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Rearview Mirror // June 2022

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Hey friends!  It’s November, so that seems like a great time to talk about June!  :-D

Favorite June Read

I actually read a lot of books I really enjoyed in June, so it’s a toss-up.  I think the leading edge probably goes to Book Lovers, though.  It was fun and the banter was fantastic.

Most Disappointing June Read

Probably By Your Side.  I’ve enjoyed several of West’s other books but this one just got on my nerves for some reason.

Other June Reads

June Stats

  • Total Number of Books Read:  25
  • Total Pages Read:  8945
  • Average Star Rating for June:  3.71
  • Longest Book: Gone With the Wind (959 pages)
  • Shortest Book:  The Randolphs (149 pages)
  • Oldest Book:  The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (published 1848)
  • Newest Book: Book Lovers, Something Wilder, The Sweet Life, and The League of Gentlewomen Witches (all published 2022)
  • Top Genre: Romance (8 books)
  • Top Format: Paperback (14 books)
  • Top Source: Library (8 books)

June Challenge Updates

  • New states visited: Georgia, North Carolina, and Utah!
  • Chunksters read (800+pgs): 1
  • Almost-a-chunksters read (450-799pgs): 1
  • Classics read: 4
  • Nonfiction read: 3

TBR Update

This is current as of today, not the end of June!!

  • Standalones:  470 (down ten!)
  • Nonfiction:  131 (up one)
  • Personal (which includes all books I own (fiction and nonfiction), but lists any series I own as only one entry…):  604 (down seventeen!!! AND I have past the halfway mark – I have more in the “read” column than in the “unread” column!  Because yes, I do own over 1200 books LOL)
  • Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series):  250 (holding steady)
  • Mystery Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 111 (holding steady)
  • New Arrivals – (I have a lot of books that I have been gifted or that I pick up somewhere and they get put on my “oh I’m so excited about this shiny new book” shelf… and then of course don’t actually get read.): 168 (holding steady)

Current Reads

Right now I am reading –

  • Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon – an interesting read, definitely more biographical and less story than I was expecting, but still engaging.  This is a chapter-a-day read for me.
  • Dracula by Bram Stoker – I started this one with the #DraculaDaily craziness and even though I’m a bit behind, I am swiftly closing in on the conclusion of this classic.
  • The Blythes are Quoted by L.M. Montgomery – This is our #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead for November and one that I have somehow never read.  It was published posthumously in the early 2000s and is a collection of poetry and short stories.
  • Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts – My current “main” read.

Last Time on “Up Next”

Did I actually read my probable next five reads from last time?

  • The Hidden One by Linda Castillo – Yes! Another solid entry for the Kate Burkholder series, which I love.
  • The It Girl by Ruth Ware -Yes!  Enjoyable but forgettable.
  • His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik – Yes!  This one was rather slow in spots but still interesting enough that I’m planning to read the next in the series.
  • Moonlight Cove by Sherryl Woods – Yes! But overall this series just isn’t doing much for me.  I’m undecided whether or not I’m going to continue on.
  • Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron – Nope – but I tried.  As I suspected, a fictional story wherein a real-life person is the main character just didn’t click for me.

Up Next

The probable next five(ish) reads –

So for November I’m trying to finish/progress a few series that I’m in the middle of, plus I have a couple of traveling book club books to get through.  I’m mostly busy planning my December TBR of absolute Christmas FLUFF.  SO EXCITED.  But before then I’m hoping to read –

  • Full Moon by P.G. Wodehouse – The four of us who created a “happy books” traveling book club group enjoyed it so much that we’re doing another round.  I contributed a Wodehouse last time as well, because I believe he is the ultimate in happy stories!! This one is a Blandings Castle tale – love it!!
  • Treason of Thorns by Laura Weymouth – At the last minute I spontaneously joined a second traveling book club group, this one focused on fantasy.  Probably going to be a mixed bag.  I have this one unread on my shelf, so I decided to give it a go.
  • The Fallen Man by Tony Hillerman – If I’m really lucky, I’ll even read more than one Leaphorn and Chee book!!
  • Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik – I’d really love to read the next book or two in this series as well.
  • Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater – Although I have a lot of mixed feelings about the Dreamer Trilogy I’m still intrigued to find out how everything comes together in the end.

So that’s (finally) a wrap for JUNE!  Will I finish reviewing July books before the end of November??  Only time will tell!! Thanks for sticking with me!!

June Minireviews – Part 3!!

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Lies by T.M. Logan – 4*

//published 2017//

A few mixed feelings about this one, but overall an engaging thriller.  I really liked Joe, but also got annoyed with him sometimes because he always seemed to make the choice that would make him look like the bad guy, sometimes unnecessarily.  Also… while I kind of agreed that the final twist made sense, what didn’t make sense was why they had to blame Joe.  So this was a fun one to read, but not one that I absolutely loved.

The Copenhagen Connection by Elizabeth Peters – 3.5*

//published 1982// Also thank you library for literally covering up the title, great idea //

Did this book actually make sense?  No.  Was it held together by improbable coincidences and a good dose of instalove?  Yes.  Did I have a fabulous time reading it?  Also yes.  This was classic Peters, full of wry humor, historical facts, and a good dose of ridiculousness.  I wrote down that this was a “romp of a book” which really sums it up quite well.  There’s a lot of dashing about hither and thither and a lot of tongue-in-cheek mockery of tropes, and I still completely enjoyed it.

Sacred Clowns by Tony Hillerman – 4*

//published 1993//

Although my journey through the Leaphorn and Chee mysteries is slow, I am really enjoying them.  I think these two men make such a great contrast in both their personal beliefs (Chee is strongly traditional and believes in the importance of following the Navajo religion while Leaphorn is definitely a skeptic) and their detecting methods (Leaphorn is methodical and good at spotting patterns and inconsistencies while Chee tends to follow his gut), which helps keep the different strands of the mystery engaging.  I feel like Hillerman handles the religions and cultural aspects of the Navajo in a sensitive manner.  I especially loved this quote from Chee when he is explaining to someone what the Navajo belief of hozho means to him – “This business of hozho … I’ll use an example.  Terrible drought, crops dead, sheep dying.  Spring dried out.  No water.  The Hopi, or the Christian, or maybe the Moslem, they pray for rain.  The Navajo has the proper ceremony done to restore himself to harmony with the drought.”  I actually love Chee’s view on harmony and being at peace with where you are in life (a perspective that I do not think conflicts with my personal belief in Christianity) and enjoy the way that this is woven into the stories.  However, I did get a bit over Chee’s constant mooning over what to do with Janet.  SHE ISN’T RIGHT FOR YOU, BUDDY.  MOVE ON.

My only concern with these books is that Leaphorn is already getting old and this is only book 11/25??

The Fall of the Ottomans by Eugene Rogan – 4*

//published 2015//

This was overall an informative and thorough look at the Middle Eastern theater during WWI.  I didn’t really know anything about this topic going into the book, and while I didn’t walk away with a bunch of dates and names memorized, I did feel like I got a good overview of what happened there, and it was definitely interesting to see the stage being set for conflicts that are still occurring a hundred years later.  This book was D R Y as dust and somewhat difficult to read, so I can’t say that I enjoyed it, but if it’s a topic that interests you then this one is worth picking up.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman – 3.5*

//published 1999//

Even though I had read this one ten or so years ago, I really couldn’t remember anything about it.  When someone gifted me a copy, I decided to reread it.  It’s an engaging enough story, but somehow just doesn’t resonate with me.  It’s very fairy-tale-esq in style, and while I liked the concept, I couldn’t connect with the characters.  An enjoyable one-off but one that moved on to the giveaway box once I was finished reading it.

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton – 4*

//published 2021//

I read this book last fall and just thoroughly enjoyed it, so when the sequel came out I decided to reread this one to remind myself of who all the characters are.  I enjoyed it just as much, or maybe even more, this time around, since I was somewhat more prepared for flying houses!  I still think the phrase “delightfully bonkers” sums this one up perfectly.  It’s madcap and ridiculous and just so much fun.

The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton – 3.5*

//published 2022//

Which brings us to the slight-disappointing sequel.  This one fell into the “trying a little too hard” category.  It reminded me of that scene in Groundhog Day where Phil and Rita build the snowman and it’s so magical, but then when he tries to recapture that in the future iterations of the day, it just feels awkward. A lot of the jokes and innuendo in this one felt forced and clunky.  There is a LOT more sex in this one, which made me uncomfortable just because of the way it fit into the story/made zero sense for the time period it is supposedly set.  And while the difference between the pirates and witches made sense (back in the day, two groups interpreted the whole “flying house” magic thing differently), it made ZERO sense to me that the witches are being hunted and are illegal… like why is this police officer obsessed with witch hunting when there are literally pirates FLYING HOUSES over his head???  I honestly had a lot of trouble getting past this break in internal logic as it’s never explained why everyone is exasperated with but ultimately cool with pirates, but the witches, who do the exact same thing, are evil and must be hunted to extinction!!  This also made all the coy little “IF witches existed!” jokes feel a little weird.  Like I think all the flying houses may prove that witches exist????

Still!  It was a fun read and parts of it were funny.  It took me a lot longer to warm up to this female MC than it did the one in the first book, but I absolutely loved the male MC, who was a carry-over character from book one. There is a third book to the series coming out next year and I will for sure read it, but am hoping that it finds the rhythm of the first book.

By Your Side by Kasie West – 3*

//published 2017//

I usually really enjoy West’s books, and I generally do enjoy YA, but this was definitely YA that made me feel my age.  First off, Autumn, who I actually liked just fine on the whole, gets trapped in a library.  And what is her first concern??  Her first concern is that she’s going to be BORED.  IN A LIBRARY.  SURROUNDED BY BOOKS.  In fact, she goes on to spend most of the time she is trapped in the library WATCHING TV IN THE BREAK ROOM.  What.  Even.  What a waste!  So I was annoyed by this one from the get-go haha  I was also a little perplexed because I really do think public buildings are set so that you can always exit them, so it doesn’t seem like it should have been possible for her to be actually trapped – perhaps unable to exit without setting off an alarm, but not genuinely trapped.

There was a lot of bonus drama that just didn’t feel necessary in this one.  I actually liked Dax and felt like he and Autumn were a good pair, but there was all this stuff with the other guy Autumn had a crush on and his best friend being a complete jerk for literally no reason and it got kind of old for me.  Autumn suffers from anxiety and doesn’t always feel comfortable going to parties and other activities.  While I appreciated the message of you do what is right for you instead of what you feel pressured to do, I didn’t care for the concept that Autumn HAD to explain her anxiety in order to get a pass.  Everyone talks about normalizing stuff, well let’s normalize just saying “no thank you” and then not showing up at something and not having people demand an explanation.

In the end, this was an okay read.  I didn’t hate it, but I did find myself annoyed by it pretty frequently.  And I’m still not over how much Autumn whined about being bored when she was locked in the library.

Jane Austen at Home // by Lucy Worsley

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//published 2017//

The PemberLittens group on Litsy is still working its way through various nonfiction books about Austen, all of Austen’s written works, variations on Austen tales, and other classic novels by women from her era(ish), and in May and June we read this biography by Worsley.  I did on the whole enjoy it and learned a lot of things about Austen and her life.  I loved the way that Worsley focused on the concept of home and what that meant at the time, especially for women, and broke up Austen’s life into segments based on her home at the time, and how moving from various places to others would have impacted her and her family.

I did find a lot of Worsley’s personal opinions/interpretations to be rather sweeping.  Worsley from the outset has already decided that Jane (a) found the idea of being married to be repugnant, (b) hated anything to do with housekeeping/domestic life, (c) hated the fact that women were “forced” into said housekeeping/domestic life, and (d) was always sarcastic, which means Worsley can interpret any of Jane’s letters as meaning the opposite of what they say, because “she’s obviously being sarcastic.”

For example, at a time when Jane has been left in charge of the household, Worsley quotes a letter Jane wrote to her sister (this quote starts with Worsley’s commentary and goes into Jane’s letter):

Of course [Jane] hides her efforts behind teasing: ‘Our dinner was very good yesterday, & the Chicken boiled perfectly tender, therefore I shall not be obliged to dismiss Nanny on that account.’ The message is that this was trivial, that it wasn’t her role; that she shouldn’t have to be doing it. She would rather be writing.

I’m sorry, what??  How in the world do you take this sentence and turn it into “overseeing dinner is so trivial that I shouldn’t have to do it and would rather be writing”?!?!  Perhaps there is more to this letter that Worsley hasn’t bothered to share with us, but based on that one sentence alone, it seems to me to be a huge amount of extrapolating.

Worsley is also quite convinced that Jane hated the idea of marriage and thought it was horrid that her friends were “wasting” their lives by getting married.  To support that theory, Worsley gave examples like this one, about the occasion of Jane’s friend Catherine being married:

A fear of friendship diminished, and freedom curtailed, meant that when Jane’s friends ceased to be single, her response was often open regret.  Catherine Bigg would soon marry herself, an occasion that Jane would mark with a gift of home-hemmed handkerchiefs, and a poem about weeping.  Jane wished that the handkerchiefs ‘may last for years, Slight be her Colds & few her Tears’, before realising that these funereal lines were not quiet appropriate for what was meant to be a happy occasion.  ‘Have no Tears to wipe, but Tears of joy!’ was her tactful redrafting of her verse.

Once again… I’m actually not sure a poem wishing you good health and few tears during your marriage would be something I classified as “inappropriately funereal” and thus an example of how “obviously” Jane thought getting married was such a tragedy.

Despite these types of annoyances, I still gave this book a 4* rating overall.  There is a lot of good and interesting information, especially when Worsley sticks with actual facts and out of the realm of interpretation.  I did overall enjoy this one and recommend it to anyone looking for an overview of Austen’s life as there is a lot of good information and also plenty of sources listed for learning more.