June Books

Have I mentioned how much I love summer vacation?

I'm sure I have.

I get so much more accomplished during summer vacation than I do while school is in session.  My house starts to come to order, and I actually have time to curl up with a good book, and read.  I need to make up for some lost time in order to meet my 40 book Goodreads Reading Challenge goal!  The good news is that after this month, I am back to being ahead of schedule, and I've hit the 50% mark!

Here's what I read in June:

In a Different Key: The Story of Autism by John Donvan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book took me forever to read.  You can see my full review in my special Blogging for Books post.



The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I listened to this book on Audible, and at first, I thought I was going to be returning it and getting my credit back for another book. BUT I stuck with it, as I usually do, and I actually really ended up enjoying this book.

It's definitely great WWII historical fiction, and it's worth a read (or listen) if you like both historical fiction OR stories about WWII. The Nightingale shares some of the awful aspects of living in France during the Nazi occupation. The characters are well developed, and I found myself wanting to know how everything worked out in the end.


Winter by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


After reading my last book (The Story of Autism), which was incredibly tedious, it was wonderful to read the conclusion to The Lunar Chronicles!

Melissa Meyer wraps up the series with an exciting and satisfying conclusion. I loved it!


Fairest: Levana’s Story by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


As a good prequel should, Fairest certainly makes clearer the story of Levana, Queen of Luna.

It wraps the entire Lunar Chronicles series up by providing more background on the Queen and how she became the villain of the series.


How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success by Julie Lythcott-Haims

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had SO many thoughts on this book, that I reviewed it in a separate post, which you can see here.



Dropped Third Strike: A Portland Pioneers Novel by Micah K. Chaplin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I also wrote a separate review of this book and included an interview with the author herself!  Be sure to check it out!




View all my reviews

Book Review: January Books

It is my goal to read 30 books in 2015, and so far, I'm off to a great start.  In January, I read 3 books.  According to my challenge on Goodreads.com, I am have completed 10% of my goal, and I am one book ahead of schedule.

When I shared my book review of Reshaping it All, I actually did a vlog!  I thought it would be fun and easier to continue to do those.  That has turned out not to be true for me.  Alas, I think it may end up working best for me to just share all of my books at once for a monthly reading update.

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Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly

I listened to this one on Audible.  I really enjoy listening to audio books on my commute to and from work.  It makes me feel like I'm still doing something productive during my driving time.  I did not like this one as much as I liked Killing Kennedy, but I still really enjoyed it.  It was fascinating to hear the history behind the Lincoln assassination.  What I liked least was that a few chapters droned on about Civil War battles and issues, and I didn't feel it was specifically relevant to the story of Lincoln.  Don't get me wrong, I actually do like learning about Civil War history, but I just didn't feel it was necessary or specific to the story being told.

I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

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Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I got a bit out of control when I was placing my order for our Fall Book Fair.  When I very quickly used up my $50 from our PTO, I took to using my bonus points and money to spend on my next Scholastic Book Order.  Cinder is the first in a series called The Lunar Chronicles.  I certainly love my YA fiction, and it's no secret that I'm a big fan of fairy tales, so this seemed like something I should try.  I was able to score the first two books in the series from the book order.  (Cinder and Scarlet).  At first, I wasn't so sure I could get into this Cinder is a cyborg mechanic in New Beijing in a world centuries after ours.  The more I read, the more the story began to grow on me, and I couldn't put it down.

I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

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Yes, Please by Amy Poehler

This was another Audible purchase.  My tastes on Audible tend to lean toward nonfiction and comedy.  I can't seem to bring myself to listen to fiction, fantasy, or other genres yet.  I also feel compelled toward these comedy memoirs because everyone seems to love them.  I feel like I should read them.  After reading Tina Fey's Bossy Pants and Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Having Fun without Me? And Other Concerns, I decided that LISTENING to these is the way to go.  Since I haven't been super familiar with any of these women other than I know who they are and some of their biggest work, I found that reading their books didn't impress me.  I needed to HEAR them tell their stories.  Listening to Amy Poehler tell her story was wonderful.  The audio book was a super fun recording of her story including a live reading of the last chapter of the book.  She had a few other celebrity guests and even her parents record parts of the book with her.  It was fun to hear about her life and career.  The book is definitely funny because I'm pretty sure Amy Poehler couldn't write a book that wasn't.

I also gave this one 4 out of 5 stars.  

I am currently working on 3 different books.  I normally don't like to do this, but here's how it happened.  I started reading The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (the second in the Maze Runner Trilogy).  Scott took it to work to read and lost it.  So I had to order a replacement.  In the mean time, I read other books.  Then I finished Cinder and started reading Scarlet.  Unfortunately, I don't have a ton of free time for reading these days, so that's slow-going.  BUT I also have my monthly credit from Audible, and I have lots of time to "read" in the car.  So I am also listening to The Life of Pi by Yann Martel--the first fiction book I'm listening to!  You can keep track of what I'm reading and my progress on Goodreads.  I'll certainly have something to share with you at the end of February! 

What are you reading lately?