June Reads

Another month and it’s summer – how did that happen?!  It’s been a mixed month of reading choices and a slower one than usual as I’ve restarted another hobby of mine – sewing!

270 of these wee suckers cut out and tacked and I’m now on the task of sewing them all together to make the front of a quilt (before actually learning how to make a quilt…) My hands have been super sore (cheers for another gift, chemo) so I’ve avoided doing this until now but I’m super enjoying this project and, like reading, it’s lovely to have a visual focus for recovery but perhaps less lovely to have scraps of fabric and teensy bits of thread all over my living room. Makes a change from being covered in dog hair, I suppose.

On to this month’s reads! One day I will choose a format to write about/review my reads so there’s some cohesion in these posts; today is likely not that day.

How to Kill Your Family – Bella Mackie

This book is so much fun!  The title pretty much says it all.  It’s well-written with a wicked sense of humour. I rationed this to make it last two days.  Would definitely recommend.

Ugly Love – Colleen Hoover

A read-in-a-day book. Woman meets man, man says there’s no future and she’s not to ask any questions and a relationship of sorts ensues. This book is 80% sex scenes and 20% plot so not much to take in (no judgement; I read naughty books in German but the cover has given me away on occasion).  The plot’s actually pretty good but I needed a bit more development.

Jailbird – Kurt Vonnegut

This book has a special place in my heart as it was a gift from the fabulous DA.  It follows a man’s first 48 hours after being released from prison for his pathetic contribution to Watergate.  I initially found this a tough read as the prologue is quite hefty but it is important and I’m so glad I powered through it!  A very dry, witty book which is lots of fun. I giggled a lot.

If Cats Disappeared from the World – Genki Kawamura

A young lad finds out he has an incurable brain tumour.  He’s subsequently visited by Death who strikes a deal with him: one extra day to live for one sacrifice.  A gently-worded tale of knowing your own worth and deciding what is really important.  I loved this book.

The Twyford Code – Janice Hallett

I read The Appeal last month and really enjoyed it, so this book was a must-read for me. Fans of The Appeal will find easy comparisons in the format (a collection of documents) and sense of humour but this book is actually quite a bit more simpler in terms of the number of characters to juggle and more complex in terms of plot development. Quite a few online reviews mention readers who gave up about 75% of the way through and I was almost one of them but I am so super glad I kept reading. This was a great read and everything is important but you don’t really get to that conclusion until the end.

The Woman in the Purple Skirt – Natsuko Imamura

Another read-in-a-day book. The eponymous character’s every move is followed and speculated upon but we don’t know by who or why. A book with a strong lesson in bullying and gossip. Another recommendation from me!

That’s all from me this month!  Thank you to all of you who take the time to read this.  It is genuinely so humbling and encouraging.  Thank you all for being part of my journey. You’re my heroes ❤