12 July 2021

Show Us Your Books - June 2021

 

The kids are already lamenting that, 'Summer's almost over!' Gosh, I hope not - this working every day thing has made my seasons blend together. Luckily I like what I do!

I'm with with my sparse June reads to share with Jana Says and Life According to Steph for Show Us Your Books. I actually have a couple more read already,  but I haven't written the reviews yet. I figure it all comes out in the wash - by the end of the year, all the books I've read will be accounted for.

I've also made it a goal lately to alternate my book posts with, well, something else. If you have a fun not-completely-bookish meme to share, please leave it in the comments :) Unfortunately I've found that just sharing what's on my mind was somehow offensive. I have enough family members who want nothing to do with me because of past blog posts, so I stick with pretty bland posts - I didn't come from a big family to start with and I can't afford to piss any more off! LOL

There are five books I finished reading and reviewing in June. Let's check them out, shall we? The title links go to Goodreads, and the review links to go the review either on my blog or Books I Think You Should Read. As always, thank you to Netgalley and publishers who let me read their books for free - receiving books for free never influences my review.

Finished Reading:

Here She Is: The Complicated Reign of the Beauty Pageant in America by Hilary Levey Friedman - While I've never participated in beauty pageants, they've never really bothered me either. This book was very interesting in pointing out the reflections of society in beauty pageants, and vice versa. Another part I found quite interesting is how many pageants there really are. As late as 1940, Miss America contestants were required to disclose their lineage, you know, to make sure they were white. When I enjoyed watching pageants, I wish I'd known how many other ones there were to see! This was a well-written non-fiction, and I gave it 3 out of 5 stars in my full review. ⭐⭐⭐

Act of Negligence by John Bishop, M.D. - As much of a 'good ole boy' as Dr. Jim Bob Brady is, in his cowboy boots and with his 'aw shucks' charm, I still don't get tired of him. I think it's a credit to the author that I have a hard time describing all the stereotypes that make up the Doc, but he's still a good guy, with fun adventures to read about. This was another fun medical mystery. I have not read all the books in the series, but the ones I've read stand quite well alone. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars in my review here, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys medical mysteries with quirky good characters. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - Second non-fiction this month?!? I read this one with my Yelp book club. If you haven't read this one, I recommend getting to it eventually. I believe it's also a movie now, maybe on Hulu? I haven't watched it yet, but definitely want to after reading the book. In case you don't know the general idea, the cells of Henrietta Lacks - called HeLa cells - are still so important to ongoing medical research. She has changed the face of modern medicine, but she and her ancestors couldn't even afford medical insurance. It's a frustrating, fascinating, and eye-opening story. In my full review, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars, which is an especially strong rating for non-fiction. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

No Offense (Little Bridge Island #2) by Meg Cabot - Like most of the books I've read from Meg Cabot, this was a great way to pass the time. The characters are fun, the plot is predictable, and the good guys in. This particular story is about Miss Molly, the new children's librarian, and the new-ish sheriff. They annoy each other as only those who are destined to fall in love can. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars in my review, and would absolutely recommend the series (I'm sure the others are or will be comparable) as great beach reads or vacation books. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Lily Garden by Barbara Josselsohn - I enjoyed this family drama. Caroline is having a bit of a mid-life crisis, and projecting it on her daughter Lee. As Lee finishes high school and chooses a college, is she doing what she really wants, or what the wealthy and successful aunt who raiser her mother wants her to do? Caroline and Lee take a trip to visit a few colleges, oh, and reconnect with the chosen family that Caroline hasn't visited again in nearly 30 years. Everyone stands to learn about themselves and the ones they love. In my review, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars and wished the ending had come through a bit stronger after all the buildup through the rest of the story. ⭐⭐⭐


Currently Reading:

I'm excited to finish this post and snuggle down to start reading The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan. I had been waiting to get this one from the library, so of course I'll fit in reading it ;)


Reading Next:

On my list to get to soon are Unthinkable by Brad Parks (publishes July 27, 2021), It's Not About the Gun by Kathy Stearman (which published the first of June, but I just got my pdf last week), and The Missing Treasures of Amy Ashton by Eleanor Ray (another June publication, that I just got recently).


I have to share, I'm super excited that I got approved for The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman. It publishes in October of this year, but I already have it on my kindle from NetGalley! Woo-hoo!!

4 comments:

SMD @ lifeaccordingtosteph said...

LOL I have pissed a ton of people off with posts. It is what it is.

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Nice mix of books! It's Not About the Gun sounds intriguing!

Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net

Kimberly @ kimberussell.com said...

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was so well written AND infuriating at the same time. I have Here She is on my TBR because I am a sucker for good NonFiction AND I adored Miss America for years.

Let's do a linkup about the scariness of the Blue Lives Matter Flag --- kidding! kidding! I make my family angry too. Almost all of my mother's cousins have written me off completely.

Martha said...

Rule #1, never share your blog with family or real life friends, keep it all for you and your blog friends so you can say anything you please!

Great books and you are doing fantastic on your goal for the year too - right on track!

Thanks for visiting me today. Have a great week! :)