.png){kind=spacer}
6/1: The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean (library ebook, 1998) - What a snoozefest. 2/5 stars
6/2: Dog Show: Poems by Billy Collins (library, 2026) - Perfection. No notes. 5/5 stars
6/7: The Wonder State by Sara Flannery Murphy (library, 2023) - I sped through this book in a day. Lovely. 4/5 stars
6/10: Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Uncovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence - and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process by Irene M. Pepperberg (library, 2008) - Super interesting look at the life of an animal biologist. I think this would be an interesting book for some of our STEM students to read because there's a lot about trying to get funding for work with animals. 4/5 stars
6/13: Into the Blue by Emma Brodie (library, 2026) - Sometimes you just need a romance novel. 3.5/5 stars
6/14: Sweep of the Heart (Innkeeper Chronicles #5) by Ilona Andrews (library ebook, 2022) - This series is so good. There were a lot of characters to keep track of in this book, but the author kept us paying attention to the main plot. I really am enjoying this series. 4/5 stars
6/19: How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin (library, 2024) - The middle third of this book was such a bore. And the main character was an idiot. And I do not think I understood the ending. The premise was actually pretty good, but the execution was not. 2.5/5 stars
6/20: Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City by Robin Nagle (university library, 2013) - I love shit like this. The more niche an anthologist embeds themself, the more I love it. 5/5 stars
6/24: In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware (library ebook, 2015) - Look, thrillers are not for me. I was annoyed that so many pagers were the main character just going through possible scenarios. I KNOW THE SCENARIOS. I want action to happen. Also, I sort of knew what was going on from the beginning - like the bad person was clear? Ugh. Not my jam. I know this about myself, but I still can't help but want to read thrillers like the other cool kids. 2.5/5 stars
6/27: Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove (library, 2025) - In 2026, I am not a fan of anthropomorphizing AI. This book was batshit insane (werewolves, aliens, vampires, mummies!), but I just felt sort of dirty reading it. 3/5 stars
Average star rating: 3.45/5 stars
Did not finish:
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese - I listened to 2.5 hours of this book before giving it up as a bad job. It's 31 hours long, so I was at about 8% when I gave up. Maybe I need to read it with my eyes.
The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl - This was far too cozy for me. Maybe a winter read? DNF at 15%.
The Summer of Broken Rules by K.L. Walther - I am not a lady who can read instalove YA romance. There. I said it. I dropped this book like a hot potato as soon as another book became available on my Libby app for me to borrow. DNF at 36%.
*******************
I read three non-fiction books this month and a poetry collection. Who am I? What sort of middle-aged person have I become?
Have you read any of these books? Which one would you like to read?
I have not read a single one of them! I would like to read Picking Up but the library doesn't have it.
ReplyDeleteI read In a Dark, Dark Wood a long time ago and liked it, but that was back when I was in my thriller era. I don't remember anything about it now.
ReplyDeleteI got Picking Up on Libby, but I've been in a road trip haze so that's as far as I've gotten. Stay tuned.
Best read of June was Whistler.
I've only read Into the Blue and I wish I had DNF"d it. The space opera parts were so boring for me. I wanted to see how it would turn out. Also, she gave that guy way way way too many chances.
ReplyDeleteI also read 10 books in June! I had 1 miss (Into the Blue), 6 4-star books, and 3 5-star books!
The Orchid Thief--zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I think this was my second DNF in my history of reading. (I used to NEVER quit a book; I always felt compelled to finish, no matter what.) This book was just so awful. I found I didn't care a bit about anything in it.
ReplyDeleteI can't read thrillers or mysteries anymore. I got saturated with those early on. I love how you read so widely all the time.
I haven't read any of these, but I did just finish another book by Ruth Ware. This type of thriller really isn't for me either, but I kind of enjoyed the book. I mean, it was a page-turner and I did NOT guess the bad guy early on. I think there are better ways to spend my reading time though.
ReplyDeleteI've seen How To Solve Your Own Murder and have thought about reading it, but I'll trust your review. I don't like books where the main character is an idiot.
I bought Wonder State in physical form because our library didn’t have it, I’m looking forward to reading it, though I will wait until I finish re-reading Whistler, which I ADORED. I read The Covenant of Water and it wasn’t as boring as Cutting for Stone but it just went on for too long. I tried to read the physical book, but it was too huge. I listened to it and liked it better in that format.
ReplyDelete