June Wrap-Up

July 1, 2021 Monthly Wrap-Up 10

June was a slower-than-usual reading month for me, and I am not sure why. I read or listened to only nine books during the entire month, and one of those was a novelette (longer than a short story, but not as long as a novella.) I started several other books and set them aside, but I will return to several of those later. And I am currently reading two books that I should finish in a few days; they will count toward July. On the plus side, I enjoyed all of the books I finished, and gave almost all of them 4 or 4.5 star ratings.

What I Read

Started But Not Yet Finished

Challenge Update – January through June 2021

I am 14 books behind schedule for my Goodreads Challenge.

I have not reviewed any of my June books yet. When I do, four of them meet the COYER Seasons – Spring 2021 challenge requirements, and three are eligible for both The Backlist Reader Challenge 2021 and the Audiobook Challenge 2021.

For the year so far, my challenge stats are:

  • The Backlist Reader Challenge 2021 – 14 of 15 read; 1 of 15 reviewed
  • Audiobook Challenge 2021 – 4 of 5 read; none reviewed
  • COYER Seasons – Winter 2021 – 10 of 4 read; 1 of 4 reviewed
  • COYER Seasons – Spring 2021 – 14 of 5 read; 5 of 5 reviewed (Yay!)

Additional goals progress:

  • Read backlogged review copies. I read one (Jolene.)
  • Read more of my own books. I’m doing OK with this one. I have read:
    • at least 6 books that I bought or was given before 2021: Knitting Without Tears, Vogue Dictionary of Knitting Stitches, Jackaby, Death Below Stairs, Amendment of Life, and Last Writes.
    • quite a few books that I purchased this year: The Tea Dragon Society; A Soupcon of Poison; Murder in the East End; The Games Lovers Play; The Code of the Woosters; “Beekeeping for Beginners”; Eclipse; From Spare Oom to War Drobe; and About a Rogue.
    • Two other books might qualify as well; I already owned a Kindle copy of The Anatomist’s Wife, but I bought and listened to the audiobook; and I owned a Kindle copy of The Bookshop on the Corner, but listened to a library audiobook for most of it.
  • Be better about reviewing generally. That’s not going so well (to put it mildly.) I only reviewed one book in June. May wasn’t bad, but the rest of the year has been dismal.
  • Read more diversely. I haven’t been great about this one, either:
    • 3 Books with BIPOC characters: The Windsor Knot (MC); The Tea Dragon Society (MC)
    • 3 Books with LGBTQ+ characters: The Tea Dragon Society (MC, 2ndC); The Awakening (2ndC); An Unexpected Peril (2ndC). I reread a lot of Valdemar books by Mercedes Lackey that also had LGBTQ+ main and/or secondary characters (and POC characters also), but I’m not really counting rereads for this goal.
    • Books with disabled characters: The Tea Dragon Society (2ndC).
    • Books by diverse authors: Bacchanal; The Tea Dragon Society.

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10 Responses to “June Wrap-Up”

  1. Nicci @ Sunny Buzzy Books

    I think June was my best reading month this year, so far but it was still only 7 books… Reading isn’t going well for me this year but I’m grateful that I’m still reading and that I’m really enjoying the books that I’m getting through.

    You’re doing well with your challenges. I don’t dare to even look at mine! lol.

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Reading hasn’t been going consistently well for me, either. Some weeks are better, some weeks are worse. (I think the pandemic has had more effect on all of us than we are aware, or want to admit.) Like you, I’m grateful I’m still reading and enjoying books at all!

  2. Katherine

    The Jennifer Ashley is one I can’t wait to read and I want to start at the beginning of the Anna Lee Huber series. I’ve read the most recent books but not the earlier ones. I hope July is a great reading month.

  3. Angela

    I definitely read way less than I normally do, too, but that’s great that you had so many amazing reads! Kind of makes up for it!

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      It does! Although I no longer force myself to finish books if I’m not enjoying them. Life’s too short, especially once more of it is behind you than probably lies ahead of you. 😉

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Well, of the two, I’d rather be struggling with writing reviews than with reading! I’m miserable when I don’t get time or can’t summon the focus to read.

      Knitting Without Tears is good, and has made me more willing to take chances with my knitting. I like her quote, “Knit on with confidence and hope through all crises.” (Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka the Yarn Harlot, also has a quote about knitting fearlessly, but I’m darned if I can find it.)

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I find that I vacillate between days or weeks when my reading resembles my pre-pandemic reading, and days or weeks when I just don’t seem to read much. I hope it will go back to “normal” at some point — both my reading, and life in general.