Let’s Talk: August TBR + Reading Prompt Mason Jar

In case y’all didn’t know, I’m a mood reader. Meaning there are books that have literally been on my TBR for years that I haven’t read, for no reason other than I haven’t been in the mood to read them. While my mood definitely influences what I decide to read and when, I thought that in the month of August it would be fun to switch it up a little bit!

I’ve been doing a lot of scrolling on Pinterest lately (as one does) and I’m always seeing lists upon lists with prompts for either choosing your next read or new blog posts. I had saved a few, kept strolling, and then I saw one of those date night idea mason jars and I thought “wait, what if I did that with reading prompts?” I thought that it would not only be a fun way to help me get through some of the books on my TBR, but that it would also be a great way for me to fill more prompts for one of the reading challenges I’m doing this year.

I decided that for the month of August, with the exception of book club picks and ARCs, all the books I read will be selected based on whatever prompt I pull out of the jar. I’ve already chosen my first 3 reads of the month which are:

Prompt: A book with song lyrics in the title
Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler

I pulled this prompt and my first thought was, “I shouldn’t have read Working on a Song last week because that’s perfect for this prompt”. So, it took me a second to figure this one out. Then I started looking at my TBR and saw Cool for the Summer and went, “WAIT! That’s the title of a Demi Lovato song! This works!” I’ve read some of Adler’s other works and enjoyed them, but have heard mixed reviews on this one so I’m definitely curious to see where it lands for me! 

Lara’s had eyes for exactly one person throughout her three years of high school: Chase Harding. He’s tall, strong, sweet, a football star, and frankly, stupid hot. Oh, and he’s talking to her now. On purpose and everything. Maybe…flirting, even? No, wait, he’s definitely flirting, which is pretty much the sum of everything Lara’s wanted out of life.

Except she’s haunted by a memory. A memory of a confusing, romantic, strangely perfect summer spent with a girl named Jasmine. A memory that becomes a confusing, disorienting present when Jasmine herself walks through the front doors of the school to see Lara and Chase chatting it up in front of the lockers.

Lara has everything she ever wanted: a tight-knit group of friends, a job that borders on cool, and Chase, the boy of her literal dreams. But if she’s finally got the guy, why can’t she stop thinking about the girl?

Cool for the Summer is a story of self-discovery and new love. It’s about the things we want and the things we need. And it’s about the people who will let us be who we are.

Links for Cool For The Summer: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound

Prompt: A book with a two-word title
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Dark academia and Caitlyn is basically a match made in heaven, but to be honest with y’all…this book has been sitting on my shelves for SO LONG. I got my copy not too long after the release and just…haven’t gotten around to it. I obviously had many options for books with two-word titles, but I could practically hear this one saying, “pick me!” so I think it’s finally time for me to start Ninth House!

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

Links for Ninth House: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound

Prompt: A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads
Beth & Amy by Virgina Kantra

It is well known around here that I love Little Women. It is also well known that I love retellings! I read the first book in this series, Meg & Jo, last year and really enjoyed it and the modern take that Virgina Kantra has taken on this beloved story/characters. I’m really excited to get to Beth & Amy and I actually borrowed it from the library a little while ago, so this seemed like the perfect choice for this prompt!

Four sisters face new beginnings in this heartfelt modern take on Little Women by New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra.

Amy March is more like her older sister Jo than she’d like to admit. An up-and-coming designer in New York’s competitive fashion industry, ambitious Amy is determined to get out of her sisters’ shadow and keep her distance from their North Carolina hometown. But when Jo’s wedding forces her home, she must face what she really wants…and confront the One Big Mistake that could upend her life and forever change her relationship with Jo.

Gentle, unassuming Beth grew up as the good girl of the family. A talented singer-songwriter, she’s overcome her painful anxiety to tour with country superstar Colt Henderson. But life on the road has taken its toll on her health and their relationship. Maybe a break to attend her sister’s wedding will get her out of her funk. But Beth realizes that what she’s looking for and what she needs are two very different things….

With the March women reunited, this time with growing careers and families, they must once again learn to lean on one another as they juggle the changes coming their way.

Links for Beth & Amy: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound

So there you have it! My first 3 prompts and books chosen. I’m really excited to push myself out of my usual reading comfort zone and am hoping that this will encourage me to read even more this month!

Have you ever used a prompt jar or random generator to pick the books you read? If so, what did you like/dislike about it? I’d love to hear your thoughts!