Saturday, July 3, 2021

June Reading Update - Halfway through the year Check!

So here I am, halfway through the year, and it has really been a great year for my reading. Ever since I started really getting into reading again, my reading had slowed down so much, all I could see was all the books I was sure I would never get to, because I couldn't read fast any more. But now that I'm both reading and listening to books, I'm finally getting to all those books I wanted to read, and it's just making me so happy. So many things I've been desperate to read, I've not only gotten to, but finished their series in many cases. At the end of the year, I'll have to do a list of all the books I did get to this year in a bunch of specific-subject lists. YA, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Dystopia... Feel free to let me know what list you'd like me to create based on the books I've read this year. I definitely need to do at least one LGBT list, because I've read so many great ones this year.

One: Half-Year Summary

Halfway through the year, I have now finished over 200 books. I do have something I hope is coming down the pike that may slow that for me, but if I keep going at this rate, I may well top 400 books this year. We shall see. Total stats for the year as of June 30th: I have read 208 books, For a total of 77,967 pages. I have completed 41 series, and DNF'd 5 books. I'm really happy with how many series I've completed this year, since that was my goal for this reading year, and I've managed to get through so many. Definitely a list I will be making, I think. 

For Audience, I have read 2 kid's books, 5 middle grade, 93 YA, 15 New Adult, and 108 Adult books. Of the books I read, 174 were Audio, 29 were EBooks, and 5 were Physical. Looking at those numbers, I think I'm a little higher than I was last year if I take out the Audio books entirely, so that's about par for the course for me. My top genres are Romance, then Fantasy, then Historical, and Myth & Folklore and Supernatural are tied. Yeah, I just really love my Romance. I am redoing the way I record genre, so that may change, because I'm basing it on how it's categorized at the two sites where I keep track of my books starting July 1st. I'll be curious to see if it changes how my genres look in July. 

Two: Stats for June

Now for my stats for June. Once again, the total number of books I read went up, to a new high score of 44 books for the month. I have no reasoning. I would say it's because I read a lot of short books, but even that isn't fully true because the number of pages read also went up, for a total of 16,536 pages, with my previous high being 13,457 in April. I think it's because I'm reading a lot of final books, which always have longer wordcounts. Makes the reading (and listening) easier, really. I finished eight more series, and DNF'd one more book. I've still DNF'd less than one book a month so far this year, and unless I hit a hard patch, it will probably stay that low, as most of the books on my list are things I am really looking forward to reading. 

Of the books I read, 39 were Audio Books, four were EBooks, and one was Physical, which was a graphic novel. Again, I read a higher mix of male to female authors this month. Sixteen were Male, and thirty were Female. I don't have an explanation on this, aside from being drawn to one specific author and devouring two separate series of his, which explains it to some degree. The Main Characters in the books I read, 38 were Male, and only 18 were Female. Again, a much wider range between male and female main characters this month, probably for the same reason I have more male authors than female authors this time around. But I am pleased to see that my number of LGBT books were much higher this month. of the 44 books I read, 31 contained LGBT content of one sort or another. Unfortunately, the non-white content was still rather small, at only 12. I'll have to work on that some more one of these months. It will be easier to do next year, when I'm less bound to specific series, and can seek out the content because it has that kind of thing in it. 

The Audience for the books I read in June: No Kids or Middle Grade, nineteen YA, three New Adult (I think some of the YA actually belong in this category, but I'm not going to bother re-doing this, I think. The line is far to narrow), and thirty-one adult. My top three genres are back to the usual, with Romance as number one, Fantasy as number two, and Historical as number three. I am curious in particular to see if Romance will go down as one of my genres when I take on my new Genre picking system, since I know I include Romance a lot, even when it's not the main part of the book. I do think Fantasy will always be top one or two, though, regardless of how I record genres. The others, I'm curious to see if anything new shows up.

Three: Mini-Book Reviews

The newest book I read in June was a book I scurried through seven books to be able to read: The Queen's Weapons by Anne Bishop, the most current book of her Black Jewels series, which came out on March 9th this year. I adore this world. Daemon Sadi is one of my all time favorite characters of anything hands down, so this and the book before it ripped me to shreds. I can't say more than that without giving anything away, but excellently crafted, and definitely worth a read if you are a fan.

The oldest book is the third of what started out as a trilogy, but now has many more books, which I will be reading as soon as I can get my grubby fingers on them. Traitor's Moon by Lynn Flewelling came out originally on July 6, 1999. It's a wonderfully rich fantasy world with a gay romance as the center of the story. I can't wait to see where else she takes these characters. It is also my favorite book this month. The way she wove the story just makes this world work. I love the characters, I love the world, and I am eager to see what comes next.

My Runners Up for this month: 

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas, about a Latinx Trans boy trying to get his family to understand that he has the powers all the men in his family do--he can see spirits, and guide them to their rest. What happens next sends him on a wild path, and has him fall hard for the boy he is trying to help pass on. So many great things in this story to love, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read non-white characters or a trans story where the story isn't really about the person being trans.

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo, the second of the King of Scars duology, and the seventh in the Grishaverse, which follows the King of Ravka and his Grisha in their attempt to save their kingdom after what was done to them by the Darkling. If you enjoyed the Netflix show, I highly recommend reading all the Grishaverse books. Bardugo is a wonderful writer, and will make you care for these characters. Even the Darkling. Bardugo's world is full of non-white characters, and non straight as well. There are many characters in same sex couples, and one pairing in particular in this book that surprised and pleased me to no end, but I will leave that for you to read, so as not to spoil the twists there.

Court of Lions by Somaiya Daud, the second of the Mirage duology. This one's a fascinating take on a non-white culture and their opressors in a sci-fi setting. In particular, the main character has been abducted and brought to the palace to be the body-double for the Princess, whose mother was one of the planet's royal family, but whose father is from the galactic empire. While his skin tone is not specifically called out, hers is, and the culture is very Indian in tone. It's a wonderfully told story, and I highly recommend it if you can get past the abduction aspect in the first book. The characters are fascinating, and the conclusion of the story is just perfect.

Four: Current and upcoming reading

One note before I get to this list. It used to make me so depressed when I would make these lists, because nothing changed. Or almost nothing. Or at least, that was the way it felt to me. But now, "reading" audiobooks means I get through so many more of the books I am reading. So if you're wondering how I'm doing this--Audiobooks. 

Currently Reading List:

My current waiting Libby List:

Of those, the one that I'm most looking forward to is A Gathering of Shadows, as I really enjoyed the first of the series, and can't wait to see where it goes from there. Then probably the House in the Cerulean Sea, which I've heard people rave about.

My Library Hold List Next 5:
I'm really looking forward to finally reading the Night Circus, as it has been on my radar since the NaNoWriMo it was written for, which is Way Too Long, in my opinion. Fangirl will be nice, since I know I won't get Simon Snow 3 ANY time soon, even though it is on my next five. I also really look forward to the Queen Will Betray You, as I really loved the first book, and I can't wait to see what happens next. The top one I know almost nothing about, but it sounded interesting, so hopefully it will be good, and not a DNF.

And that's everything! So what are you reading these days? What was your favorite book in June? Are you happy with your reading this year, or are you thinking about switching things up a little?
Posted by Elf Flame at 12:44 PM
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