June Book Wrap Up 2020

Monthly reading review – June 2020

This June I have read:

Elves Vol. 1: The Crystal of the Blue Elves by Jean-Luc Istin, DUARTE (Illustrator), Saito (Illustrator) ★★★★★

The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by Jose Saramago ★★

Aries (The Zodiac Queen, #1) by Gemma James ★★★

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2) by J.K. Rowling ★★★★★

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3) by J.K. Rowling ★★★★★

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 1 by John Vornholt, Arthur Byron Cover, Alice Henderson ★★★

The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3) by Holly Black ★★★★★

Elves Vol. 2: The Honor of the Sylvan Elves by by Nicolas Jarry, Gianluca Maconi, Diogo Saito ★★★★★

The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter, #2) by Laurell K. Hamilton ★★★★★

Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter, #3) by Laurell K. Hamilton ★★★★

1. How many books have you read last month? Are you happy with the amount you read?

This June I have read ten books. One of them was a omnibus edition that contain three separate books so if I wanted to I could have pumped up the numbers up to twelve! I am okay with the number as it is.

2. What was the best of all the books you’ve read in June? Any scenes or characters that made a lasting impression?

More than half the books I read in June I rated with five stars. This June was a month of favorites and plenty of rereading. I loved reading the Harry Potter books. The Hufflepuff editions were extra magic for reading and enjoying. The Elves graphic novel was a pleasant surprise and I loved it. Fantastical background of the graphic novel reminds me a lot to some good and immersive RPG setting I would enjoy playing in!

3. Were there any not so good books for you last month? What made it hard or not enjoyable to read?

The least favorite book this June was The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by Jose Saramago. I really liked his Blindness. It is a book I often think about and it has left a lasting impression on me. This book I had issues with. I did not enjoy the motives the author selected for his work. This was another book club selection and the discussion was at times heated. I expected more sense from the book and was let down I guess. Second least favorite book was Aries (The Zodiac Queen, #1) by Gemma James. This was a Kindle freebie first of the series. It had an interesting intro but I was not really hooked in by the astrology references.

4. How did the books you were reading last month fit in your reading plans if you had any?

This June I overextended myself by trying out two reading challenges. Most of the books I’ve read were part of the reading challenge. I managed to set up an impressive number of books to fir both of the reading challenges. Instead of being happy and pleased by my reading for the challenge I was a bit under pressure. I ended not feeling as accomplished as I wanted to because I just barely made the challenge and did not read the additional books I wanted to. It was a learning experience and I will write a bit more about it in my reading challenge review next week.

5. Any updates on the series you are reading or are you starting any new series?

I started a new graphic novel series I am very happy about and will continue it into next month. I did a lot of rereading of favorite book series. I read two books in Anita Blake Vampire Hunter book series I have been planing rereading for years now. I’ve finished book 3 in the series and hope to continue with rereading the whole series since it has been a really long time since I’ve read these book the first time. It was amazing reading the Harry Potter book series and as soon as I get the next book I will continue that as well!

6. Would you like to recommend any books or authors you’ve been reading this last month?

This has been a month of rereading and favorites for me. I guess my recommendation is to go back to your own favorites: enjoy them all over again and question why you enjoyed them in the first place. It provides a perfect opportunity for reflection. With that being said The Elves graphic novel series by Jean-Luc Istin, DUARTE (Illustrator), Saito (Illustrator) is an amazing piece of work you should definitely check out if you get the chance!

Final thoughts on June 2020 reading

My decision to try out two reading challenges in June was very optimistic. The feeling of accomplishment was not as rewarding as I expected. I was under pressure to follow the reading order of the challenge and that made a huge difference for my reading enjoyment. This June I was reading more books I already read than ever before. Three books were actual rereadings and one of them was a second time read this year alone. Harry Potter books seemed so familiar that those felt a bit like rereading too. Reading 3in1 book with Buffy theme was another thing that made this June kinda nostalgic for me as well. Only new reading I did was in the e-book form and that felt a bit weird as well. It was a different reading month for sure. I did not make any book reviews this month since I was trying to get trough the reading challenge books. I would have probably enjoyed both reading challenges more if I tried them one by one!

Book a Day – Blindness

Book a Day I read because of my reading club – August 2018

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With the original title Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira this book by Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago was a bit disturbing to read. Many of my fellow book club readers agreed that it most definitely left an impression.

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It has been almost two years since I’ve read this book and some parts are still very clear in my memory. Even though it was first published in 1995. it reads like some of the best dystopian novels from the middle of the twentieth century.

We talked much about the book in our meeting but none of us watched the movie based on the book at the time. We agreed that some parts of the book had a horror like quality and would not be easy to watch on the screen.

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I tend to get emotional when I read and sometimes reading a book can be a real rollercoaster for me. I remember being upset while reading this book. On the account of that alone I rated it only two stars on Goodreads. This is why I never really wrote an actual review at the time.

Now that I look back on it I feel I need to reevaluate things. This book posed many questions and had a lasting impression that some other books I liked more left out. I went back and amended it to four stars now. I am intrigued by the movie but don’t think I will watch it anytime soon yet.

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Monthly reading review – September 2016

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Monthly reading review -September 2016

This September I have read:

Blindness by Jose Saramago ★★

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare

What Really Happened in Peru (The Bane Chronicles, #1) ★★★★

The Runaway Queen (The Bane Chronicles, #2) ★★★★

Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale (The Bane Chronicles, #3) ★★★★

The Midnight Heir (The Bane Chronicles, #4) ★★★★★

The Rise of the Hotel Dumort (The Bane Chronicles, #5) ★★★★

Saving Raphael Santiago (The Bane Chronicles, #6) ★★★★

The Fall of the Hotel Dumort (The Bane Chronicles, #7) ★★★★

What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (The Bane Chronicles, #8) ★★★★★

The Last Stand of the New York Institute (The Bane Chronicles, #9) ★★★★★

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1. How many books you’ve read last month? Are you happy with the amount you read?

I’ve been stuck on some books  (still am!) that are simply not working out for me. To remedy this fatal condition I’ve been reading The Bane Chronicles chapters daily. I’m still missing the last one and the extra story that comes in this collection. Aside that I’ve read only one whole book. Month has been busy with many TV series and games and for that reason my reading has suffered…

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2.  What made it hard or not enjoyable to read?

Jane Austen is killing me slowly. While I’m reading Sense and Sensibilities I often feel like I would have more fun staring at the wall. Fake characters and pretend well mannered ones are annoying me to no end. I keep trying to read it but every other page something makes me cringe. And then I think to myself: I’ve read many historical romance drama books that were fun to read, why is this one turning out so bad for me?

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3.How did the books you were reading last month fit in your reading plans if you had any?

I’m so tilted in my reading lately that I can’t focus on any reading plan. Most I can to  is keep up with my RL book club assignments. 😦

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4. Any updates on the series you are reading or are you starting any new series?

I haven’t made any progress with book series I am interested in and haven’t started any new ones either. I think my book series mojo has left me…

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Final thoughts on September reading:

I would love to find last two stories from Bane Chronicles so I can make a full review on them. Hoping that now that September back to  school madness is over my job will leave me with more reading time available.  I’m trying to get a reading fix with some new historical romance book or good book series. I am aware that pushing trough this dry spell will require more determination.

Reading in progress – September 2016

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I suppose it has been a long time since I was in the middle of reading this many books. Not since last year had I more than 5 books in reading at the moment situation. I’m back at choosing my reading according to my mood. Here are the many books I’m in the middle of reading this September!

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27 out of 323 pages

Storm’s Heart (Elder Races book #2)

by Thea Harrison

Something about this book just doesn’t sit well with me. I’ve said it all before in last months RIP (reading in progress) post. Some progress since then but just barely.

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88 out of 386 pages

Sense and Sensibility

by Jane Austen

Originally this was my RL book club assignment for September. I still haven’t finished it even though we already had the discussion. I have trouble with motivating myself to continue since I already know what is going to happen from the discussion we had…

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6 out of 11 stories

The Bane Chronicles

by Cassandra Clare

I’ve been reading a story from this collection each night. I love the main character and he was my favorite from Mortal Instruments book series. These little snippets reveal just enough to make me interested in some other works by the same author.

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?? out of 464 pages

Angel: The End

by Bill Willingham et al

I’ve started reading this compilation this August for Read Comics in Public Day ( happens every year 28th of August). It has been on my TBR for a long while. I bought it few years back. The pages are not numbered so I’m not exactly sure what page I’m on…

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9 out of 293 pages

Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira

by Jose Saramago

Another RL book club assignment for September due later this month. I barely started it to get a feel to the book and hope that I will finish it in time to have enough time to watch the movie based on the book too.

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With all this I have a few bits I read on my Kindle in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep. Also I will probably take on Foundation by Isaac Asimov by the end of the month since I have RL book club discussion on it first week of October.

Wish me luck!