{2014} July Reading

Books bought:
~ Preorder of Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
~ GRANTA Japan
~ Shades of Milk and Honey, and
~ Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
~ Moby Dick by Herman Melville
~ The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
~ The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
~ The Story: Love, Loss and the Lives of Women (Collection of Short Stories) collected by Victoria Hislop
~ Preorder of Lullabies by Lang Leav
~ Miles in Love (Omnibus edition) by Lois McMaster Bujold
~ North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
~ Preorder of the Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss

Books received:
~ Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
~ The Seventh Miss Hatfield by Anna Caltabiano
~ The Young World by Chris Weitz
~ The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue present: Macbeth
~ Kalona's Fall by P.C. and Kristen Cast
~ In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang
~ The Rise of Aurora West
~ The Shadow Hero
~ Julia's House for Lost Creatures

Books read:
~ The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
~ Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
~ The Seventh Miss Hatfield
~ The Young World
~ Eleanor and Park
~ Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue...
~ Americanah
~ Kalona's Fall
~ Alexandra's Legacy by N. J. Walters
~ The Silkworm
~ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
~ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
~ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
~ In Real Life

This month feels humongous, looking back on it now. Reading and finishing The Bell Jar feels so long ago... but I still remember really enjoying it, despite fearing that it would make me feel really depressed. It actually did such an interesting job of comforting me in how I feel when I'm depressed...
I jumped around quite a bit this month, but still managed to review four or so books. I am overjoyed that I am now getting some review books from Hachette - often a package will turn up and I will have no idea what's inside, which is exciting.
A couple of notable mentions from this month include Shades of Milk and Honey - such a lovely mix of a Jane Austen-esque world mixed with magic, Americanah - I picked this one up on a whim and ended up finding it a fascinating read, and The Silkworm - Galbraith (Rowling) just writes so wonderfully that I immediately wanted more. If I'd still had my copy of Cuckoo's Calling, I would have re-read it. I may need to get myself another copy in the future. This is probably what led me on to re-reading the Harry Potter books, the pace of which has slowed considerably over the last couple of days due to illness. I'm still in book four - about halfway through now - and may stop after I finish that one, or I might keep going. Not really sure at this point. Though I am loving the new covers that will be coming out in September - what are your thoughts?
In Real Life was also a fabulous read, and particularly lovely for me to read as I have started gaming again just recently.
In terms of book-buying, I've had to put myself on a ban for a couple of months. This month just got a bit out of hand (you can probably see that... 12 books in one month...). So I am not buying myself any books until September 20. I am giving myself two emergency 'outs' - one for each month - but hoping not to use them. Wish me luck!
I am looking forward to next month and hopefully the start up of the Aurealis Awards!

What are you reading right now?

2 comments book review, books, thoughts