What I Read in August 2025
Wow. Another month of very little reading. Normally, summer is when I fly through books, but this year was the complete opposite. I thought August would get me back on track, but between my parents visiting for two weeks and Ramesh being off for the first week, reading time was scarce. Since I usually read before bed, our days spent playing tourist in Malmö meant I was crashing hard at night—barely squeezing in a few pages before falling asleep.
But I did finish one book that had been sitting on my list for far too long: Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. And I’m so glad I finally got around to it.
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Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
I don’t remember exactly how this book first landed on my radar, but I do know I snapped a photo of it at the Malmö Library back in March 2023—excited they had it in English. Clearly, it’s been on my TBR for a while!
If you read the book’s description, it sounds a little chaotic:
A donut shop run by aliens from another galaxy
A queer runaway violin prodigy
The “Queen of Hell” searching for her final soul to save her own
It seems like too many wild threads, right? But trust me—it all comes together beautifully. You’ll fall in love with each of the characters and the way their stories intertwine.
Aoki bends genres and blurs the line between science fiction and everyday life, grounding the fantasty elements in the very real San Gabriel Valley of California. At its heart, this is a story about friendship, love, and the power of being seen and accepted. Sometimes the simplest act—being accepted for who you are—is the most freeing gift of all.
I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. It’s imaginative, heartfelt, and one of those reads that stays with you long after the final page.
