Tag: summer reading

July Reading List 2023 + What I Actually Read in June!

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Hello Everyone! As it is the end of June, I thought I’d share what I managed to read this past month+, and what I’m hoping to read in the upcoming weeks!

From my Reading List from my previous post, I read/tackled 6 out of the 12 bullet points! Up first, I read almost all of the Shadowhunter’s expanded world books. That included:

  • The Dark Artifices Trilogy
  • The Infernal Devices Trilogy
  • The Last Hours Trilogy

I didn’t get a chance to read all the other books, so those are on my list (below) for July! Overall, each of the series was great, though I think The Last Hours Trilogy was my favorite of the three!

While I was reading those, I read a book that was not on my previously published list; After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid! It had been recommended to me, and I thought it was a very interesting subject that I haven’t encountered much in realistic fiction/romance!

Up next was The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which had been on my list! I really enjoyed it, though I often forget just how dark The Hunger Games books are. And I found the ending very interesting, though it did leave me with a few questions. I hope the movie will answer them for me!

Then I read The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama, which had been on my list. While it was good, I liked Becoming better overall.

Next I read These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong. I liked the premise, but I wish more had been explained about the antagonist’s origins. However, upon finishing it, I realized there’s a sequel, which will be on my soon to read list!

The next book series I read which I am actually still reading is called the Kingdom of the Wicked series. This was/is a book I consistently see on Social Media, and though it’s usually been presented as darker than other fictitious fantasy books, I didn’t find it scary at all! As I am currently 20% through the final book, I will reserve judgement on whether it wraps up well! However, I will say that in terms of world building, it’s left me a bit confused. Not too much, but in a way that makes me enjoy the story less. I would be more keen to excuse it if things made more sense by the middle of the second book, but there are additions in the third book that keep me confused. However, I think it’s a very fun concept, and I think the first book was especially well done, with a great hook!

As I mentioned previously, I was going to reread Call Me by Your Name, and read the sequel, Find Me. The former struck me once again with how good it was. I simply love it, and would urge everyone to read it for so many different reasons!

When starting Find Me, I didn’t look up the summary or anything because I was afraid of spoilers. I will not be spoiling it, however I will say that the book has a few parts within it, where the points of view completely change, and dump you in another person’s world which is related, though not strongly, to the previous plot. As such, its more a mini collection than a full novel, but I loved the stories, and I was excited about how the author tackled the first one. I unfortunately still have a few questions, but I was so pleased with the book, and am hoping there is potential for a continuation of the story on film!

Finally, I lastly read a book called Captive Prince, which I ran into at Barnes and Noble. The summary worried me a bit because there are heavy themes, but I trust the buyers for B&N, so I decided to read it! While there were a few uncomfortable and violent moments, I really like the slow-burn of the plot, and how we still don’t know much about one of the main characters even one novel into the series. There are two more books which I am waiting on at the library, so those two will be on my list for July!

Now, that was what I read in May and June, so here’s what I am planning on reading in July, in the order of how I plan to read it!

1. Kingdom of the Feared

I have to finish the series!

2. The Bane Chronicles

One of 3 books I have left in the Shadowhunters Universe!

3. Prince’s Gambit and Kings Rising

The two other books in The Captive Prince Trilogy.

4. To Be a Machine

Over a month later, but now I only have 38 pages left! Like I said before, I have to be in a particular realistic mood.

5. Our Violent Ends

Hopefully some of my questions will be answered!

6. Why Not Me? and Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

I love Mindy Kaling’s voice, and I find her story very inspiring, so I think these will be fabulous! I also hope there many be a few pieces of advice that I will find valuable, so I am really looking forward to these two!

7. The Red Scrolls of Magic and The Lost Book of the White

The final two books in the Shadowhunters world! I just read 15 of them in the last three months, so I’m excited to get back to two of my favorite characters to close out my experience with the world!

8. Ghosts of the Shadow Market

Just kidding, ANOTHER ONE in the Shadowhunters world. Jeepers.

9. Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy

Oops I guess there’s more!!! These seem fun and bite-sized like the Bane Chronicles, which is nice! However, none of my libraries seem to have a book copy, solely audiobooks. And audiobooks are really not my thing, so this one may take longer to read unless I buy it, which will all depend on whether or not it is available on Google Play, and if it costs less than what I have in my Google Play Account!

Now that’s probably all I’ll be able to get through in July, but just in case, my list also includes:

10. Normal People

This was on my previous list, but since then, one of my close friends has been reading it, so I should hop to it so we can chat about it!

11. Caraval

Caraval technically wasn’t on my last list, but I have been pushing off reading it for quite a few months. However, one of my close friends recently asked if I’d read it, and I told her no because I was afraid it would be too scary. She informed me that it wasn’t scary, so now I’m more excited to read it!

12. Mastery

Was on my previous list, but I’ll have to be in a particular mood to read it. However, I’m excited for when that time comes!

13. Fourth Wing

I saw so much hype about this online, so I put it on my list! However, it is scheduled to arrive on my library app in three weeks, so I don’t quite know when I’ll be able to start it!

That’s all for this post, but I hope it gave you some good book ideas, if you were looking! Let me know if you’ve read any of the novels I’m going to read, and whether or not you enjoyed them! Now, here’s my last reminder to go read Call Me by Your Name!!! Happy reading everybody!!!

Photo by Florencia Viadana on Unsplash

Summer Reading List 2023

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Hey y’all!!!! For those of you still in school, you’ve got this!!! And for those of you who, like me, are done, congrats!!! But now what to do with our time?!?!

READ!!!!!!!

I’m very excited to tackle some of the books I’ve been meaning to read, but need a few brain cells to get through!!! So, in no particular order, except this is mostly the order of how I’d read these:

  1. Shadowhunters extras

One of the series I’ve been in the middle of is The Dark Artifices series, which is a spin-off of The Mortal Instruments Series. I am currently on the second of the Dark Artifices, and have one more before I can read The Infernal Devices series, and the Magnus Bane Chronicles, and all the other spin-off series. So there’s at least 9 books right there to get to, as I know there is also Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy and The Last Hours Series’. It’s a great world so I’m excited!

2. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

I’ve been meaning to read this since it came out, but still haven’t gotten around to it. Mostly because it seems rather dark, and I have to be in the right mindset for that!

3. These Violent Delights

I’ve started These Violent Delights, but given that it’s a version of Romeo and Juliet, I’ve found it a bit hard to get into. However, I am determines to give it a good go, though it too seems a bit dark, but not as much in the “death-games-of-children” way that the Hunger Games world sometimes evokes!

4. To Be a Machine

This was actually a reading assigned to my Happiness and Utopia Philosophy class, and I unfortunately didn’t finish it when it was assigned!!! I still have a few chapters left, and I find the Transhumanist movement fascinating, so I will 1000% be finishing this when I want something a touch more academic. It’s not a hard read at all, however it is about reality, so I’ll need to be in that mood.

5. A Sky Beyond the Storm

This I believe is the last in the series, however I am struggling to get into this one. The main characters are far apart from each other, and while I have a hope for reconciliation, it doesn’t exactly seem like it’s going to work out! This was a great series, very Hunger-Games-esque, especially in the first books, but that means another darker tone for me going back into this one.

6. Normal People

This has been so recommended, but as it is more of a realistic fiction I’ve been hesitant to read it. Especially because I think it’ll make me cry in a sad way.

7. The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

I started this a few weeks ago, but it was due at the library before I’d gotten to finish it, because schoolwork!! I’m excited to finish it, as I learned one thing already (on the topic of managing anxiety)! I loved Becoming, and so far this hasn’t been quite as good, but it’s more timely with Covid stuff!

8. Mastery by Robert Greene

This was recommended to me by a friend, and he said it was very motivational in a ‘be your best self’ way!!!! As I am always looking to be my best self, I’m hoping this is equivalent to Atomic Habits!!! Clearly, I have high hopes for it!

9. A Deadly Education

A dark academia fantasy book I’m excited about!

10. Find Me

The sequel to Call Me By Your Name, so I am so excited!!!! I’ve heard mixed reviews, but I can’t picture myself being unhappy with any ending, so I’m so so excited!!!!

11. Call Me By Your Name

Obviously I will reread Call Me By Your Name before I read Find Me, to get in the heads of the characters and get into André Aciman’s writing style!! So excited to reread this in the summer heat, especially because I will have apricot juice whilst I read it!!!!

12. Sapiens

Okay, I know I know, I still have to finish this one!!!! The beginning is so good and I read it more than a year ago, but once it got to the part about the institution of money, I got bored because I knew that stuff already. I’m sure there are more interesting nuggets left, but it’s gonna take some willpower to muscle through the boring parts!!!

And that concludes my Summer Reading List for now!!!!! I think this would take me through June, and I may do a part two if I’m feeling it!!! Happy reading to you!!!

MY SEPTEMBER 2020 READING LIST

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It’s about that time when school starts up again, and summer reading is forgotten. At least for me, it’s a lot harder to find time to read during the school year, but good news: all my books that I wanted to read this summer just arrived! By this I mean either on a library app, or in hard-copy, so while I could put off reading the hard copy books, I only have a certain amount of time to get through the library books before they are unceremoniously returned. However, I thought I’d share what I am going to be reading these next few weeks, as I am really excited about these books!

There are three books on my reading list, and the first on is called In Praise of Difficult Women. I actually heard about this book on JEOPARDY!, as it was an answer, but it sounded like a really inspirational read! I don’t know if any of you ever read the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan, but in one of the books a throne is mentioned which is made out of a (possibly fictional) book called 5 Habits of Highly Aggressive Women. Or something like that. Anyway, this book title gave me similar vibes, just in a less violent fashion, so I decided to look it up. In short, the book profiles 29 ‘difficult women’, ranging from Hillary Rodham Clinton to Amelia Earhart to Lena Dunham. The women described have all made waves in history, and the book chronicles what character traits have allowed them to make such an impact. I thought that I could probably learn something from these women, so after shaking down my family members for their library cards (my local library does not have an ebook version), I finally managed to loan the book. I have made it through two difficult women so far, and if the book continues being as insightful as it has been, I might have to purchase a copy for my future coffee table!

The next book that I plan on reading I have mentioned previously, which is called SuperLife, by Darin Olien. Mr. Olien is self-described as a ‘superfood hunter’, and after watching him on the TV show Down to Earth (read the article on that here) I decided to read the book. Unfortunately for me, the book was on a 14 week waiting list on my library app, so after reading the sample, I decided it would be a good purchase. You see, I’m not a big fan of buying books due to the fact that you can borrow them at the library for free. I also prefer to buy ebooks over hard copy books due to the environmental toll books have, but if I plan on rereading a book, I can justify purchasing it. I unfortunately didn’t consider buying it as an ebook because I had already found it on Amazon, but this is also a good book to lend to someone, which I find much easier with a paperback than an ebook, so I’m not too upset about my oversight.( Hmmm Sidebar: Someone should make loaning ebooks between friends easier! Chew on that Google, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.) Moving on, I did buy the hard-copy, and it arrived today! I will have to wait until I finish In Praise of Difficult Women first, because I only have it for 14 days – even though you usually get 21 days for an ebook – but I as soon as I am done I will start SuperLife. For me, the sample was a huge pull, because until reading it, I didn’t really understand the negatives of GMO foods, but now I understand, maybe even support the argument! As such, I am excited to learn more about health and the science behind it! One last note is that this book reminds me of The Sports Gene, which I read before sophomore year of high school, for AP Bio. If anyone else is a fan of biology novels, I would highly recommend that too!

The last book on my reading list for the end of August/September is called The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. This was actually recommended to my by my friend Hannah, who told me that it gave an interesting perspective on life. As someone who enjoys contemplating life – if only I could be an ancient Greek philosopher – I thought this could provide some good brain fodder! The premise of this book is that one should reject the idea that looking on the bright side is the best way to live. Instead, the author Mark Manson offers the idea that we should instead accept that some things suck, and that we should instead care about the things that are worth caring about. Instead of avoiding painful truths, we should accept them, in order to live a better life. I’m very interested in reading this book because it preaches something not my outlook on life. I am very much a positive outlook person, so it’ll be interesting to see what I take away from this book. Even if I don’t end up agreeing, it is always good to challenge your perceptions, so I think this book will certainly do that for me!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the aforementioned books, series, or TV shows.