Now onto the topic at hand - reading! I lucked out and had an incredible month of reading. There was only one sort of disappointing read. Most of what I read I rated 4 or even 5 stars! I read 9 books in June, bringing my 2024 total to 52. I don’t set a goal for number of books read as I don’t want to ever focus on quantity over quality. Last year I read just below 100, the previous years I read over 100. We will see where this year shakes out! I have included children’s books that I read out loud to Paul in the total but I spend hours reading them so figure they should count, too.
Best of the best:
After Annie is Anna Quindlen’s latest character-driven novel. It’s about a family grieving the sudden loss of their young matriarch. I didn’t love this as much as Every Last One but it was still a very good 4-star book. The Wives was raved about on Sarah’s Bookshelves Live and lived up to the hype (I gave it 5 stars). It’s a memoir written by the wife of a man who enlists in a special ops unit of the army. I gifted this to my sister as part of a gift to acknowledge her family’s cross country move. I can’t wait for her to read it so we can discuss it, hopefully in person! It gave me better insight into what her life has been like (her husband is in the military.) I gave it 5 stars. Real Americans was also raved about by Sarah but her co-hosts did not care for it. This was another 5-star read for me. It’s a multi-generational novel about a family that flees from China. I thought it was so well done. This is another character-driven novel. The last 2 books, Yours Truly and Just For the Summer were my first foray into local author Abby Jimenez’s catalog of work. Both books are set in the Minneapolis area which made them extra delightful for me to read. I really enjoyed both and they filled my need for something lighter with a happy ending. I think I preferred Yours Truly but both were great.
Other mostly great reads:
Colton Gentry’s Third Act is a romance novel about a country music star that speaks out about gun control after losing his best friend to a mass shooting at a musical festival, putting an end to his career as a country musician due to the backlash. I really liked this but not as much as Jimenez’s. The People We Keep was an excellent book about a young teen in a situation of neglect that goes out on her own after a conflict with her father. It’s a found family kind of novel. The Secret Book of Flora Lea is a historical novel about the children that were sent into the countryside of England during WWII. A child goes missing and this book is about the sibling’s search for the missing child as an adult. I liked it but historical fiction hasn’t worked as well for me lately. River East, River West was my least favorite read of the month. It was another rec from Sarah’s Bookshelves Live so not all of her picks work for me. It’s set in Shanghai and is told by dual narrators. It’s sort of a coming-of-age story which are hit or miss for me. I didn’t like the mother or daughter in this story so that made it harder for me to enjoy this book.
The boys’ reads:
Paul and I have not been reading together as much lately because he would rather read graphic novels on his own. Below he is reading a Geronimo Stilton book at the library. It’s fun to see his love of reading take off but I would like to get back to reading some chapter books together!
We did finish the 3rd Paddington novel that we were gifted at my baby shower. These were very delightful reads!
Taco is mostly into picture books but will still pick out board books at bedtime occasionally. Board books are far shorter so it’s not the worst thing when that happens. Ha. So we will keep his board books out for now but I think I will winnow down the collection to our favorites and find a new home for the ones he isn’t drawn to. The picture book we read the most in June was The Gruffalo which is a favorite of mine, too!
Did you read anything great in June?
11 comments:
I really want to read real americans. I read 50% of the fours on my flight and it's very entertaining. I read a memoire about Joan Didion and want to dive into her reading more next.
I really like a character-driven novel so I'll look up some of those! I haven't read any of them, although one is on my TBR (I think it's Yours Truly).
It's brilliant you keep in mind quality over quantity when it comes to reading! I think that's a trap too many can fall into, particularly me!
It's so funny about that Anna Quindlen book- Every Last One had such a dramatic plot (although it was heavy on character development as well) but I've never enjoyed her other books as much. I appreciate the great writing, but I just keep wishing something would happen! So... I'll probably skip this one.
I love the photo of Paul reading! Graphic novels are great- but I can see why you would miss reading the chapeter books with him. He'll get back to them eventually.
Oooh we haven't read the third Paddington book! Maybe I need to check it out. My kid and I just finished reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, which I hadn't read since I was small. It was a big hit.
The Sadness of the Lemon Cake by A. Bender and Tove Janssen book "True Deceiver". Both very different but enjoyable nonetheless. L has been going through "Star Friends" series and R, well, R is into transformers picture books.
Excited to put your 5-stars on my list!! Thank you!
Yours Truly was very nearly a perfect romance novel. I disagree about that ending, though! Brutal!!
It's so lovely to see so many great reads!
I think I liked Yours Truly more, too. I loved that she created a character with social anxiety - I felt so seen!
I want to read Real Americans - at least give it a shot! It sounds intriguing, but also sounds like something I could abandon easily. So we'll see!
My best book in June was Listen for the Lie!
I love reading books set where I live - it makes the books feel familiar from that start.
Geronimo Stilton is one of those series that I'm glad my kids can read on their own because I don't enjoy reading them - I find them overstimulating. I've been on a graphic novel kick myself, so I borrowed several from the library. Only the kids pick them up and read them too because they are really into graphic novels, but some of them *really* aren't appropriate for the kids. Not that mind for the 12 year old, but I don't need the 7 year old reading a graphic novel that includes sex scenes...
I started reading The Trumpet of the Swan with the kids while we were on vacation, but I can't find the book now that we got home.
Real Americans looks really good to me.
I think my favorite book from June was Landslide by Susan Conley. The novel was such an honest look at parenting teenage boys, and the writing was fantastic.
Oh, I see Daria read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake! I read that back in 2011 and LOVE LOVE LOVED IT. Highly recommended.
I enjoyed After Annie, though I'm not sure I LOVED it. I liked Yours Truly and am trying to remember whether I read Just for the Summer. I also really liked The People We Keep.
I have listened to a lot of books over the last few months, and have not posted about any of them. I need to do a big brain dump, if only to help me keep track.
Lisa - I'm here. I'm reading, but I'm often reading on the go. Then at home, I get sidetracked and for whatever reason I cannot comment from my phone.
I appreciate the book recommendations. Always helpful. I've just started All the Light We Cannot See. I know, I know. The rest of the world read this book and loved it. I've always meant to read it, but Mini just finished it and I was between books. So, here I am.
Hope your weather is less rainy lately.
Post a Comment