What did you read in June?

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

How is your reading coming along this month? Do you have any favorites? Any that made you wince? Any that surprised you? How will you finish out the month?

[Holly, That Geeky One]

My June was packed full of some really amazing books!

My favourites were probably Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and Station Eleven. All had great characters and a wonderful writing style. I definitely think I'm leaning towards more character-driven books...

[Tracey]

June was overall a good month for books. I got in a re-read I've been meaning to do. Got some physical books off of my bookshelf. Made some good progress towards some of the challenges and chipped off a few Boxall books in the process.

Fingersmith was my "surprise" book although I wouldn't say it was a big one. I read another book by the author and found this one a lot more enjoyable.

[Veronique]

Holly - all 3 favourites of mine :0)

Chase - I read Fingersmith years ago and really liked it. Should really try another one of her books.

June was a great reading month. Not only did I go through more books than I planned (19), but all of them were great. Special mention would have to go for Aristotle and Dante, Emma, Seraphina (re-read in time for sequel), Agent to the Stars (hilarious, silly book, but expertly done), and The Victorian Chaise Longue (unsettling).

[Marina]

June was a good reading month, I managed to read 11 books!

The Ubu Plays: Ubu Rex / Ubu Cuckolded / Ubu Enchained - didn't like this one
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban - really good read
The Book of Illusions - probably my favorite of the month
Speak - very good and very important book about rape and its effects on the mind of a young girl
And the Mountains Echoed - quite a let down. I liked it but I didn't find it as good as the previous two by this author
Undine - a really nice fairy-tale
La vera storia di Leon Pantà - no English edition. A good book, go figure I bought it by mistake! But I really liked it
Magical Thinking - nice stories
Moderato cantabile - didn't quite grasp it
A Scone To Die For - this one was so fun! I definitely recommend it if you like cozy mysteries
The cost of sugar - great book

[Margie]

Not many books read in June, new job and a bit of a reading slump. Looking forward to the read-a-thon. In June:

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore A little overly sweet for my taste but I can see why so many people like this one.

A Darker Shade of Magic I thought I would love this but for me it was good, not great. I wanted a little more character development. May try the second book in the series.

Everything I Never Told You LOVED this book.

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

June was my best month so far. I read finished 25 books. Hurrah!

My favorites were...
Emma
The Warden
Brothers in Arms
Desolation Island
The Looking Glass War
The Devil & Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness & Obsession
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon

I was pleasantly surprised by...
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma**
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants**

I also loved the genre (Minority Studies) books I managed to get in...
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen**
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Bad Feminist
The Price of Salt

Finally, these books made me wince. I finished both but they were miserable...
The Beach House
Who Moved My Blackberry?

Overall, it was an awesome month of reading!

[Holly, That Geeky One]

Renee that's insane!

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Haha! Yeah, well, I hurt my back at the end of May, so I spent a lot of time in June with ice packs, meds, and audiobooks. :P I did nothing without those 3 companions.

[Marina]

Oh, Renee, I'm sorry about your health problems, though that sure is the best way to get a lot of reading done.
Glad to know you were pleasantly surprised by The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, I really loved that book.
Get well soon!

[Veronique]

Back pain is hideous - well, any pain really. Hope you're feeling much better.
Some interesting books... GR is proving really bad a curving my book addiction :0)

[Martha]

I read 8 books this month. My favorites were Americanah,Lazaretto and Girl at War. I reread The Passage, a book I loved the first time I read it, and it was a slog the second time. I was disappointed it didn't hold up for me. I had been so excited about the release of the last book in the trilogy and now I'm hesitant to read it. When Breath Becomes Air was my book group's choice for June. While I thought it was very good, we have read at least 3 books dealing with death and dying and I'm ready for some new subject matter.

If I Was Your Girl and Challenger Deep were two YA novels that I read. If I Was Your Girl was the one I liked best.

It was a pretty heavy month subject-wise, so I'm looking forward to some lighter reading material for July.

[Tracey]

Margie wrote: "Not many books read in June, new job and a bit of a reading slump. Looking forward to the read-a-thon. In June:

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore A little overly sweet for my taste ..."

I had the same thoughts about Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and A Darker Shade of Magic.

[Margie]

Renee wrote: "June was my best month so far. I read finished 25 books. Hurrah!

My favorites were...
Emma
The Warden
Brothers in Arms
Desolation Island
[boo..."

Wow, Renee - that's alot of books! Hope your back is better.

[Margie]

Chase wrote: "Margie wrote: "Not many books read in June, new job and a bit of a reading slump. Looking forward to the read-a-thon. In June:

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore A little overly swee..."

Glad it's not just me :)

[Gavin]

I read:
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the Universe
Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
Spice and Wolf, Vol. 14
Rendezvous with Rama
Oliver Twist

[Beth]

How was Rendezvous with Rama, Gavin? I have it on my to-read list.

[Gavin]

Beth wrote: "How was Rendezvous with Rama, Gavin? I have it on my to-read list."
In a way, it felt like a Jules Verne book: great, detailed descriptions, and it really gets across the sense of wonder of finding a mysterious object floating in space, but I didn't really like the characters much, and some elements of the world the story set in are a bit confusing. Overall, though, I think the positives outweigh the negatives.

[Veronique]

Are you going to read the others in the Rama series?
They are very different, more personnal in a way, and the characters, new ones, are way better. The first book is very much on its own, while the rest work together.

[Gavin]

Veronique wrote: "Are you going to read the others in the Rama series?
They are very different, more personnal in a way, and the characters, new ones, are way better. The first book is very much on its own, while th..."
Yeah, I'm planning to.

[Cindy]

I didn't know Rendezvous with Rama was a series of books. I have considered adding it to my TBR. June was an OK month. My best book read in June would probably be The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[Deborah]

Tell the Wolves I'm Home was my favourite book of June. I read 44 books.