June was an extremely slow reading month for me. It probably didn't help that a lot of things happened in RL along with my encountering several books that I just couldn't get into. Also, I went and purchased all of Pamela Clare's I-Team books via Audible (with Whispersync) so that I could listen to them during my drive to work as well as while working out at the gym. Which was fine except then I would settle at my desk before going to sleep and continue to listen to them while mindlessly playing Facebook games.
Needless to say, I spent more time listening to books I've already read rather than reading books I needed to finish reading. Then again, this tends to happen when I come across books that I am just NOT enjoying--I try to find other things to do. Because, as we've already discussed before, I don't like dropping books if I can help it.
And I already dropped one book. Sort of. It's on an ON HOLD list, but it's as good as dropped, if I really want to be technical about it.
Books Read
Audio book:
Other books:
Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris
Snapped by Laura Griffin
Suddenly One Summer by Julie James
Wife By Wednesday by Catherine Bybee
Die For Me: A Novel of the Valentine Killer by Cynthia Eden
Twisted by Laura Griffin
Promised by Caragh M. O'Brien
Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
5 to 1 by Holly Bodger
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Rook by Sharon Cameron
11 by Kylie Brant
Also Known As by Robin Benway
Crazy Cool by Tara Janzen
Books Dropped/On Hold
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Reviews & Notable Posts
- Reviews
Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris
Suddenly One Summer by Julie James
Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
- Top Ten Tuesdays
6/2/2015: Top Ten Books I'd Love To See As Movies/TV Shows (since 2013)
6/9/2015: Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases for the Rest of 2015
6/16/2015: Top Ten Books on My 2015 Summer TBR
6/30/2015: Top Ten Books I've Read So Far in 2015
- Other Posts
Another one bites the dust... and other news.
Reblog: How to Find New Booklikes Blogs -- Groups
Library books, marathon reading, and July TBR, oh my!
Another Library Check Out and a First Impression: Silent Night
Reading Wrap-Up
14 books total were read in June. One was an audiobook I finished listening to at the beginning of the month that I had listened to the bulk of in May: Neil Patrick Harris's Choose Your Own Autobiography. The rest were full-length novels, though at least two of them were fairly short for a full-length novel and might as well have been novellas...
- Series I started reading in June:
For Me by Cynthia Eden
Weekday Brides by Catherine Bybee
Heather Wells by Meg Cabot
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Also Known As by Robin Benway
- Series I completed in June:
Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien -- 3 book series completed
- Series I have made progress on in June:
Tracers by Laura Griffin
Steele Street by Tara Janzen
My favorite books read in June included, of course, Neil Patrick Harris' autobiography that I've been fangirling about. Then there's Julie James' Suddenly One Summer because she's Julie James and she's great and the characters are fabulous! I also enjoyed the two Tracers books I read, 11 by Kylie Brant, and Also Known As by Robin Benway. Even though the book was more crazy than it was good, I was strangely addicted to the fun that was Crazy Cool by Tara Janzen.
I was a bit disappointed in fewer books than I thought. While I had trouble finishing three particular books--An Ember in the Ashes, Rook, Promised--only one got dropped and I was actually not all that disappointed in Rook because I'm not sure if I really had much expectations for it in the first place; it turned out good even if it started off slow and had random tangents that needed smoothing out. Promised turned out as expected. Die For Me wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I had been looking forward to considering how much I enjoyed Cynthia Eden's Deadly series.
The rest of the books I read weren't exactly highly hyped by myself, and were pretty mediocre, so it's not like life was tough or anything. 5 to 1 was pleasantly surprising, but I wouldn't say that I loved it or anything.
Currently Reading
And also listening to:
Coming Up Next (tentative scheduling)
- Tentative TBR for This Month
- Tentatively Planned Posts/Reviews
Review: 5 to 1 by Holly Bodger
Review: Blood Dreams by Kay Hooper
Review: Blood Sins by Kay Hooper
Review: Blood Ties by Kay Hooper
Review: Allegient by Veronica Roth
Review: Scorched by Laura Griffin
Review: Exposed by Laura Griffin
Review: Echoes at Dawn by Maya Banks
Review: Shades of Gray by Maya Banks
-- July Top Ten Tuesdays --
7/7/2015: Top Ten Hyped Books I've Never Read
7/14/2015: Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession
7/21/2015: Ten Books That Celebrate Diversity/Diverse Characters
7/28/2015: Ten Characters Who Are Fellow Book Nerds
Book Haul / TBR Additions
- Amazon Kindle Deals (free)
- Amazon Kindle Deals (discounted/low price)
- Used Book Buys
- Bought as New
- Audible Purchases
Audible Credits used:
Whispersync with Kindle book (low price/discounted):
- Checked Out From the Library
Reading Challenge Updates
Original 2015 Reading Challenge Post
- General Reading Challenge
Goodreads Reading Challenge -- GR list/shelf
BookLikes Reading Challenge -- BL list/shelf
My Goal: 150 books
Progress: 95/150 books read
- Outdo Yourself Challenge
Hosted by Book Vixen
My Goal: Getting My Heart Rate Up: read 1 - 5 more books
(I read 154 books for this challenge in 2014 / My goal will be 155 - 159 books in 2015.)
My Progress: 86/155
See Also: 2015 Outdo Yourself Challenge shelf for list of books
- Romantic Suspense Challenge
-- CHALLENGE COMPLETED -- 4/9/2015
Hosted by Book Vixen
My Goal: SWAT: read 21+ romantic suspense novels
My Progress: 44/21
See Also: 2015 Romantic Suspense Challenge shelf for list of books
- Men in Uniform Challenge
-- CHALLENGE COMPLETED -- 3/17/2015
Hosted by Book Vixen
My Goal: Chief: read 16+ men in uniform novels
My Progress: 37/16
-- 16 books read -- COMPLETED -- 3/17/2015
See: 2015 Men in Uniform Challenge shelf for book list
See: 2015 Men in Uniform Challenge post for detailed list
- 2015 TBR Pile Challenge
Hosted by Roof Beam Reader
My 2015 TBR Pile Challenge Summary Post
My Progress: 7/12
See Also: BookLikes shelf / Goodreads shelf
- 2015 Reading Assignment Challenge
Hosted by Because Reading & Fantasy Is More Fun
My 2015 Reading Assignment Challenge Summary Post
My Goal: Reading Level 5: 48 books (4 books/month), 4 Extra Credits, 1 Pass
My Progress: 24/48 (No Extra Credits or Passes used)
See Also: BookLikes shelf / Goodreads shelf
- Mount TBR Reading Challenge
Hosted by My Reader's Block
My Goal: Mt. Ararat: Read 48 books from your TBR pile/s
My Progress: 25/48
See: 2015 Mount TBR Challenge shelf for book list
- The Series That Never Ends Challenge
Hosted by Delighted Reader
My 2015 The Series That Never Ends Challenge Summary Post
My Goal(s):
1) Surviving the Book Tsunami -- 5-9 books -- COMPLETED 6/1/2015
2) Removing the Thorn From My Side -- 10-15 books
My Progress: 10/15 books
Listed Series Goals Completed: 1/3
See: 2015 Series Never Ends Challenge shelf for book list
Final Thoughts
June could have been better--running into reading slumps is definitely no fun, and it almost always happens whenever I happen upon any book that I can't seem to get into at all. I don't like dropping books, as I'd stated in an earlier post, and so I let the book drag on for a long time before finally giving it the boot, or hunkering down and finishing it. The reading challenges I'm participating in are a pretty good motivator to get me to reading and finishing books I'd rather not read given my mood. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
But one thing I DO know for sure: I'm choosing my pre-chosen reading challenge lists a little more carefully next year.
Something else important that I learned: I really shouldn't start listening to audio books of books that I have previously loved while I'm in a reading slump. Pamela Clare and her I-Team books might have kept me moving on my fitness goals (I've discovered that listening to books while working out keeps me distracted enough that I'm not always checking my time and wondering when I can stop and go home), but they also managed to distract me from finishing books that I needed to be reading. For that reason alone, I chose to leave all five of the I-Team books off of my "Books Read in June"--I mean, I already read them about two years ago, so it just didn't seem fair.
Logic--there is no such thing, right?
Previous Wrap-Ups
Reading Wrap Up: 2015 So Far (Jan., Feb., Mar.)
Monthly Reading Wrap Up -- Looking Back at April
Monthly Reading Wrap Up -- What Happened in May
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