WHAT WE READ THIS SUMMER
Hey, Bookworms! Summer is in full tilt, and I for one hardly even felt Spring come to visit. Still, it feels good to finally shed my comfy boots for a pair of slinky sandals.
How have you been spending your summer? I hope you're getting some lovely reading time by the beach or the park, or even in the sofa.
We, over at Inkblots HQ had to do some pretty heavy duty adulting these past few months, because we *finally* moved into our new place (yay!). It's our first time on our own, and we could not be any happier.
Every bookish girl's dream is to have a home library and when I moved to New York a year ago, I made the decision to leave behind all my books and it was really sad. But my super amazing and incredibly supportive husband (who also happens to be a book lover) understands my need for good reads and made my new library a priority in our new home. He has also graciously agreed to be a part of the blog and will be giving commentary on some of the books that he has read, and events attended with me.
As a downside to all the planning and decorating and book buying, we were not able to get enough reading time as we would have liked -- but I'm still ahead by 2 books in our Goodreads Challenge, so everything's coming up roses! 😎
One of the things I noticed during these past few months is that I tend to turn to Audiobooks more and more. I've learned to love them especially when I needed to run errands or tidy up the house or just do general chores. I find myself reaching for my earbuds so often that out of 14 books read during this period, a whopping 9 of them were all audiobooks. Carlo was able to finish 2 books beginning June and that makes me really happy because he usually takes about a couple of months to finish a good mystery book (his only genre).
There are a couple of re-reads on this list because I was preparing for the release of ACOWAR and Lord of Shadows which both came out in May. I also started on this new series called Charley Davidson by Darynda Jones and plan on finishing all 11 books strictly on audiobook (thank you Audible!). It's a super fun read and I love the narrator! So much so that I eschew my usual playlist for gym time and just "read" on the treadmill.
It wasn't all about moving and packing and decorating this summer though! In fact just two days after we settled into the new house, we got ready for the highlight of my summer: BOOKCON 2017! I've been wanting to go for the past three years, and it was finally happening!
There were so many things I enjoyed about the Con but the most memorable moments were the ones where I got to meet all the wonderful authors that I only get to know through their books. I was able to meet PC and Kristin Cast, Soman Chainani, Cassandra Clare, Leigh Bardugo, Stephanie Garber, Melissa de la Cruz, Marissa Meyer and Susan Dennard just to name a few. Aside from books, there were also the powerhouse publishing companies, the people behind Owlcrate, Once Upon a Book Case and the Bookish Box; awesome bookish shops were represented by crowd favorites such as Book Beau, Tee Turtle, Lithographs, and so much more! Carlo was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer experience of it all (ie screaming fangirls and two-hour autograph lines) but I think it's safe to say we're going back next year.
There were so many things I enjoyed about the Con but the most memorable moments were the ones where I got to meet all the wonderful authors that I only get to know through their books. I was able to meet PC and Kristin Cast, Soman Chainani, Cassandra Clare, Leigh Bardugo, Stephanie Garber, Melissa de la Cruz, Marissa Meyer and Susan Dennard just to name a few. Aside from books, there were also the powerhouse publishing companies, the people behind Owlcrate, Once Upon a Book Case and the Bookish Box; awesome bookish shops were represented by crowd favorites such as Book Beau, Tee Turtle, Lithographs, and so much more! Carlo was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer experience of it all (ie screaming fangirls and two-hour autograph lines) but I think it's safe to say we're going back next year.
There were bookworms like me, book dragons, book hoarders, booknicorns and every other species in between. Truly it was an experience to remember and there should be a post about that experience up on the blog soon!
Okay, so going back to the round up -- here's a rundown of all the books we've read so far for the summer:
• MAY BOOKS I READ •
- A World Without Princes by Soman Chainani (A) 🤗🤗🤗🤗
- The Last Ever After by Soman Chainani (A) 🤗🤗🤗🤗
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (P) 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
• JUNE BOOKS I READ •
- First Grave on the Right
by Darynda Jones (A) 🤗🤗🤗🤗
- Second Grave on the Left
by Darynda Jones (A) 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
- Third Grave Dead Ahead
by Darynda Jones (A) 🤗🤗🤗🤗 ½
- Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet
by Darynda Jones (A) 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
- Fifth Grave Past the Light
by Darynda Jones (A) 🤗🤗🤗🤗 ½
- Carry On
by Rainbow Rowell (P) 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
- A Court of Thorns and Roses
(reread) by Sarah J. Maas (P) 🤗🤗🤗🤗
• JULY BOOKS I READ •
- A Court of Mist and Fury
(reread) by Sarah J. Maas (A) 🤗🤗🤗 ½
- A Court of Wings and Ruin
by Sarah J. Maas (P) 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
- Geekerella
by Ashley Poston (A) 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
- Holly Freakin' Hughes
by Kelsey Kingsley (E) 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
So happy to announce that Carlo's Books is a new addition to the Squee! Round Up page. The hubby is a Batman aficionado who enjoys reading mystery and conspiracy theory books, especially those with elements of a Sherlock Holmes vs Moriarty rivalry. He will try and finish at least one book a month for us since his work schedule is a little more hectic than mine right now.
• CARLO'S BOOKS •
- The House of Secrets
- Magpie Murders: A Novel
• CURRENTLY READING •
Angelica Carlo
- Lady Midnight
by Cassandra Clare started July 15, on Hardcover
- This is a reread in preparation for Lord of Shadows. Even though the ending shocked me during the first read, this experience made me notice tiny nuances that I would have otherwise ignored, which makes this experience particularly enjoyable. I have always loved the family dynamics of the Blackthorns and I just might pick up COHF to remind me of the backstory. I'm finding that I like doing re-reads before starting a new book in the series because it helps me gain a bit more perspective. Although I'm not really sure I would read all 5 books of the TOG series before Tower of Dawn comes out. That would take me *forever*.
- Sixth Grave on the Edge
by Darynda Jones started July 20, on Audiobook
- Charley Davidson is a Grim Reaper with a kick-ass attitude and a penchant for getting into trouble. She is a totally squeeable character and I am loving this series so much! I actually won a signed copy of Eleventh Grave in a giveaway and I wanted to familiarize myself with the series before starting it. So I decided to do the entire 10 novels in audio, and I am enjoying myself silly.
- The Inner Circle
by Brad Meltzer - Carlo's book for the month
- This is the first book in a series that Carlo is going to be reading for the rest of the summer while waiting for the new Horowitz to come out. He's a few chapters in as of now, but I will try and wheedle him into writing a short review of this book when he is done.
We'd love to hear from you!! Tell us dear bookworms, are you a Conspiracy Theory Buff or a Cozy Mystery Chick? Would you root for Sherlock Holmes or Robert Langdon in a fight? Do you have other books that you could recommend to us? Let us know all about it in the comments section below!
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XOXO,
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