What I Read - June 2022
Hello and welcome!
In today's post, I'm going to be sharing with you the books I finished or read in full during the month of June. In total, I read five books, and this month I actually have a DNF (did not finish) to share with you as well as some thoughts on why it is okay to not finish a book.
Let's get into this month's reads!
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The first book that I finished this month was another one to check off for my "read more classics" resolution for 2022. I recently read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and it was so good! It truly was a magical story. I really enjoyed it because it didn't have some big insane issue. Of course like any good book, it had a conflict, but I liked how lighthearted it was. The story mainly focuses on children finding out more about life and themselves through taking care of this secret garden. I loved the connection with nature and the beautiful writing in Yorkshire accents. It was such a fun read and I'm very glad to have read it. I read this book on my Kindle and checked out this eBook from my local library.
Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery
The next book I finished this month was Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery. This is the second book in the three-part Emily of New Moon series and it was really good! I have to admit that it took me forever to finish it, basically because I haven't been listening to audiobooks as much as I had been. I've been listening to more podcasts and watching more videos while I'm cleaning than listening to books. And that is okay. Sometimes we crave something different. But, with all that said, I really enjoyed this book and its performance. As I have said in a previous post, Emily has a lot of Anne vibes but she's a bit more practical and realistic in my opinion. In this book, Emily goes to High School and sets out on many troublesome adventures, and has her first real run-in with love. It's a really great story and, in true L.M. Montgomery fashion, has some absolutely incredible characters aside from just Emily herself. I read this book on Audible.
Remember by Karen Kingsbury with Gary Smalley
The last book I finished this month was the second book in Karen Kingsbury's Redemption series, Remember. I've talked about Redemption before so I won't spend a lot of time here but I loved this book. I am loving this series as a whole so far. It's just really well-written Christian family stuff and I'm just so enjoying it. The second book in this series focuses mainly on Baxter child Ashley with a bit of a side focus on the only Baxter boy, Luke. I love Ashley's story and seeing how she changes throughout the course of this book. The story ends with a massive tragedy that most of us will remember and means major changes for the Baxter family. Highly recommend this series! I read a physical copy of this book.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
The first book I read, start to finish, in the month of June was Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. This is a very popular book but I'm behind the times and just read it. What cued me to read it was seeing the movie trailer when I was at the cinema with my sister and daughter. We all decided we would read the book before the movie came out. Of course, I do not have high hopes for the movie now that I've read the book. But, I am very glad I decided to read the book first.
This story follows Kya, the Marsh Girl, from a troubled childhood to young adulthood. The chapters go back and forth between Kya's childhood and the future, which eventually meet and come to a head with Kya being arrested for murder. I had no idea the amount of drama that would be in this novel and I really enjoyed it. It's very well written and it's very obvious the research done to create this wonderful story. I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it! I read a physical copy of this book.
Shady Hollow by Juneau Black
The second book I read from start to finish this month was Shady Hollow. It is a little outside my normal reading zone but I absolutely loved it. It is an adorable, cozy, feel-good murder mystery (that is if murder can be adorable, cozy, and feel-good). It takes place in the woodland area called Shady Hollow and some dirt finally gets dug up in this quaint and peaceful town. All the characters in these books are animals so it is truly very fairytale-like, which I really enjoyed. Every character seemed to really capture my attention. This book is also extremely well written, I was worried when I read it, that I would struggle to imagine the animal character in my head but the book is so well written and with so many traits tied to the actual animals, that it was super easy to read along and really be able to see the animals going about in the story. I really enjoyed this book. It was a really good read and so extremely cozy. I read a physical copy of this book. I also wanted to mention that this is the first of a three-book series along with a holiday short story and I cannot wait to read the rest!
DNF - Nervous Energy: Harness the Power of Your Anxiety by Dr. Chloe Carmichael
I do not like admitting to not finishing a book and I dislike even more starting a book and not finishing it even if I don't tell anyone about it. But, it is important to note that you do not have to finish a book if you don't like it (unless of course, it's for something other than just wanting to read it). I started reading Nervous Energy by Dr. Chloe Carmichael after watching an interview with her on The Daily Connoisseur. I was finishing up my latest audiobook and decided I'd listen to Nervous Energy and I was really excited about this book. After listening to the interview, I felt like it was something I could relate to and learn some new skills in handling my anxiety. I still feel that way, but unfortunately, I've had to stop the book. The bottom line is, that, I believe, this has nothing to do with the book itself. It's more to do with the fact that when reading a nonfiction book like this that I really want to learn from, I need to physically read it rather than listen to it. I just couldn't get my mind to stay focused on it fully. I did catch bits and pieces and found it interesting what I do remember, but I was just zoning out way too much.
So, I'm not marking this book off my list, I'm simply going to eventually read it on my Kindle. It's okay to not finish every book. It's okay to put a book down and come back to it or even not go back to it at all. It's not a bad thing to have an opinion that is negative. Sometimes that is just how it goes. Life is too short to read books you don't like.
There you have it! Those are the five books I read this month.
I hope you found this post encouraging and found some inspiration for your TBR list.
Happy reading! Until next time.
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