Reading Recap - June

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal of reading 70 books.  Within that total, I wanted to expand my reading horizons a little by including one memoir/biography, one classic, and one blog reader recommendation each month.  I'm providing a round-up of these reads at the close of each month.

This month's selections ...

Memoir/Biography

Born Standing Up
by Steve Martin

My first exposure to Steve Martin happened when I was a child. My parents would watch the early "Saturday Night Live" episodes, and Steve was definitely an actor who stood out. Over the years, obviously I've seen him in other works, but I don't think I ever really thought much about his background and how he got started. This book gives a nice snapshot of his family life, his career, and other things that happened to him along the way. The audio version is read by him, which made the book even better.

Classic

 Catcher in the Rye

by J.D. Salinger

I saw a Buzzfeed article once about if book titles were honest. This one was on that list and it said, "That Guy From Your Philosophy 101 Class."  So true.  This guy has lots of thoughts and all the feels.  This book has been considered controversial, and I guess I can see that.  I can't imagine reading this as a teenager though I'm surprised my high school teacher didn't include it in the curriculum. It seems like something he would have chosen. This book was the heaviest one I read all month, and there's a reason I went all light for the rest of June.

Blog Reader Rec

 The Selection

by Kiera Cass

This was recommended to me by Ricci last year when I wrote about series I hadn't finished. It's taken me a while to get it because it's been so popular at the library, but it was worth the wait. The concept of the story is a bit of a cross between "The Hunger Games" book and "The Bachelor" TV show.  The main character is a bit feisty, but the reason for her participating in this contest shows she's not selfish.  There were a few surprises (to me) in the first one and now I'm anxious to get my hands on the second in the series.

Bonus Reads

The Royal We

by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

I follow these two on Twitter (@thefuggirls), so I've been wanting to read their book for a while. Finally, I picked it up at the library and while it's a substantial book, I plowed through it quickly.  It was just hard to put down.  The plot sounds like a fairytale -- American girl goes to school in England and the prince falls in love with her.  But it's not that simple.  There are lots of ups and downs and wrong turns along the way.  It's clear the royal family depicted in this book is based on the real royal family, and I really enjoyed that part because I'm fascinated by Will, Kate, Harry, etc. I kind of which they'd write a sequel about the brother.

Perfect Kiss

by Melanie Shawn

One of my favorite authors. Although I should say two of my favorite authors, since this is a team of sisters. That said, their books are always an auto-purchase and auto-read for me. I love the communities they create. It was good to go back to Hope Falls and catch up with characters in former books and learn more about the sexy Levi Dorsey. 

Love, Exes, and Ohs

by Violet Duke

 This is part of a series, and I'm hooked on the setting and her characters. I was anxious to read more about Xoey, who is the focus of this novel. I was not disappointed. She is every bit as complex and interesting as I knew she'd be.  And Isaac?  Oh my.

Dare to Love / Dare to Desire / Dare to Surrender (Invitation to Eden)

by Carly Phillips

I'm working my way through this series. Actually, I'm pretty much burning right through it. The characters are intriguing and the stories are sexy and full of tension.  Perfect for summer.

+++++

And how am I doing with my reading challenge?  Well, I think I'll make it to my goal by the end of the year.