June was a pretty good reading month for me. I started 12 books and finished 9 – 3 went into the DNF pile. Deciding not to finish a book that I ma not enjoying is so freeing! Besides those, there were some really good ones and some that were just so-so. It did feel like I read quite a bit, we were settling back into the empty-nester life with a quiet house and a lot of time to read. Some of my friends ask how on earth I read so much these days, especially when working. I am not a huge TV fan and reading keeps me out of trouble! 🙂 I stay off line and don’t shop much and we don’t go out a ton. Also, being that I am a huge library junkie, it keeps me from spending too much on books too. My one month “reading” splurge is my Audible account. Listening to books on my way to and from work has become part of my regular routine and I do get through a good amount from that alone. I did have a business trip this month to Washington DC and that provided me with two travel days that were pretty full of reading. That always helps!
A few other exciting book related things did happen this month. I received some author love on Instagram – THREE TIMES! First, Elizabeth Gilbert liked my post when I said I was reading City of Girls. I got very excited about that. Then the same week, Claire Gibson liked the post that mentioned her book, Beyond the Point. And not more than day later, on someone else’s post a gal wrote that Where The Crawdads Sings was one of their top ten reads so far this year. I commented that I didn’t read it this year but that it was a top 5 for last year. Delia Owens commented thanking me for the mention. So that was all pretty cool!
I also made a decision on what I am going to read in July and August. Lately I have been reading mostly new releases. My To Be Read list is long, so long! I have so many books that are no longer considered new releases that I want to get to. So I am going to take a step back and make some of those previous releases a priority. In the next two months, the first 5 books I read each month will be from publication dates of 2017 or prior. We shall see how that goes!
And with that – here are the books I read in June:
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home – Tembi Locke
This was a book pick from the Reese Witherspoon book club. I have not always had great luck with her picks but I am so glad I picked this one up. I loved it. I did listen to it on Audible and it was read by the author, Tembi Locke. I think the audio book added to how much I enjoyed it. Tembi jumps around a timeline, telling her story of her love with her husband, his illness, their adoption, relationship with her parents, his death and how she moves forward. It is a beautiful, beautiful book. There was something holding me back from giving it five stars (or wines), I am not sure what. I think it has to do with her pretty much never talking about anything Saro did that was negative. I do understand why, how could you talk about your deceased beloved in a negative way? That would be difficult and may take away from the book as well. But to me I think it would have made him more real, if that makes sense. But throw that to the side and grab this book, it is lovely. You will smell the sauce simmering between the words.
🍷🍷🍷🍷
City of Girls – Elizabeth Gilbert
I would say that this was also close to being a 5🍷 read for me – however it is too dang long. My sweet spot is 300 – 350 pages and while I will read a 400+ I don’t do it too often. This was 470 pages! I really only mention this so strongly because I would say that pages 100 – 225 could have been edited down to about 40 pages. I found this section of the book drawn out and a little boring. However the first 100 pages and form about 250 on are excellent! Gilbert tells the story of 90 year old Vivian Morris and she is writing to someone named Angela, who we don’t tie in exactly who she is until towards the end. I do have to say that City of Girls did remind me a bit of Taylor Reid’s Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – but there were enough differences that I was able to get past it. Some people are going to pass this one over due to length alone, but if that doesn’t scare you away, it is a well written, compelling novel.
🍷🍷🍷🍷
Her Every Fear – Peter Swanson
There is one thing I now have no doubt about, Peter Swanson writes them dark, dark, dark. Did I mention that his books are dark? This was my third book read by him and he doesn’t waver from this, so far anyway. Still I am drawn. I do like a good psychological thriller and he is an excellent writer that I know I will continue with. But still, it is almost too much at times. This one is filled with completely evil psycho characters. And yet still I read it. This could have been a 4 🍷 for me but I didn’t like the ending. If you want a book that will keep you guessing and you don’t mind the evil people in it nor the sometimes very descriptive things that they do, pick up Her Every Fear and others by Swanson.
🍷🍷🍷 1/2
Necessary People – Anna Pitoniak
This one had received so many raving reviews online, mostly from publications, I was drawn to it. I liked it, but nothing more. Steall is a spoiled brat from the day we meet her and Violet, quite the opposite is drawn to her. I never really understood this need for Violet to be loved by Stella. One works very hard, the other just uses family name and connection. We follow their lives and see the nasty things they do to get ahead or avoid the others manipulation. It is all very odd, yet I couldn’t stop reading it. A page-turning people-train wreck in a way. If you want an easy to read beach read but it doesn’t have to be much more than that, this could be for you.
🍷🍷🍷
Beyond The Point – Claire Gibson
I started Beyond the Point on Audible and had to change to the book version fairly quickly. I have decided that an audio book read by more than 1 person is usually not for me. In addition, the readers here also disguised their voices for other characters, especially the males. I couldn’t take it. Once I switched to the book it got much better. Telling the story of three women and their times at West Point, I was surprised to learn after finishing how much knowledge and experience the author had at West Point as much of the book just was not believable to me. I know several that have attended military academies, including West Point and some of my friends have children that have been or are at military academies, including West Point. I even know a gal that went to high school with my kids that played basketball at West Point, which is a large part of this book. I just found so many pieces unbelievable. But who am I to judge – which is part of the message of the book as well. I did get engrossed and finished it quickly, despite its length but it won’t be in my top twenty books of the year. I did however enjoy reading about strong women and what they can accomplish!
🍷🍷🍷
Miracle Creek – Angie Kim
Before picking this up, I thought based on all of the buzz that this would be my favorite book of the month, and maybe top 5 this year. Not at all. In fact, 3 🍷s feels generous to me. It Young and Pak Yoo have built and run a submarine type device that simulates the experience and is believed to have medical advantages. One day it blows up, killing two. The story is the murder trial of a young, single mother accused of the explosion. Legal dramas have never been my favorite, so that is part of my disappointment I am sure. But with that aside it just didn’t get me excited about the story in any way. I found all of the mysteries very predictable and just o.k.
🍷🍷🍷
The River – Peter Heller
An adventurous story of Wynn and Jack as they continue their friendship that began freshmen year in college. Both very experienced outdoorsmen, they set out on a long river trip in the northern Canadian wilderness. Their adventure is nothing as they planned as a raging wildfire inches closer to them and they meet up with several individuals that alter their itinerary as well. This was another book for me this month that was o.k. I did like it but I can’t say it had any wow factor despite their desperate attempt toe survive the fire, the wilderness and people.
🍷🍷🍷
The Last Romantics – Tara Conklin
Famous author Fiona Skinner is asked in a lecture seminar about one of her works, The Love Poem, and specifically of a character in the poem named Luna. The book jumps around time for the present to the past, back to the present and then the future. The stories around her and her siblings childhood while their mom was in a deep depression named The Pause were the most interesting to me. But as the siblings grown older I was frankly a tad bored. Deep character development is throughout the entire book and what Fiona calls “The Failures of Love”. An o.k. read – good at times, others not so much.
🍷🍷🍷
The Scent of Murder – Kylie Logan
While I enjoyed the story and was drawn to it since it involved a dog, overall I found it not to be particular well written and was just o.k. It was not as engaging as most of the thrillers and mysteries that I tend to read and won’t likely continue with the series if there is more. The main character, Jazz, was not very likable for me.
🍷🍷🍷
Did Not Finish (DNF)
The Night Tiger – Yangsze Choo
The Girls in the Garden – Lisa Jewell
The Cactus – Sarah Haywood
Real quick – The Night Tiger drew me in quickly but that didn’t last. I tired hard to continue with this one, but I just couldn’t – which surprised me. I have several friends that have loved it. The Girls in the Garden is written by one of my favorite authors but this was the first book of hers I didn’t care for and I put it away. The Cactus was a Reese Witherspoon June pick and is often compared to Eleanor Oliphant and Ove – which I don’t necessarily think is a positive. Reese herself chatted all month about how much she loved Susan and how funny the book is. I found neither to be true and everything I read unlikeable and annoying. I don’t have time for that. 😃
June 2019 Favorite Book of the Month:
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home
If you like my June book list, you may like some of my others if you are looking for something to read!
What Should I Read Next – Favorite 4 & 5 🍷 Selections
My Books to Read List for 2019: Books Published Before the New Year
My Books to Read List for 2019: New Releases
2018 in Reading & My Favorite Books of the Year
