A space to chat about our current reads
Hello, and happy second Wednesday in June! I can hardly believe we are into June already, and that in a short week and a half, I will be officially fully vaccinated against COVID-19!
I can’t wait to get back to reading & writing in the coffee shop of a summer Friday afternoon. The past few months, I’ve taken to finding ambient coffee shop sounds to listen to on YouTube to try and replicate the experience of being surrounded by — but not speaking to — other humans. It isn’t quite the same, and I miss the real experience terribly.
Reading-wise, I’ve continued to make decent progress, though I’ve slowed somewhat from the book-a-day pace I kept up through the second half of May. This is in part due to pet-sitting a friend’s dog, meaning we’ve got two roughly one-year-old pups playing slash fighting over toys all day every day.
Nevertheless, plenty of exciting updates to bring you this What We’re Reading Wednesday!
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Book of the Month links are referral codes that give you a discount & me a free book. Thanks in advance for the support!)
In the throes of post 2nd vaccine achiness, I finished reading the ebook of Camper Girl by Glenn Erick Miller. This short and sweet YA story details Shannon’s adventures after her aunt dies and leaves her camper — and a map to a hidden secret — to her niece.
I enjoyed this one pretty well, though it was quite a quick, short read overall, and I would’ve liked to linger in some of the experiences a bit more.
Audiobook-wise, I’m making my way through John Green’s The Anthropocene Reviewed. If you’ve somehow managed to avoid hearing about this one, it is a collection of essays about various aspects of the human era, from cave paintings to Diet Dr. Pepper to the human capacity for awe.
I will confess I kind of expected to be underwhelmed because, while I like John Green a lot, I wasn’t sure this book was going to live up to the hype, in part because I see Green as a fiction writer.
But, so far, I have laughed, I have cried, and I have muttered “mmm”s of agreement to Green’s examinations of the world around us. It… definitely lives up to the hype, for me, at least. Honestly I’m a little bit mad at it, because I wish I’d thought of this essay format for a book myself.
My fiancé remains a steadfast grump who scoffs at the sincerity of the prose when I put the audiobook on while we cook dinner, so it’s safe to say he’d give the book fewer stars than I will.
June’s Book of the Month pick for me could be none other than Laura Sebastian’s feminist retelling of The Lady of Shalott, Half Sick of Shadows.
I think I’ve mentioned previously that I spent a good chunk of adolescence weirdly obsessed with Tennyson’s poem, “The Lady of Shalott” so I was over the moon stoked when I read the synopsis for this book. Rarely have I clicked “make my BOTM” so quickly.
So far, I’m enjoying this one a lot, though as always it’s a bit of an adjustment seeing how different the book is from the source material. I remember Elaine’s story a bit better than much else in Arthurian legend, and am curious to see how Sebastian weaves a fresh story from old threads.
Since this one is heavier what with the whole “tragic and unpreventable premonitions” angle, I’m sprinkling in in a lighter read for my next ebook — Rosalie Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall.
I heard about this one a while back and was so excited to see it finally release. It’s a romance about contestants on a baking show that is, essentially, the Great British Bake Off. Count me in.
The cover is also adorable, and I’m kind of regretting my decision not to get the print copy, if I’m honest.
There we have it, friends — my current & recent reads as of this Wednesday.
I am curious to hear what you’ve been reading, whether they be books or articles or blog posts. Tell me about something you’re reading or recently read!
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