Reading Queue June

Format: select

Reading Queue is a monthly meme where you share what books you plan to read for the month.  You can hop to other blogs and see what others are reading and maybe find someone reading the same thing as you! Or you can ask for people to vote on what you should read next if you can’t decide.  Reading Queue is hosted by Book Tasty and Books:  A true story.

It’s officially summer!  Summer reading should be fun and I decided to make picking what books to read next a little fun too.  I have no review copies until fall and I can read whatever I want!!

As soon as I figured out that you could randomize your To-Read shelf on Goodreads, I knew that’s how I was going to pick my books this summer.

I think it will also help me decided if I still want to read books on my huge TBR.  I’m going to make myself pick all my reading from the first 10 picks (unless they are in the middle of a series, or not released yet etc).  If I’m not super interested in reading them any more I plan on reading the entire plot on Wiki and seeing if I still want to read it.  I hope this helps reduce my long list of books to read!!

To Read

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller (Free Kindle Edition)

I have this book on my to read list because it was mentioned on Gilmore Girls and because it’s a classic.  I remember learning and being moved by Helen Keller’s story in elementary school and I even read an elementary school version of her biography but now I want to read the real thing.

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz  (Own on Kindle)

I have this book on my to read list because Ally Condie mentioned reading it to her kids and loving it.  Then it went on sale on Amazon and duh I bought it.  Plus I can’t say no to fairy tale retellings. :)

Truth Restored by Gordon B. Hinkley (Own in paperback)

This is a brief history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka Mormons).  It’s part of the library that all missionaries for my church use as a reference while preaching and I’ve wanted to read it for a long time.

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende (Read Wiki Summary)

When I first joined Goodreads I added all of the Oprah Book Club picks to my to read pile.  I have liked a lot of the books she picked, but a lot of them are too graphic for me.  So I’m going to read the entire plot summary first and see if this one is for me.  If you’ve read this one let me know what you thought.

Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr (Library Book for Book Club)

My book club is reading this book this month.  I didn’t realize that this book was actually written in the 1950s!  When I requested all the books from my library for my book club, the librarian said she loved it.  And it seems to be a favorite book of a lot of other people too.  I’m excited to read it.

Starry Nights by Daisy Whitney (Library ebook)

This is on my to read list because it’s set in Paris and it’s about Impressionist art and falling in love.  It sounds too cute to pass up!

Smarter Than You Think: How Technology is Changing Our Minds for the Better
by Clive Thompson (Audiobook from Audible)

I heard about this book from the Book Riot Podcast.  Not many people seem to have read it on Goodreads, but I love the angle of this book.  So many books and opinions talk about the dangers of technology and I’d like to balance that out with some of the positives that technology has done for us.

 

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading by Nina Sankovitch (Audiobook on Audible)

I put this on my to read list because I love reading Tolstoy.  I’ve read War and Peace and Anna Karenina so I couldn’t pass up a memoir about reading Tolstoy!  It’s actually been on my to read list since 2011.  I’m excited to read this!

How I Did Last Month

DIDN’T START – Evertrue by Brodi Ashton

I’m still on the waiting list for this one at the library.  I will squeeze it in this month if I get to the top of the hold list.

FINISHED – Messenger by Lois Lowry

This was…okay.  I like Lois Lowry’s writing but her endings are sometimes strange and way too open.  And for this particular novel I felt like the conflict and the resolution had nothing to do with each other.

FINISHED – Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander

I didn’t think I would like a near death experience book, but this was very interesting.  I liked his perspective of science and how it fit in with his experience.  I listened to this on audio and it was read by the author and he did a great job.

FINISHED – A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I’ve seen the movie adaption of this book so many times growing up.  So maybe it was because I’ve seen the movie first, but…I liked the movie better.  The novel is adorable and I love the character of Sara.  But the conflict in the movie was so much better.  And I liked how much the movie featured India as part of her life.  The movie wouldn’t have been even half as good if it hadn’t had the wonderful book to start with.  They are actually very similar in the details and characters.

FINISHED – Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

I loved this audiobook and I’ve already reviewed it in fact! Crazy! Wil Wheaton did an awesome job narrating.  The treasure hunt story line was addicting.  The 1980’s cultural references were great.  I highly recommend this one.

BONUS READ – Elusion by by Claudia Gabel, Cheryl Klam

Sadly, I was not a fan of this one.  It could be that is was very similar to Ready Player One and Ready Player One was amazing.  They both featured a virtual reality world and Ready Player One’s was better.  The one in Elusion is interesting and creative though. Even if I’m not comparing them, I felt like there was no story arc and resolution.  It’s like one of those TV episodes where you can tell there’s not enough time to wrap things up and sure enough it says “To Be Continued…” and you can’t help but be mad and wonder WHY they couldn’t have just made it two hours long in the first place? That’s how I felt about Elusion.  The story was good, I liked the characters, but it didn’t feel finished.  It felt like the intro to a longer book.

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