June 2023 Reading Wrap Up

Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!

Well, we are officially half-way done with 2023! Only six months left of this godforsaken year. It would be nice if they were quiet and slow, but I have a bad feeling that they won't be. 

Okay, enough brooding. Let's talk about how reading went for me in June. 

I read 11 books in the month of June: 8 novels and 3 manga volumes. 9 of these books were about or had featured queer characters, in honor of pride month! Also (not including the manga, because duh) 2 books were translated, 1 was a classic novel, and 3 were rereads. I've also got quite another large book haul, so be sure to read until the end to see what books I've bought recently.

This month I traveled to California for a friend's memorial service, and didn't read very much because of it. I also wanted to exclusively read books on my physical TBR this month, which I happily accomplished. Every book I read came directly from my own shelves, rereads included. While only knocking 8 books from my TBR shelf isn't quite the accomplishment I was aiming for, I'll take the little victories when I can get them. 

Alright, let's get into my June reads. 

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Novels

1. The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro (Review Here)
Genre: Fantasy, Mythology, Adventure, Queer Romance, YA
Star rating/CAWPILE: 5 stars/9.14 CAWPILE
Page count: 480 pages
Day(s) read: 6.02 (ONE DAY READ)
Goodreads thoughts: Hi yes I loved this.

I don't think I can actually form any coherent thoughts right now, so have this instead:

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHSFKDJHRFONCFIDURGBFVWEOLN

*SOBS*

2. Solitaire by Alice Oseman
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Queer Fiction, YA
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars/6.86 CAWPILE
Page count: 288 pages
Day(s) read: 6.03 - 6.06
Goodreads thoughts: This was difficult to rate for me. Whenever I go back and read an author's debut after reading (nearly) every other book of theirs, I can't help but compare it to what their writing is today. I feel like I didn't, and couldn't, truly give Solitaire a fair shot because of this. Also it was weird seeing Nick and Charlie in a background character setting when I know them so well from Heartstopper. I almost feel like I cheated myself in a way. When I first read Radio Silence I wasn't planning on reading other books by Alice (mainly because that was the only one of her books available in the US at the time so I didn't have a way to read her other books) but I wish I read Solitaire next, I feel like I would have appreciated it a lot more. That's fully on me, friends.

3. Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
Genre: High Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4.5 stars/8.71 CAWPILE
Page count: 1233 pages
Day(s) read: 6.05 - 6.29
Goodreads thoughts: I didn't love this one the same way I loved Words of Radiance, but I still had so much fun with it. Learning Dalinar's backstory hurt so bad but seeing how he became who he is at the present was absolutely worth the pain. There were a lot of moments that had me gasping out loud from shock, and the major plot twist at the end had me sitting there like the surprised Pikachu meme. I can't wait to read book 4!

4. The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho (translated by Clifford E. Landers)
Genre: Historical Fiction, Philosophy, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3 stars/4.71 CAWPILE
Page count: 245 pages
Day(s) read: 6.08 - 6.19
Goodreads thoughts: While there were some lovely quotes and passages, I feel like this wasn't as inspirational or philosophical as The Alchemist, which might just be me digging myself into a hole since that is his most popular work. Also since this was based on Elijah's book in the Bible, I just didn't feel that attached to the characters since I knew how the story would end.

5. Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (translated by Edith Grossman)
Genre: Historical Fiction, Classic Literature, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 2.5 stars/3.71 CAWPILE
Page count: 147 pages
Day(s) read: 6.16 - 6.18
Goodreads thoughts: Well. I'm not impressed, sadly. I do own two other books by Gabriel Garcia Marquez so I'll keep reading from him, but I'm hoping that the others are much better than this.

6. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab - REREAD
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 5 stars/10.00 CAWPILE
Page count: 400 pages
Day(s) read: 6.21 - 6.22
Goodreads thoughts: N/A

7. A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab - REREAD
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 5 stars/10.00 CAWPILE
Page count: 512 pages
Day(s) read: 6.22 - 6.24
Goodreads thoughts: N/A

8. A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab - REREAD
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 5 stars/10.00 CAWPILE
Page count: 624 pages
Day(s) read: 6.24 - 6.27
Goodreads thoughts: N/A 

Manga

1. Our Wonderful Days vol. 1-3 by Kei Hamuro
Genre: Slice of Life, Yuri Romance, Shoujo 
Star rating/CAWPILE: N/A 
Page count: 524 pages
Day(s) read: 6.04 (ONE DAY READ)
Goodreads thoughts: N/A 

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Total page count: 4,453 pages

Favorite book of June: The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro

No DNFs this month

No unfinished books this month

June book haul: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
                                Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
                                The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
                                Solitaire by Alice Oseman
                                Silence by Shisaku Endo
                                Untold Night and Day by Bae Suah
                                Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom by Sylvia Plath
                                Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
                                Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
                                The Tatami Galaxy by Tomihiko Morimi
                                The Fall of Numenor by J.R.R. Tolkien
                                10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak
                                The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
                                Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher                           

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Alright, that's all I have for today! I'm going to try and read predominantly from my physical TBR again for July, but I do already have a few library books waiting for me, so we'll see how that plays out. 

I'd love to know what your favorite book of June was! Let me know in the comments below, or DM me on Instagram (link in sidebar under the header "More Media").

Until next time, friends!