June Reading Round-Up

Flaming June by Lord Frederick Leighton

We're halfway through year and we're having summer here in the Bay Area.  The weather's been right where I like it - in the low- to mid-70's with sunshine and big fluffy clouds and the wonderful Bay Area air conditioning - that nice breeze that comes in from across the water and keeps things cooled down.

We spent a week in June in Seattle for my son's graduation.  It was great to see him graduate and see friends and just generally hang out, wander about in the outdoors, and read.  My son's high school had 22 valedictorians and 128 students who graduated with a 3.5 or above GPA - pretty impressive.  He's off to Evergreen State College in the fall and will be here for a couple of weeks at least before the summer is over.

My husband is preparing to start UC Berkeley in the fall where he'll be studying music.  He got a full scholarship and I am so proud of and happy for him.  I took a shortish break from working on my MBA, but class started up again so I'm currently wrapping my brain around health care finance.

I read a lot this past month and in looking at the list my reading was really varied.  It's summer so I'm down for more escapist material than I tend to read in the winter.  I'm actually taking a couple of books back to the library that I'm committed to reading for a couple of challenges.  I'm looking forward to reading them later in the year when things cool off and I become more serious, but I'm just not in the mood for them right now.  I rarely do this, but as I've remembered that I'm an adult and can choose not to finish a book, I've also remembered that I can choose to return things and get them again later.  Ah the discoveries there are to be made in life!

Here's what I read and reviewed in June:

1. Peninsula of Lies by Edward Ball (review)
2. My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares (review)
3. Property by Valerie Martin (review)
4. Forest Gate by Peter Akinti (review)
5. Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson (review)
6. Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton (review)
7. The Book of Skulls by Robert Silverberg (review)
8. Treasure Hunt by John Lescroart (review)
9. Deep Creek by Dana Hand (review)
10. Except the Queen by Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder (review)
11. The Executor by Jesse Kellerman (review)
12. The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner (review)
13. Street Magic by Caitlin Kitteridge (review)
14. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (review)
15. The Dark End of the Street ed. by Jonathan Santlofer and S.J. Rozan (review)
16. Proust's Overcoat by Lorenza Foschini (review)
17. The Passage by Justin Cronin (review)

Standout reads this past month include Property, Except the Queen, and The Executor.  I hated Street Magic and found The Passage to be incredibly frustrating - a great book buried inside a screaming need for an editor.

On to July!  Happy summer, everyone!