This month I torpedoed my 20 Books of Summer list by signing up for a pile of NetGalleys and ARCs. I’m not saying I regret those reads, which were quite good; something just made me go “off-list” this month.
Otherwise, my July was all about my sister – I got to visit her in Wisconsin for July 4th and then she visited me here in DC. She was here for a very intense conference on teaching about the Holocaust. She even got this book for me, which I can’t wait to read. It’s about three women who give birth in the concentration camps during the Holocaust:
Here’s what I read in July:
- Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor
- Something Sinister by Olivier Bosman
- Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
- The Atlas of Forgotten Places by Jenny D. Williams
- Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
- Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
- Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews
My favorite read? This was a good month but not a blow-me-away month like June was. Best read goes to The Atlas of Forgotten Places, for transporting its readers to war-time Uganda in 2008. Goodbye, Vitamin was also quite moving.
Most disappointing read? I couldn’t finish Javier Marias’ The Infatuations, which was going to be my book set in Spain for the Readers Room challenge. Sorry Readers Room! With a trip to Spain on the horizon, I was really into reading this book. But honestly, it just ran on and on with nothing happening, even though it’s about a MURDER (BookerTalk, you warned me!).
It wasn’t my best month for challenges:
- Reading All Around the World: The Atlas of Forgotten Places
- 20 Books of Summer: Annihilation, Binti: Home
- Read Diverse: Goodbye Vitamin, Binti: Home
What I’m reading now: From the library I picked up Diana Gabaldon’s new Seven Stones to Stand or Fall, which is a re-release of five novellas and two new ones. I’m not a big novella reader, and a lot of these are John Gray stories which I’m less into. Hmmm. I really want to be re-reading Voyager, to get ready for the show, although Voyager is the Outlander book I have the most mixed feelings about (as I remember it, the first half is awesome and the second half is dreadful).
I’m also reading Daniel Price’s new book, The Song of the Orphans. This is the rare
What’s coming up: In August, I need to get back to my 20 Books of Summer List, which I’m happy to say includes the latest in the Constance Kopp series by Amy Stewart. I’ve also started reading Dumas’ The Three Musketeers, and I can’t wait to read Naomi Alderman’s The Power.
Added to my TBR list: My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor, because I wrote about my law school experience this month and Gwen at It’s a Long Story recommended it. And Born Survivors by Wendy Holden (see above), because my sister heard the author and the survivors speak at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and it sounds like an amazing story.
Things that made me happy this month: The movie The Big Sick. Seeing a comedy show with Daily Show Correspondents. And planning our September trip to Spain.
That’s my July! We capped off the month yesterday by getting lots of sun at a Nationals game. I hope your summer is going well. Happy reading!
