book review

Bookish Post – June Reading Wrap-Up

books, reviews, wrap-up
Teacup on top of vintage books.

Number of books read: 10
Number of rereads: 1
Number of physical books: 5
Number of ebooks: 1
Number of audiobooks: 4

5* reviews: 1
4.5* reviews: 0
4* reviews: 2

We’re over halfway through the year and the days seem to be speeding up but I still feel like every week at work is twice as long as it should be. Not sure how that works. I also don’t know how I’ve managed to read so many books this month. It felt like such a hard month to get motivated. I guess it helps that I’ve been reading shorter books.

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Book Review – You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour & David Levithan

books, reviews

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

One of the best things about my Spell the Month reading challenge is that I’m reading way more books that I’d never have known about. Having to search out certain letters is opening my eyes to titles I’d have never have thought about picking up. This is one of those books. I’m not a real YA fan anyway but a YA romance? Definitely not my usual kind of book. I thought I’d take the chance to step out of my comfort zone while also finding an easy read for the letter Y. Whatever the actual story was like, I could at least be confident that it wouldn’t take a long time to read.

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Book Review – No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

books, reviews

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Do you ever get those books that just live in your online shopping basket forever? This was one of those books. I was interested in reading it but not enough to actually go through with it. I guess I just wasn’t totally convinced by the premise. I mean, another book that wanted to explore the impact of your online life on your real life? Yeah, we haven’t seen something like that before. I know this was nominated for a bunch of stuff but it just sounded like the kind of book that had the potential to be disappointing. So, I didn’t really feel like wasting money on the hardback. It was only when the audiobook came up on Audible for £3 that I decided to give it a go. The fact that it was also under 5 hours long helped my decision. I’ve been getting behind on my schedule quite regularly at the moment, which is why I’m posting this on Friday instead of Wednesday as usual. It’s too hot to read and writer anything.

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Book Review – The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I had a pretty good Saturday all in all. I didn’t do anything exciting. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I was sorting out books that I need to unhaul and get rid of old Instagram props that I no longer use. What made it better was listening to Agatha Christie’s The Thirteen Problems as I did it. Although, the production wasn’t that great. I know a lot of people prefer Joan Hickson’s narration but I get a bit tired of it. She doesn’t really differentiate between characters and I find that really irritating. You have to pay closer attention to who is talking and, in book like this, it’s important to know who is talking.

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Book Review – The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

books, reviews

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Like many others, I first became interested in this book when it was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2018. It sounded like an interesting story and I’m always intrigued by feminist dystopian fiction. I never actually bought it though because, as is always the case, I had far too much to read first. I then got a copy in a book subscription box that I used to get. It wasn’t a great subscription all round but this was definitely a highlight. The book has spent the last year or so on my shelf waiting to be read. Why did I decide to read it now? I wanted the excuse to experiment with water in some photos. I’ve had worse reasons for picking up a book but this isn’t exactly my finest hour. I was still interested but I’d also heard mixed things about Sophie Mackintosh’s debut novel. I guess that I had to find out for myself.

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Book Review – The Mystery of Love by Andrew Meehan

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I’d started reading The Mystery of Love in February for LGBTQ+ history month. Although, I didn’t really get very far. I just wasn’t in the mood for it and I had plenty of other books to finish first. So, I decided that Pride month was the perfect time to finish it. I ended up listening to the audiobook on my lunchbreaks so it took a few days to actually get to the end but I managed it just in time for the end of June. I actually think getting the audiobook made a big difference to how easy this was to read. Whether it was the narrator, the book or both, The Mystery of Love was the perfect thing to listen to.

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Book Review – Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I wasn’t entirely sure whether I would finish this in time or not. I’d had a slow end to the week and had let my reading go. Thankfully, it was a pretty quick read and I got the majority of it done on Sunday. I forget that YA novels don’t take as long to read as the books I usually read. Mostly because it doesn’t have that literary fiction desire to complicate things. It did take a bit longer because I was so careful not to ruin the gorgeous stencilled edges of this book. It’s such a beautiful thing and I need it to say as pristine as possible.

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Book Review – Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I’m having a nightmare with my photos at the moment. My Instagram feed is all over the place because I can’t the lighting consistent. The image at the top of this post was the worst to edit so far. Nothing went right and I was ready to pack it in completely. But I persisted and it will do. This book was my book club’s pick for Pride month and it was my suggestion. I normally don’t get too involved in the picking process because I was the last to join. I know it’s mental but it feels as though my opinion is less important than the others. So, I am a little worried about what they’ll think of this one. It’s been on my TBR for ages and I was looking forward to reading it. The book group is mostly full of people looking for gruesome murders though. I’m not sure this will be everyone’s cup of tea.

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Book Review – Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

books, reviews

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I promised myself that I would try and read some Pride appropriate books during June and, so far, I’ve not done a great job. I’ve got my book club’s choice to go yet but I decided it was time to get some LGBTQ+ representation up in here. I had originally set aside Giovanni’s Room to read during Black History Month but that never happened. It’s probably a good thing as well because James Baldwin doesn’t address race in this book. Instead, his entire focus is sexuality. Making it the perfect book to read in the month of June.

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Book Review – Jokes for the Gunmen by Mazen Maarouf

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Despite the fact that I vowed to buy fewer books this year, my Spell the Month reading challenge has made it difficult to do this. I have a lot of unread books but there are plenty of letters that I still don’t have books for. J is one of the most awkward letters for me at the moment and I had to go searching for something to pick up. I read about this when looking on the Booker Prize website. I’m not normally a fan of short story collections because I prefer a longer form. However, this sounded like something that I couldn’t miss. The fact that it’s a J title was an added bonus.

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