Friday, June 21, 2013

Summer Reading

Happy Summer Solstice, northern hemisphere people!
Happy Winter Solstice to those of you in the southern hemisphere!

I'm so happy summer is finally here and today's weather in the NY metro area is a perfect way to start the season.. the sun is shinning, it's 81ยบ F with no humidity (ahhh!) and a gentle breeze is blowing. It doesn't get much better than this. It would be nice if it stayed this way, but I'm sure hot and humid is right around the corner!

Two more half days of school for my girls with a graduation ceremony each night and we are done!

First, I have exciting Reading Challenge news to share with you. Well, exciting to me, anyway. ;) I actually succeeded in completing my goals in Carl's Once Upon a Time VII Reading Challenge! Woohoo! I chose to participate in the third quest, which was to read five books from any combination of fairy tale, folklore, fantasy and mythology genres and read Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. And I did it! This is what I read:



1. Mercy Thompson: Homecoming by Patricia Briggs  ... GN Urban Fantasy
2. Wild Invitation by Nalini Singh                         ....  Paranormal - PNR
3. MirrorMask by Neil Gaiman                         .... Fairy tale
4. Stardust by Neil Gaiman                                .... Fantasy
5. The Dark-Hunters, Vol. 1, 2 & 3 by Sherrilyn Kenyon    .... Manga - PNR 
5. Hearts of Shadow                                              .... Folklore - PNR
6. "Falling for Anthony" by Meljean Brook     .... Paranormal w/mythological/biblical elements
7. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness     .... Fantasy - folklore
8. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness              .... Fantasy - folklore

9. Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream Graphic Novel

Congratulations to me!

Now let's talk about summer reading! My summer reading plans include reading some Japanese Lit, Jane Austen and The Guardians series by Meljean Brook with several other spontaneous choices thrown in along the way.

I'm already signed up for the Japanese Literature Challenge hosted by Dolce Bellezza that I posted about last weekend. I'd like to read at least two books before we travel to Japan in a few weeks.

I've also signed up--but not yet posted about-- the Austen In August reading event hosted by Adam who blogs at Roof Beam Reader. I'm really excited about it! I want to post more about it in a separate post, so look for that very soon.

Finally, I am determined to catch up in The Guardians series by Meljean Brook this summer in preparation for the release of the final book in that comes out in August, including re-reading a few of the earliest books I read many moons ago and then reading the more recent releases that have been languishing unread on my TBR shelf. I'm pretty excited about this reading project as I'm a huge fan of Meljean's writing prowess. Her world building and character development are phenomenal. The writing is really smart--I just love it.  If you enjoy fantasy and urban fantasy, I think you'd like this series. Well, the series is technically marketed as paranormal romance, so expect some sexiness.

In addition to those three more specific reading goals, I'll be reading a bunch of other books, too. Some will be the monthly book picks for book club, the TBR Challenge and whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.

What's on YOUR summer reading list?


4 comments:

  1. Sounds like a very busy summer!
    I hope you have lots of fun with all the events.

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  2. Congratulations on finishing your challenge! I wish you the best of luck with your Summer reading. I am a weirdo. I've tried Jane Austen and am. It a fan. :)
    Hope you and yours had a lovely weekend.

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  3. Congrats Christine. I think I read more than I thought for the Once Upon a Time Challenge too... I need to check it out. :D

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  4. Thanks, Alex! How are you doing? I know you've been quite busy in recent months, too. So sorry I haven't been keeping up. .

    Brandy, thanks! I'm being totally lax about my summer reading plans. I may not get to all the Guardians books by the time the last book is released in August, but that's ok.. even by September will make me happy.

    I hope I like Jane Austen's books. Albeit unfair and unfounded, I've developed this idea that as a lover of romance, I really should read and enjoy her works. Which is really silly. I'll give it a go, though!

    Thanks, Hils. I'm sure you read more than you thought for the Once Upon a Time challenge, too! It's fun to look back and see how you did. I've done this event for a few years now, but I think the RIP one Carl does in the fall is even more fun. I think it's more atmospheric with Halloween, you know? :)

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