I only finished 10 books in July. I started out strong, but hit a reading slump the last half of the month. I just couldn't get excited about any of the books I had started. I guess it's theoretically possible I'll wrap something else up before the month is officially over, but it seems unlikely.
The Good
Down Among the Dead Men by Peter Lovesey, The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski, A Chorus of Innocents by P.F. Chisholm, If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs by Matthew Dicks, The Drowning by Camilla Lackberg. My favorites here were The Winner's Crime and If You Only Knew. (Don't forget - you can still win a copy of If You Only Knew, go enter the giveaway now.)
The Bad
The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley. Blah. I love Kearsley's other books so much. Maybe my expectations were too high for this one? But it was so sexist and uninspiring.
The Awesome
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures by Maggie Stiefvater and Jackson Pearce, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I think overall, Ready Player One was my favorite of the month. Makes me wish I was a gamer so that I would've fully understood all the video game references!
Still Working On
Oregon Trail by Rinker Buck, Golden Son by Pierce Brown, My Name is Resolute by Nancy E. Turner.
On the Blog
I wrote a lot of list-y posts this month! I shared the books that I wish would be published NOW already, the 11 audiobooks and podcasts I can't stop listening to, 10 hyped books I've never read, and the best books of the year (so far). Ironically, I only finished one of the books on my "New on the Stack" post from the beginning of the month.
In Real Life
- We spent a fun 4th of July weekend in Flagstaff with my brother's family.
- Eleanor started kindergarten... she really likes school itself, but she does NOT approve of being awakened at 6:45 every morning. I'm hoping that given another week or two her body clock will be more acclimatized, and she'll start waking on her own. (Up till May, she was totally stay-up-late, sleep-till-8:00 kid. Over the summer we gradually pushed back her bedtime and started waking her early, but she's still resisting.)
- Eleanor's really into the Calendar Kids Mysteries now, although she says Junie B. Jones is still her favorite. I'm wondering if the recent surge in attitude has more to do with starting school , or with all the Junie B she's been reading. I might take them away, and see if we notice a difference.
- Juliet figured out how to jump (with both feet leaving the ground simultaneously), AND do somersaults. She's pretty darn proud of herself.
- Juliet's also finally, finally, finally started sleeping through the night nearly every night. (Only took 20+ months!) What turned the corner for us was tart cherry juice. I know it sounds crazy, but we started giving it to her mid-June, and she's only been getting up about once every 10 days or so since then. Now to work on getting her to fall asleep without needing to nurse...
- Noel and I have been married for nine years, as of today. It's funny, because we got married at 23 (me) and 25 (him), which seemed young, but not that young at the time. When I look back now though, I'm like, "OH, look at those BABIES getting married! They're so smiley! And well-rested!" Haha.
- We also bought a big, fancy fridge. I'm kind of in love. Is it weird to be in love with an appliance?
What did YOU do in July?
