Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Use this thread to discuss your plans and achievements in June!

I'm going to work on the Summer Challenge and hopefully check off a few more on the regular challenge/annv as well.

My library starts their summer reading challenge today as well and I only have to read 8 books in the next two months to "finish" it and get entered for the prize. That should be easy enough, I have more library books than that right now! LOL!!

Looking forward to the next Read-A-Thon (I've been needing one of those) and to starting selection process for 2026. Hopefully it doesn't get too overwhelming for me again this year.

Continuing from May:

-The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict
-Orlando by Virginia Woolf
-A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz
-The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Lawson (NF)
-Hungerstone by Kat Stone
-Another Time, Another Place by Jodi Taylor (audio)

Beginning in July:

-The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry
-The House at Watch Hill by by Karen Marie Moning (Audio)

Book club books this month: The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet and We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies.

Finished Road to Ruin (fun!) yesterday, but didn't note how many pages I had to go, so I didn't count that, but from now on, things I finish will count towards the Summer Reading Challenge. Currently reading / just started The Girl from Everywhere, The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet and Children of Time.

Library watch: down to 6 books out, woo! (But 5 more on hold). I'm travelling the first two weeks of July, so my goal is to get everything I currently have out read and returned before I leave, and hopefully some of the holds too (though I know they won't all come in before I go).

I had been a few books ahead on my Reading Challenge, but through May, that fell off and I'm now consistently either just on track or one book behind. I'm finding it stressful and it makes reading feel a little chore-y, so if that continues, I may have to decrease my goal number. I just really really don't like coming to goodreads and seeing the tracker tell me I'm behind! So I'll give myself June and my vacation time in July to see if I get ahead again and then may re-evaluate my goal.

On Beauty – Zadie Smith – 3***
“What are the truly beautiful things in life – and how far will you go to get them?” (from the book jacket) Smith’s novel focuses on the Belsey and Kipps families as they navigate the politics of an American university and the betrayals within and between their families. I was distracted by real life issues and didn’t give this the full attention Smith’s writing deserves, though I finished because my real-life book club will be discussing it next month.
LINK to my full review

The year's half over and I've yet to check off any of my tasks. I guess I should get to that sooner rather than later ....

American Like Me – America Ferrara (editor) – 4****
Subtitle: Reflections on Life Between Cultures. America Ferrara is the editor (and contributor) to this collection of essays. Some of the stories are humorous, some heartbreakingly touching. All are honest and poignant and heartfelt.
LINK to my full review

See What I Have Done – Sarah Schmidt – 2.5**
Schmidt’s debut novel takes a look at one of the most infamous crimes in American history – the 1892 axe murders of Andrew and Abby Borden in Fall River, Massachusetts. I’m not sure I really liked the way in which Schmidt chose to tell this story. It felt very disjointed and left me with more questions than answers.
LINK to my full review

The Incredible Journey –Sheila Burnford – 4****
Three beloved family pets – a young Labrador, an aged bull terrier, and a Siamese cat – head home across 300 miles of wooded and mostly uninhabited territory in Ontario, Canada. This is a wonderful tale of adventure, friendship, loyalty, teamwork, and kindness.
LINK to my full review

Book Concierge wrote: "

The Incredible Journey
–Sheila Burnford – 4****
Three beloved family pets – a young Labrador, an aged bull terrier, and a Siamese cat – head home acr..."

I read this book to my daughter years ago and it made me cry. The original movie was like that too, though not the remake with the animals having sassy remarks voiced.

Saturday Night At the Lakeside Supper Club – J Ryan Stradal – 3***
I really like Stradal’s writing. He is spot on in revealing the small-town Midwestern vibe. These are ordinary people, leading ordinary lives, full of hope, dreams, hardship, fights, reconciliations, tragedy, and perseverance. This novel is more about the characters and how they deal with what life throws at them, than it is about a particular plot point. So glad the supper club continues to be popular in Wisconsin!
LINK to my full review

Mile High – Liz Tomforde – 2.5** (rounded up)
A pro hockey player and the flight attendant on the team’s private plane hook up. Lots of sex, and they eventually realize there is more to this relationship. Tomforde also tackles issues of body image, social medial bullying/shaming, and celebrity culture.
LINK to my full review

The Egg and I –Betty MacDonald – 1*
Betty MacDonald’s “memoir” of her life as a newlywed on a chicken ranch in the Olympic Penninsula area of Washington was a runaway bestseller when it first appeared in 1945. I have to give her credit for making a life “in the wilderness” with the man she loves, despite her own background of relative privilege. But I was highly disappointed in the book. I do not at all like the way MacDonald portrays the local people, especially the Native American population. I know times were different then, but I don’t find denigrating others funny or charming or even excusable.
LINK to my full review

I’ve started going back to our sci-fi library book club recently so I’ve been reading books for that group including Old Man’s War by John Scalzi and Mickey7 by Edward Ashton. I also read the sequel to Mickey7 just for fun. I’m taking a short break from book club reads and now reading The Queue by Egyptian author Basma Abdel Aziz. It fits several categories, including SF by a female author, building on the cover, and a title w 10 or fewer letters. I’ve been free reading all year and fitting books into prompts but it’s getting more challenging now!

Book Concierge wrote: "

The Incredible Journey
–Sheila Burnford – 4****
Three beloved family pets – a young Labrador, an aged bull terrier, and a Siamese cat – head home acr..."

I loved this book as a kid, and I still have my copy. I have the version in the picture.