For the first time, I decided to plan my June reads and I posted a pic on Insta. And while it didn’t go as planned, I did like having a general idea of what books that I wanted to read for the month. Plus, I thought it was a cute photo and gave me an opportunity to use my letterboard.
FYI – Anne will always refer to Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Anne Bogel. WSIRN refers to one of her podcast, What Should I Read Next, one of my fav podcast. Since I was guest this year, (Episode 179 – shameful plug!), we are, officially, on a first-name basis. I am linking up with her monthly Quick Lit post, as I have done for years. Check her out!
Also, my thoughts on my pick, The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters, from that WSIRN episode is up on the blog. Check it out here.
Read
- Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl. This book was AMAZING. I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, even after Anne raved about it on WSIRN when Emily P. Freeman was her guest. She also included it in her 2019 Summer Reading Guide. Wow! It was a memoir that read like a page-turning novel. I couldn’t wait to see what happened next and stayed up late a couple of nights. A memoir isn’t supposed to do that to you! I have added everything Ruth Reichl has ever written to my ever-growing TBR list. Side note: As a foodie, I don’t know why I haven’t been reading more books about food?
- That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam. I read this because it was the pick of the Rocket City Mom Virtual Book Club. You can check us out on Facebook here and see my full review here.
- Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center. I really enjoyed this one. It’s releasing August 13th so a huge thank you to The Snail on the Wall for the ARC. It was a page turner; pulled two late(ish) nights because I wanted to see what happened. And I didn’t jump ahead! My full review will be here on Friday, July 26.
- Recursion by Blake Crouch. This was also one of Anne’s 2019 Summer Reading Guide picks and I must say, initially it was not on my radar until she discussed it a bit WSIRN episode. I can’t remember which one, though. Anyway, this is a sci-fi thriller mystery-out of my usual reading comfort zone but I have to say that I did enjoy this one. I love time traveling stories (what does that say about me, I wonder?) and this was that. Crouch is an excellent writer and I might pick up his earlier book Dark Matter, because I enjoyed this one so much.
Currently Reading
- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb.
- 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin.
- The Life-Changing Habit of Tidying Up and Spark Joy by Marie Kondo. I’m reareading these according to the categories I am currently tidying although, due to two trips out of town in June, my tidying has been delayed.
On Hold/Abandoned Reading
- Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald. Anne helped me notice that for my fun fiction reads, I do not typically enjoy longish books (350+ pages) and with this one, I think she was right. My ARC (thanks again to The Snail on the Wall) was about 400 pages. Time traveling was involved (are you guys noticing a theme?) but the pace was slow and I was trying to read it on the plane and it wasn’t holding my attention. I switched to Things You Save in the Fire and didn’t get back to it this month. I might come back to it though. Might being the operative word.
So, what have you guys been reading? Read any of these?
enjoy life…
shannan enjoys life! 
I need to read Save Me the Plums! I really enjoyed Ruth’s Garlic and Sapphires so I have been wanting to read another book by her! Speaking of food memoirs, have you read anything by Elizabeth Bard or Kathleen Flinn? I LOVE their books, especially since they have a French twist to them!
Thanks for the recommendations. I will check them out. And thanks for being here.
Can’t wait to read Save Me the Plums! I’ve loved Ruth Reichl’s other food memoirs. Garlic & Sapphires is definitely a fun read and worth moving to the top of your list, if you haven’t read it yet.
I haven’t yet, Aimee. But it is on hold at my library. Looking forward to it, even more so with your recommendation. I KNOW you will enjoy Save Me the Plums. Thank you for being here.
Shannan, hi! I’ve got the Save Me the Plums and Maybe You Should Talk to Someone on my wait list at the library. Thanks for the sneak peek today …
So many books, so little time!
Yes, Lisa! So many books! I hope that you enjoy them both. Thank you for being here.
I’ve had Save Me The Plums queued up in my Audible for months. After reading your review I think I’ll be moving it up! Thanks.
Please do. I think you will enjoy it. Let me know what you think after, OK. Thanks for being here.
SAME! For fun fiction, it HAS to be under 350… Which means my BFF and I don’t get to talk about books because she’s exclusively an audio book listener and feels a book is only worth the money if it’s 10 hours… She does the long books and I do the “short” ones. 🙂
Thanks for the post! I added a few titles to my list!
You’re welcome. Thanks so much for being here. What’s your fav fiction read.
I keep hearing about Crossing to Safety. Do let me know your thoughts on it. Thanks for being here, Lisa.
What a cute instagram pic! Things You Save in a Fire sounds very intriguing to me. I’ll be watching for that one. I’ve recently started Crossing to Safety (also thanks to Anne). It’s a little slow getting started but I’m trusting it will bust out soon. 🙂 I recently finished I Let You Go and highly recommend it.