor) and there just might be a way to find the buried treasure she left behind...
A FORGERY OF FATE by elizabeth lim
ya fantasy romance (nothing scandalous!)
ooohhhhhh-de-lolly!! every now and then when i dip back into YA fantasy? well, it's gotta be by elizabeth lim. :) not only is this book a beautiful object d'art, but it's a beautiful faerie tale retelling with an asian mythology dragon twist: complete with a marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, slow-burn, and all the magic romance (and accessible fantasy) goodness i looooooove in a book.
ANDROMEDA by therese bohman
adult literary fiction (i don't remember any "content.")
norwegian fiction (so long, #womenintranslation month!) about books! and publishing! and 2 narratives (each 1/2 of the book instead of alternating! i love it!) of the young protégé and the last generation to make sure books were literature and not just digestible fluff for the masses to make a buck. (or whatever the norwegian currency is.)
AGGIE AND THE GHOST by matthew forsythe
author-illustrator picture book! (non-scary ghostie fun for e'rybody!!)
um, the cover was cute. bonus: the inside was art and word PerFEctION. it's funny/quirky with those subtle picture clues that enhance the story when you study the art more closely. the art was made with traditional materials (watercolour, graphite, & gouache, yay!) and makes a great readaloud (made my husband read it to me. he loved it, too. we collectively marveled at the use of shapes and colors.) last week at books of wonder i asked the bookseller for a recent fave and this happened to be the one she mentioned! (she said the staff enjoyed it as a collective readaloud, too!)
SO much happening (& TBR, of course) in september...!
marker re*cap coming out tomorrow (free newsletter link here!) with news, adventures, and a VERY colourful giveaway!!! ;D
what were your favourite stories this month?
💜xo,
*hallie