2018 Reading Challenge | June

Well I am fresh from finishing my final book for June – which I’ve listed below, of course – and I am happy to say that it was the SEVENTH book I read in June, which is the most books I’ve read in a month since I don’t know when. I ingested so many great stories, so without further ado, let’s get into my June Wrap-Up.

Books I Finished in June:

This is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare by Gabourey Sidibe – I started this audiobook last month, and finished it just a few days into June. It’s narrated by Gabourey Sidibe herself, which is half of why I enjoyed it so much. I do feel like some of the later chapters weren’t placed in the right spot, but it in no way took away from Gabourey Sidibe’s narration. I definitely recommend listening if you have the chance.

Vicious by V.E. Schwab – This was my first V.E. Schwab book, and to describe my thoughts about it I’ll just say that I’m overwhelmed with excitement for Vengeful – the sequel – to come out in September. Now to make time for the Shades of Magic series…

The Forgotten by J.V. Baptie – This was an enticing criminal mystery story, for which I was part of the recent Blog Tour. You can read my full review in this post.

They Mysterious Affair at Styles Agatha Christie – My Agatha Christie admiration continues. This first Hercule Poirot mystery was so much fun, and it’s definitely a great place to start reading Agatha Christie if you haven’t already.

What Kitty Did Next by Carrie Kablean – I cannot gush enough about this Pride and Prejudice sequel, and if you haven’t already read my review from the Blog Tour (do you follow me on Twitter?!), you can here.

Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott – Thank you Tarissa, again [and again and again] for inviting me to join the 2018 Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge this month. I enjoyed reading more LMA, and will continue to do so in July. You can read my Eight Cousins discussion post here.

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty – Okay. This is the book I just finished this morning, and WOW. Since I just-so-recently finished reading and haven’t had time to organize my thoughts into coherent, structured words, I’m defaulting to: *SCREAMING* *MY HEART* *THAT EPILOGUE*
I’m going to need the sequel, Kingdom of Copper, much sooner than January. kthankyou.

Books I Did Not Finish in June:

The Unexpected Inlander by Kellyn Thompson – I’m going to try finishing this before starting any books in July – I’ll be doing a book review for it so stay tuned for that.

Failsafe by Anela Deen – I am very slowly plugging away at this ebook, but to no fault of the book; I can only read so many ebooks at a time/stare at a screen for so long, and I had to finish The Forgotten and What Kitty Did Next by certain dates (both are ebooks) so I fell behind keeping up with Failsafe. Anyway, I’ll be finishing it in July.

Books I Added to My Bookshelf in June:

< Have I completely lost sight of my initial goal for this year’s Reading Challenge? It would seem so… >

The Anomaly by Michael Rutger (Book of the Month Club)

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (edited by Christopher Tolkien)

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Serena by Ron Rash

Books I Am Not Keeping:

Zero.

I will contribute to the common, time defiant disbelief that June is over; that 2018 is half over. I have read some great books this year, and have more great ones in my sights. New releases, new-to-me authors, and different genres are calling my name, but in July I’m going to get more serious – as I should have been in the past six months – about my ultimate Reading Challenge goal, and that is to read every book on my shelves. I have decided to set a designated TBR for next month (which I will put up on Instagram on July 1st), and apart from the books I have checked out from the library, it includes only books I own. Please send any extra willpower you have to me. Thank you.

I would love to hear how your reading went in June, and/or in the first half of 2018. What goals have you reimagined or created for the second half of the year? I hope you’ve been able to take breaks (reading or otherwise) when necessary, and aren’t stretching yourself thin. I hope you’ve been not only present in the world outside pages and bookish blogs, but active, and will reach for the stars in whatever way you can.

Thank you for following my blog, engaging with me, and continuing to read my reviews, bookish thoughts, life ramblings, and other things I put out into the World Wide Web (does that term still exist?). It’s provided me solace, reflection, confidence, and so much more.

Now I’m off to continue processing City of Brass, and take some #bookstagram photos until I start feeling overheated (boo you, heat wave) – then I think I’ll head to the lake!

-Kelsey

via GIPHY