Another month over and it feels as if we’ve been propelled in to summer without much warning. I’m not sure what I was expecting really, considering it’s June, but as a former resident of the green and rainy isle of Wales, I’ve learnt not to take the seasons for granted. Back home, we don’t always get a summer. Sometimes if we’re lucky we get a weird last minute heatwave at the end of September, as if the weather’s suddenly woken up and realised it was supposed to be doing something different between March and October, but most of the time its either mild and rainy, or cold and rainy. I’ve gone off on a meteorological tangent here, but what I’m trying to say is summer’s here. Let the lazy outdoor reading commence!
Reviews
Reading Summary
I read 5 (and a half ) books this month. I say a half, because I started listening to the outrageously funny podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno, in which three friends meet up once a week to read out loud a chapter of the Belinda Blinked series, an erotic novel written by one of their dads. It is nonsensical and addictive, and almost impossible not to laugh out loud at. I’m going to do a post in June to talk about my new found love of podcasts soon. Apart from that, all the other books I’ve read this month have been written by women writers. Not intentionally, but it’s an interesting thing to point out.
- Chocolat by Joanne Harris
- The Guilty Feminist by Deborah Frances-White
- Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit
- My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
- Looker by Laura Sims
Books Bought
I did a post with this month’s book haul . I’ve been trying to mix in a lot more non-fiction this year, and branch out from the narrative and memoir into wider topics and genres. I bought three non-fiction books which are a mixture of history, feminism, environmental studies and I also bought one fiction book, the Man Booker shortlisted The Mars Project by Rachel Kushner.
Others News
Not much to report this month. At the start of the month I went to the lovely town of Frome and stuffed my face with lardy cake, I visited Kensington Palace which was very fancy, and I spent the last bank holiday kicking in back in Exeter which was excellent. I’d forgotten how much I love a good cider, sitting outdoors, and the pubs along the canal are so picturesque. Such a relaxing weekend!