Ebisuno92:
I'm sorry but in view of work and dealing with private stuff, I failed my reading activities in June. Therefore, I move my Anchee Min's "Empress Orchid" to July. Hopefully, I will finish it by the end of next month.

Looking forward to your comments after you finish it!

It's that time again! Hope you got to read something in June but if you didn't, no sweat, there's always July! ;-)

For June, I completed three books:

Silver-Tongued Devil by Rosalind James - one day it entered my head that I hadn't read a contemporary romance in eons, so I read this once, which I picked at Amazon for free sometime or other. It was so-so, as romance novels go; I've read much better and much worse. (3/5)

A Mind for Numbers by Barbara Oakley - an excellent book exploring how we learn and how we can do it better; has great practical advice and tips. (5/5)

The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer - I guess the title says it all? It's a sweeping narrative from the earliest recorded history to the fall of Rome. I love her subtle humor throughout the book, and how she brought individual characters to life. I've had this book since 2013 and finally, after my 4th attempt, I was able to complete it! On my previous attempts, I checked out every footnote, scrutinized every map, paused to read related stuff online - well, that was taking forever. So, I regrouped, started over and just listened to it via my Voice Dream app. And it was a great experience. I have two more books in her History of the World series to go and I'm looking forward to reading them ... one day. (5/5)

For July, I'm still working from my previous currently reading list but I plan to mostly concentrate on two books - China: A History (John Keay) and The Art of Impossible (Steven Kotler). The latter is a new addition to my CR list; it's a personal development book recommended by a friend.

Here's to a new month of reading - all the best!

I've got two books lined up for this month.  One an easy ready.  Because I liked Sushi for Beginners I got The Woman Who Stole My Life. Hopefully it will also be a pleasant read.

My other book is Jerusalem: the Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore . My guess is this is going to be a bit heavy but I think this will be an interesting read. 

I'm interested in philosophy but realised I don't know much about eastern philosophical thoughts. So if anyone has similar interest Im keen to get some recommendations. 

I only finished one book this month, but it was a good one.  I didn't choose it because it's Pride month, just a happy coincidence.



A Wild and Precious Life: A Memoir: Lyon, Joshua, Windsor, Edie: 9781250195159: Amazon.com: Books 

Finished 3 books for June:

Chinese books: A Journey to Meet Love and My Mowgli Boy

English books: The 130 Story Treehouse

Still working on Orbiting Jupiter.  Most likely will finish in July.

Books for July: 

Chinese books: Skate into Love and Secrets of the Three Kingdoms

English books: I'm either going to read an espionage book, a fantasy book, of a Star Wars book.  Still not certain yet.  Also thinking of reading Ghost.

I'm glad all the libraries are starting to open up again.  Buying Chinese books are expensive.

 jindreame:

Finished 3 books for June:

Chinese books: A Journey to Meet Love and My Mowgli Boy

English books: The 130 Story Treehouse

Still working on Orbiting Jupiter.  Most likely will finish in July.

Books for July: 

Chinese books: Skate into Love and Secrets of the Three Kingdoms

English books: I'm either going to read an espionage book, a fantasy book, of a Star Wars book.  Still not certain yet.  Also thinking of reading Ghost.

I'm glad all the libraries are starting to open up again.  Buying Chinese books are expensive.

hey, are you reading translated books or are you reading the original? I want to get some translated books but dont know where to get them. TA

Finished Scum Villain's Self Saving System by mxtx, started at May 13th and ended at June 30th, so approximately it tooked me 1,5 month. It's an easy and fun ride, the least polished between the 3 books by mxtx (understandable since its her first book). Both the main lead and the stallion writer's inner monologue, satire dialogue and also the sarcastic system is hilarious, there's many otaku references and the occasional english made this quite an enjoyable read.

I enjoy the light angst story of their relationship, where one guy was totally dense while the other thought that his love interest totally loath him, and the story went slightly downhill after they made up. It's a pity though that the real SQQ backstory in the extra isn't included as part of the story.  

For July, I'm reading Silent Reading (MoDu) by Priest.

# drama-lovers book club: “A Book A Month”



Status in JUNE: FAILED, read 42 pages out of 305 pages

❆ Don't Sweat the Small Stuff at Work ❆

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/663401.Don_t_Sweat_the_Small_Stuff_at_Work

When I first read the book, I was impressed. Perhaps this is the answers that I was loooking for. After few topics there was a topic that hit deeply to me but he thinks it's my fault instead of the other persons. He's on the other side and it feels bad reading him bashing me. He did that quite often when we're against each other and my respect for the author begins to crumble. I can't continue reading this any longer, so everytime I want to continue I stop myself in case it ruins my mood. I have to be happy, you know. Time passed by so soon and it's the end of the month. It means I failed this month.

I was hoping I can read 2 books in a month so I can close the months that failed and at the end I am still reading 12 books a year. I hope I can do it. Fighting!
____________________________________________________

For July, since I'm gonna be busy so I pick a book with 120 pages.

❆ Achieve your Goals by Andy Smith ❆

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19795150-work-life

Book Update: June - July 2021

I'll be continuing with my June selection, Tash Aw's The Harmony Silk Factory. 

About halfway through, this is another one of those historical fictions which compels me to do a bit of side research on the historical background and events that's written into the story to add depth and richness. 

It's an interesting read so far where the storytelling is based on multiple POVs and the narrative is set in the tropics amidst the backdrop of colonialism and war. Sounds more romantic than it actually is, really :D

 JJChastity:
After few topics there was a topic that hit deeply to me but he thinks it's my fault instead of the other persons. He's on the other side and it feels bad reading him bashing me. He did that quite often when we're against each other and my respect for the author begins to crumble. I can't continue reading this any longer, so everytime I want to continue I stop myself in case it ruins my mood. I have to be happy, you know.

Ah! That sounds really frustrating and uncomfortable. Don't judge yourself too hard for not meeting your goal this month. Let's work harder with a better book in July!

Happy July 1st, everyone!

I finished a book in June, which was The Honjin Murders by Yokomizo Seishi, the first among many that features one of Japan's most famous fictional detectives, Kindaichi Kosuke.

It's a closed room murder mystery and the trick is very-well constructed. The thing is, I think I prefer Japanese crime novels that focus on the why--psychological/psychosocial/socioeconomic factors behind the crimes--rather than the how,  so this novel wasn't really interesting for me, despite how clever it is.

Book Update for June - July:
Due to work and family obligations, my reading activities in June weren't that great ;)

As usual, I spent time reading a lot of work-related stuff, re-read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (after re-watching the 2005 movie with my daughter I felt I had to read it again for the nth time, lol) and I started the book Una Madre by Alejandro Palomas (I've read 1/3 of it). 

So, for July, I'll be continuing with Una Madre and I will try to read some titles from my dusty shelves, or re-read some fave titles, depending on my mood xD

 kura2ninja:
It's a closed room murder mystery and the trick is very-well constructed. The thing is, I think I prefer Japanese crime novels that focus on the why--psychological/psychosocial/socioeconomic factors behind the crimes--rather than the how,  so this novel wasn't really interesting to me, despite how clever it is.

I prefer motive over mechanics as well.  Something else I really like about mysteries is how, during the investigation, so much is revealed about the suspects, most of which may end up having nothing to do with the actual crime but can sometimes be even more interesting.

 penel:
As usual, I spent time reading a lot of work-related stuff, re-read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (after re-watching the 2005 movie with my daughter I felt I had to read it again for the nth time, lol) and I started the book Una Madre by Alejandro Palomas (I've read 1/3 of it). 

There's no such thing as too much Pride and Prejudice! I think it's my most reread book. I have the 1995 A&E/BBC miniseries and I love it so much than 2005 adaptation. 

 LucianYaz:

There's no such thing as too much Pride and Prejudice! I think it's my most reread book. I have the 1995 A&E/BBC miniseries and I love it so much than 2005 adaptation. 

Agreed! Pride and Prejudice and Emma are my fave classical re-reads AND re-watches xD

BBC series was wonderful too! Colin Firth was an awesome Mr. Darcy :)