And with that folks, we’re halfway through the year! Woo!! As expected, I didn’t really read for the first half of June because of final assessments for uni. But! I did do a good amount of reading in the second half of the month and managed to get through four great reads! Which I think is a solid effort for a half a month’s worth of reading.
If you also follow my YouTube channel, then you probably know I’ve been trying to do TBR jars for the last few months. I really failed on that front in June, only reading one of the five (ish?) books that I picked for June. I’ve had a think about this and rejigged the way I do my TBR jars now in the hopes that I’ll be more encouraged to actually read the books I pick out. So if you want to know more about that, that is something I do exclusively over on my channel and you can see my July TBR here.
I was really surprised looking at my statistics this month at the types of books I read. I read mostly sci-fi in June which is really unusual! Especially as I didn’t read a single fantasy book. This is practically unheard of. I also did a good job not blowing up my TBR even more than it already is, my TBR only increasing by one (but you’ll see all of that below in the statistics section).
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Author: Margaret Atwood
Published: September 2019
Publisher: Nan A. Talese
Pages: 422 {hardback}
This was really good and I’m so relieved. Going into this I was terrified that it was going to be a flop equivalent to Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman but thankfully that wasn’t the case at all. This was just as riveting to read as The Handmaid’s Tale and if you’re reading this story then I definitely recommend you pick this up!
Review to come
Terraformer
by Colleen Houck
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi
Author: Colleen Houck
Published: May 2020
Publisher: Independently published (Colleen Houck)
Pages: 536 {hardback}
Naturally, I loved this, it being a Colleen Houck book. This was very nearly a five-star read for me but the ending wasn’t quite how I wanted it to go and it knocked a star off for me. But I loved the premise and the characters, and most especially I loved Jax.
Review to come
The Moving Finger
by Agatha Christie
Genre: Mystery
Author: Agatha Christie
Published: July 1942
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 299 {paperback}
This was a good, enjoyable Christie novel. I “only” rated this 3.5 stars in the end because compared to some of her other books this didn’t quite have the same impact of WOWEEEE that others had. Which is fine because it was still really good, just not five-star worthy.
Review to come
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World
by C. A. Fletcher
Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Author: C. A. Fletcher
Published: April 2019
Publisher: Orbit
Pages: 416 {paperback}
I seriously loved this! I was astounded by how brilliant the storytelling was in this book. It’s now my favourite read of 2020 so far!! I couldn’t get over how brilliant the plot twists in this were and I just found myself racing to the finish, needing to know how the story would end. This is really not a dystopian to be missed!
Review to come
- I participated in Top Ten Tuesday:
- I did some book tags:
- I reviewed some books:
- May Book Haul 2020
- May Wrap-Up 2020
- Books to Buy This Month | May 2020
Genres Read
Pages Read
Total: 1,673
Goodreads Reading Challenge
35%, or, 28/80 books
TBR Count
274 [+1]
June was the end of my first semester of my Masters at uni and I SURVIVED! I also did really well so I’m really pleased with how well I balanced everything. Though I suppose you could definitely argue I didn’t balance blogging for a few months at the start there, but I got better, right?!?
I’m genuinely really pleased with the books that I got around to reading in June as well, as much as I’m disappointed I didn’t get around to some of the books I pulled out of my TBR jar, I think the books I did read were great! Plus it’s always an exciting month when I get to read a new Colleen Houck book.
Other than reading, not a whole lot else has been going on in my life in June. Whilst the COVID-19 situation is going quite well in Western Australia, things are still slow and hesitant to get going – especially with the outbreak that has happened in Victoria, I think people are a littttttle bit nervous of that happening here.
But I’m certainly looking forward to going to restaurants again, bars, clubs, you name it! It’s so nice to have somewhere to go in your spare time. Cinemas have just re-opened here too and I will absolutely be spending all of my spare change on popcorn at the cinema in July, just you wait!!
Movies I Watched
Onward, 2020: 7/10 stars
This wasn’t as spell-binding as I had hoped it would be. But that being said, I still really enjoyed it. It was super emotional and sad (as we have come to expect from Pixar, let’s be honest) but I don’t think I could say it’s one of my favourite Disneys.
The Hobbit, 2012: 9/10 stars
This was a rewatch for me that I obviously loved. I really like the Hobbit movies and Martin Freeman is just incredible. I will slowly be making my way through rewatching the rest of the trilogy as well.
Tick! done!
What was your favourite book that you read in June?
~~ Kirstie ~~
Upside-Down Books 
Love seeing the stats!
(www.evelynreads.com)
LikeLike
I was worried about The Testaments myself. I have yet to read it, but when an author goes back to a story so many years later it rarely works in my opinion. It is almost like the magic is gone. Glad to see that you didn’t think that was the case.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s so rare that it works, you’re right!! Such relief that Atwood totally nailed this one! I think you’ll enjoy it 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person