July 2023 Reading Wrap Up

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

I am so happy that July is over. We are officially into monsoon season here in Arizona, which means massive thunderstorms almost every night. My only wish would be that they would happen in the daytime as well, but you can't have everything, I guess. We've already gotten three storms since last Wednesday, which marked the beginning of the season. Monsoons are my favorite weather here, though definitely Mochi's least favorite. She hates thunder.

Anyway, let's talk about what I read this past month. In July, I read a total of 17 books: 6 novels, 2 novellas, 1 anthology, 1 nonfiction, and 7 manga volumes. It was another month where I heavily relied on my library, sadly. I only read 4 books that I had on my own shelves. It seems like August is going to have to be another "shop my TBR" month. Especially since I had quite a chunky book haul for July, as well. And I already have a stack of books to haul for August...I think I might need to put myself on a book-buying ban for a while. 

Let's get into what I read, while I listen to the beginnings of tonight's storm!

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Novels

1. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu (translated by Ken Liu)
Genre: Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3 out of 5 stars/5.57 CAWPILE
Page count: 416 pages
Day(s) read: 7.01 - 7.06
Goodreads thoughts: This was fascinating, but even my astrophysics-obsessed brain had trouble keeping up with the scientific language used. I've read some of Liu's short stories so I know that his writing is just like that -- it drops you into the deep end of science-fiction and expects you to tread water for hours. I don't love reading books that make me feel dumb, but luckily there wasn't an overabundance of truly undecipherable prose. But there were still moments that left me frustrated. I will continue with the series, however. I really want to know where it goes.

2. Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Paranormal, YA
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3 out of 5 stars/5.29 CAWPILE
Page count: 280 pages
Day(s) read: 7.04 - 7.07
Goodreads thoughts: N/A

3. Grendel by John Gardner
Genre: Fantasy, Mythology, Historical Fiction, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 out of 5 stars/6.00 CAWPILE
Page count: 174 pages
Day(s) read: 7.07 - 7.13
Goodreads thoughts: This absolutely felt like a passion project to me, I could tell how much the author cared about this subject with every page read. I'm a little frustrated I didn't know about this book sooner, to be honest! I definitely will be recommending this to my family and friends who are interested in Beowulf-inspired stories.

4. Witch King by Martha Wells
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 out of 5 stars/6.43 CAWPILE
Page count: 414 pages
Day(s) read: 7.14 - 7.19
Goodreads thoughts: I absolutely loved the characters but I was just so confused throughout the entire novel. Nothing was really explained and I finished with more questions than answers.

5. Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara (Review Here)
Genre: Mythology, Romance, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 out of 5 stars/6.86 CAWPILE
Page count: 352 pages
Day(s) read: 7.19 - 7.20
Goodreads thoughts: More of a reimagining than a retelling, but I thought it was well done. I liked that Psyche had a lot more autonomy than in the original myth.

6. To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Alternate History, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 5 out of 5 stars/9.71 CAWPILE
Page count: 528 pages
Day(s) read: 7.22 - 7.26
Goodreads thoughts: This was absolutely brilliant. I'm completely obsessed! Not only do I love the dragons, the school setting, and the characters, but the social and economic issues brought up stoke a judicious rage in me that I honestly love to see. I can't wait to see how Aneques, Theod, Sander, and Liberty all grow as the series progresses. This is definitely a story to look out for.

Novellas

1. Servant Mage by Kate Elliot
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 out of 5 stars/7.14 CAWPILE
Page count: 164 pages
Day(s) read: 7.20 - 7.24
Goodreads thoughts: I really liked the concept, but it was too short! I wanted an entire novel of this world and these characters. I wanted to sit with them and learn more about their pasts, their hopes and dreams. I wanted to see some serious growth in Fellian, watch her come into her own as a mage. I feel like I was in the middle of a super cool dream, and then abruptly woken up. Sad face.

2. Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 out of 5 stars/6.57 CAWPILE
Page count: 152 pages
Day(s) read: 7.27 - 2.28
Goodreads thoughts: That was so sad, what the heck! I was not expecting such a sad ending.

Anthologies

1. The Book of Dragons edited by Jonathan Strahan
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 2 out of 5 stars/3.00 CAWPILE
Page count: 576 pages
Day(s) read: 7.10 - 7.31
Goodreads thoughts: Honestly there weren't a lot of great stories in here. I think I highlighted maybe five or six, and there are easily 20 or more short stories in this anthology. Kind of bummed, not gonna lie.

Nonfiction

1. Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson
Genre: History, Science, Adult
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 out of 5 stars/7.14 CAWPILE
Page count: 323 pages
Day(s) read: 7.09 - 7.17
Goodreads thoughts: This was absolutely fascinating. As a kid I was obsessed with storms (more so tornadoes than hurricanes, but I digress) and this book sparked that fascination in me again. I even watched the documentary film based on it. It's so awesome that Erik Larson clearly has that same obsession for untold and wild stories. Highly recommend.

Manga

1. Yona of the Dawn vol. 16-22 by Mizuho Kusanagi
Genre: Historical Fiction, Shoujo 
Star rating/CAWPILE: N/A
Page count: 1,352 pages
Day(s) read: 7.14, 7.29, 7.31
Goodreads thoughts: N/A

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Total page count: 4,731 pages read

Favorite book of July: To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose 

No DNFs/unfinished books this month

July book haul: The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho
                            Brida by Paulo Coelho
                            Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
                            The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart
                            One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
                            House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
                            The Mask of Apollo by Mary Renault
                            The Essential Rumi by Rumi

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And that's all I have for you today! I'd love to know what your favorite book of July was. Leave a comment below, or DM me on Instagram (link in sidebar under the heading "More Media"). 

Until next time, friends!