Alternatively titled: Will I Ever Catch Up On My Reading Goals? No!
Happy Wednesday!
I’m back after an accidental two-week hiatus! I was doing so well sticking to my June schedule, but alas, time management is tough when you’re finishing a Master’s and planning a wedding in the middle of a pandemic. Nevertheless, we’re back and I will be more consistent in July. Every month gets better and better!
Today, I’m going to talk about my July TBR and my June wrap up! The TL;DR is that I did not read NEARLY as much as I’d hoped in June, but I’m hoping to change that in July.
In June, I finished two books: THE SNAKE, THE CROCODILE, AND THE DOG (Amelia Peabody #7) by Elizabeth Peters, and CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi. I loved both of these books, but I’ll only be publishing a review of COBAB this month—eventually I’m going to do a full Amelia Peabody review series like I’ve done for the Lady Emily series, but I’m not starting that until my life quiets down because it’s going to take me a while to do it well. Stay tuned for that!
I have also started listening to the audiobook for SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE by Ijeoma Oluo, and I began rereading BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I talked about Coates’ book in my June TBR post as one of the books I wanted to read in an effort to diversify my reading list, elevate Black authors, and educate myself on the effects of systemic racism in America. This is a process that I have fully committed myself to and by reading/listening to books like Coates’ and Oluo’s, I’m hoping to further my understanding of the issues so many people in this country face so that I can become a better ally.
Quick side note: I know social media has quieted down quite a bit in the past few weeks, but this is a reminder that Black Lives Still Matter. The books I committed to reading last month in an effort to diversify my reading list and educate myself are books I plan to read this month, and we should all continue to be conscious of the ways we use our privilege and power to help; in this case, I’m starting by requesting from the library or purchasing books from indie bookstores by more BIPOC authors. It’s a small step and one that I should’ve been conscious of a long time ago, but it’s never too late to be better.
That being said, my July TBR looks quite a bit like my June TBR! You can read my original TBR list here for descriptions of the books I’ve already mentioned. Realistically, I won’t get through this whole list again. And that’s okay! My TBR is more of a wish list than anything else, always.
Here we go:
- THE CITY WE BECAME by N. K. Jemisin
This is a rollover from my June TBR; check out my June post for the description!
2. A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUINS by Roseanne A. Brown
This is another rollover from June; I’m so excited to read this and keep staring at the beautiful cover sitting on my desk!
3. TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY by Kwame Mbalia
Another rollover! This one I am super excited for, and also Kwame Mbalia’s Twitter account is so much fun! He’s easily become one of my favorite authors on social media this month, you can find him at @KSekouM !
4. PRACTICAL DEMONKEEPING by Christopher Moore
Another rollover and one that my dad keeps asking if I’ve read yet. He sent me the entire series for Christmas and I still have not read it because I suck, but I’m hoping to finally pick it up soon. Sorry, dad!
5. THE HIPPOPOTAMUS POOL (Amelia Peabody #8) by Elizabeth Peters
Another rollover, and the eighth installment of the Amelia Peabody series! This will be featured in a special review series sometime in the future—again, stay tuned!
6. MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION by Ottessa Moshfegh
This one is “new” to my TBR list, but not really because I bought this book over a year ago at one of my favorite local bookstores in Providence, Riff Raff. It was recommended to me by a friend from college and I was so excited to read it, but alas I haven’t picked it up since putting it on my shelf when I got back from the store. Here’s the description from Goodreads:
Our narrator should be happy, shouldn’t she? She’s young, thin, pretty, a recent Columbia graduate, works an easy job at a hip art gallery, lives in an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan paid for, like the rest of her needs, by her inheritance. But there is a dark and vacuous hole in her heart, and it isn’t just the loss of her parents, or the way her Wall Street boyfriend treats her, or her sadomasochistic relationship with her best friend, Reva. It’s the year 2000 in a city aglitter with wealth and possibility; what could be so terribly wrong?
My Year of Rest and Relaxation is a powerful answer to that question. Through the story of a year spent under the influence of a truly mad combination of drugs designed to heal our heroine from her alienation from this world, Moshfegh shows us how reasonable, even necessary, alienation can be.
It’s something way different from what I usually read, but it caught my eye and I’m hoping to finally give it a shot in July!
And there you have it! My July TBR Wish List—because let’s be real, we all know I’m not going to get through all of these books in the next 31 days. Grad school, wedding planning, and a pandemic make doing anything difficult these days, but I’m hoping to get through a few of them at the very least.
What are you reading this month?
A Fresh Startt 