Book stats: July Edition!

Books you read: 13

5 stars: Oh my! 8 of them!
1 stars: none – apparently I’m a generous reviewer!
DNF? Still not giving up on any book but ungracefully dragging few along for a while now
Genres: I mostly sticked with historical romance this month with some CR, manga, YA and even a bit of Persian poetry!

1. Were you happy with the amount you read?
I started out with a whole series of 7 books in first twelve days of July then had to tone it down a bit. I’m generally OK with the amount but will try to diversify a bit more in the future

2. If you had a 5 star read, what was it and why?
I dug deep into historical romances this month and I really loved Desperate Duchesses series so much I rated the whole series with 5 stars (all seven books)
Also I got to reread a favorite from a year ago and loved it even more than the first time I read it so I had to rate it 5 stars as well

3. If you had a 1 or 2 star read, what was it and why?
I had two 2 star reads this month. The first one rated so poorly because I just could get not into it properly. It was The Garden of Heaven: Poems of Hafiz by Khwāje Shamse Din Mohammad Hāfez-e Shirāzi
It’s a poetic translation from Persian and I felt the verses were somehow wrong in English. Themes were also distant to me and I lacked the historical background for many references involved.
Second low rated read was Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades: Book 1) by by E. L. James. My expectations were not met with this book and I was put off by how some themes were presented. I was most disappointed by the character of Christian Grey – I still don’t see what the fuss is about…

4. Any new book boyfriends?
Not boyfriends but many intriguing Dukes!

5. Any new jerks?
There was this awful bookstore keeper in The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever (Bevelstoke: Book 1) by Julia Quinn. He is the proprietor of GENTELMEN ONLY bookstore and was so rude about dispatching a lady from his bookstore that he got punched in the nose! Serves him right!

6. Did you start any new series?
Started 4 series! One I read trough all the published books. Second I will not be continuing. Third I’m thinking about continuing but not sure at the moment. And the last one I will be continuing when I find time.

7. Did you find any new authors that you loved?
Eloisa James – I love her writing style!

8. Any book you would recommend?
Desperate Duchesses series by Eloisa James for those who wish to meet some interesting Dukes and Duchesses
and Bully (Fall Away Book 1) by Penelope Douglas as a really good YA drama series.

 

JULY BOOK A DAY – JULY 31

JULY 31.

31) The book that reminds you of someone special

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce

This is one of the rare books that has been preceded with iPad app and Academy Award–winning animated short film.

YES you understood correctly first there was a short movie and then came the book!

It is a book for dreamers and book lovers.

 

It is best described as an “allegory about the curative powers of story”.

The book was inspired by William Morris, children’s books publisher at HarperCollins and Joyce’s mentor. Joyce wrote a story about a man who gives his life to books when he was on an airplane flight to visit Morris. Joyce read the story to Morris, who died a few days after that.

Here is a link for the much praised short movie

I read this book and had to gift it to someone special who is as much of a dreamer and has imagination with similar curative powers.