Is it just me or just yesterday we were starting the month of June? I’m starting to get really confused about the time. Maybe is the summer vacations starting that is messing up my mind or just life distracting me all the time. Either way, June is long gone and we are already in July… But seriously I fell like just a week ago, I wrote my May Wrap-Up and now I’m here writing the June one. All of this is making my brain hurt, so it’s better if I start this wrap-up.

Unlike the past couple of months, I actually have two books to haul. It’s so exciting receiving new books in the mail, I can’t get enough of it. New books always fell like a loaf of fresh air coming to your bookshelf. This time what really made to spend a few euros on Book Depository* was a 10% discount over the already small prices, I couldn’t let it slide. When I discover that one of the Agatha Christie‘s books they had was a story that I was looking for years now, I knew I couldn’t miss the chance. And Then There Were None is actually one of Agatha’s stories that are doing a coming back for reasons unknown to me. What I wasn’t expecting is that I’ve seen many time this story being re-told with different characters. Since the first time I ever saw this story, I became obsessed with the idea of different people being invited to a private island and then someone getting killed making everyone a suspect. I’m so happy to finally know who wrote the original story and better having the book to read.

And also because I don’t have any self-control, I couldn’t just buy one book. I mean I’m not a monster… So the smartest choice was to choose a Rainbow Rowell book, it’s always a safe bet and for sure I’m going to have a great time. If my memory isn’t playing tricks, there were two books by her, Attachments and Eleanor and Park. I choose the second one which is a favourite among the Rowell fans. And finally, I will be able to try and guess what are the final words that Elenor says to Park.

Wrap-Up

Well, I have to confess that I completely forgot my TBR for this month. I’m not even joking. I only finished reading The Saturday Night Supper Club by Carla Laureano on the 22nd and only then, I realised I was planning to read more books. *big face-palm* Although finishing that book really put me in a nice mood. When I wrote down all my thought about it, I was excited to pick another book and, to my surprise, I went for The Nightmare by Lars Keppler. I’m not going to lie, the size scares me a little bit, but I was surprised to see how determined I was to read it, so I’m giving it a shot.

Back to what I read, I still pick up a manga and a graphic novel, which I never plan on reading. Since is a quick read, I’m more likely to pick it up on a whim and them finish it in the next couple of days. And when it comes to mangas I get completely obsessed, the type of obsession where my brain only thinks about it and I’m looking for any small breaks to read another chapter. Oh! And don’t get me to start on those cliffhangers they do better than anyone else. I read Missions of Love (Watashi ni xx Shinasai!) by Ema Töyama, which is so addictive and long. The series has 19 volumes and I read them all in two days. TWO DAYS!! You can imagine that I didn’t do much in those days. But then my manga reading monster was asleep so I could concentrate on reading other things like Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky.

I’ve been seeing this graphic novel going around for a while but never got really into reading it. I never knew what it was actually about and to be honest, I was more interested in reading Saga than anything else. But when I started reading I was completely hypnotised by the colours. I have to say I only fully realised what the story was about at chapter 5, which makes me feel so dumb. The story is funny and intriguing at the same time. Since I only read the first volume it’s basically only an introduction to the characters and getting to know them better and their “special gift”. I might continue reading the series but isn’t one that I’m completely hooked to, at least not yet.

Keeping the graphic novels theme, I also read the first chapter of a newly released series The Weatherman by Jody Leheup and Nathan Fox and OH MY… that is going to be a mess, but a good mess. I also read the first two chapters of Descender by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen. Both comics are sci-fi and set in the future where humans no longer live on Earth. Although that’s the only similarities both stories have. In The Weatherman, someone killed the planet Earth and half of its population and the police think it was the weather guy. He is such a character that is impossible not to like him. While on the other hand, in Decender is set in a new planetary system where humans live alongside androids until the arrival of giant robots that start to exterminate every single one of the androids. Although, one was spared and might be the reason why the giant robots appeared in the first place.

Caught on my Radar

While scrolling on Twitter I’ve stumbled across a tweet of Eric Smith announcing he would be published in hardcover. Well, I didn’t even know who Eric Smith was but I still decided to check out what he was talking about. I thank goodness I did! Reclaim the Sun is the newest book from him that will be published in 2020. When I read in the synopsis: “(…) No-Man-Sky-esque video game (…)” I didn’t need to read anything else. I immediately knew this story is going to be Ready Player One 21st century edition. The book has a female YouTube game streamer, who’s very popular, a boy who wants to write story-lines for games, both meet through a game and even has popular and contemporary references to it. If this book isn’t me I don’t know if I’ll ever find one that is.

Since 2020 is 2 years away – too much time to wait – I decided to check the author on Goodreads to see if he had published anything else, and for my surprise (again) he had. Actually, he has published 6 books, one anthology, a duology, and three stand-alone. One of the stand-alone popped out to me and I need to add it to my shopping list next time: The Geek’s Guide to Dating. It was published in 2013 so I know I’m (sort of) late to the party, but it’s the closest book he has of Reclaim the Sun, so I need to read it to see if I like is writing.

Keeping wit the Scy-fy theme, I don’t even know I discover this book, I just know I did and even though the plot might miss out my expectations, hopefully, the other four books won’t. This is another book series I feel drawn to, even though I recently realized I have a complicated relationship with series. But wait a minute, in the middle of all this ramble I haven’t tell you what book I’m talking about: The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. I don’t know either of the authors but as long has it takes me to outer space I can give it a try.

July TBR

So far I was trying not to start multiple books at once because sooner or later some will be left behind. But day after day, I want to pick something new, and right now The Affair by Amanda Broke is constantly popping in my mind. I might give in the desire and start reading it alongside The Nightmare. Another book I can’t delay for much longer is The Fates Divide by Veronica Roth. It was my most anticipated book of the year, I even pre-order it, and now over 3 months since it was released I haven’t read it yet. Why do I do this?

Although the summer break is setting in and the readathon madness is about to start. I want the BookTube-A-Thon to start so bad, but we still need to wait until the next month. I’m even considering participate on the 7 in 7 Readathon that will take place in the last week of July – which is still so far away – but I don’t know what to do with my life. If I do participate in that readathon I might read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Carry on or Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, and other graphic novels or mangas, but then I might not have the energy to do the BookTube-A-Thon which can’t happen. I guess only close to the date I will see what I’m in the mood for. Either way, if I do participate in the 7 in 7 Readathon, I’ll publish a TBR post days before it starts. So you can keep an eye out for it.

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