I find myself shocked by how quickly both May and June have passed. Time continues to be so strange in this void of COVID-19 and social distancing days.
I didn’t get a May post done, because as soon as I finished up my spring semester at Simmons University (officially completing my first year of grad school!), I immediately jumped into online summer courses. I took “Folk and Fairy Tale” and “Editing the Children’s Book Manuscript” both of which had a significant amount of reading that is reflected in my totals for the month.
As of Monday, the 29th of June, I’ve officially finished my summer classes! I’m not quite sure what the rest of the summer will bring me beyond working on some personal projects (embroidery and sewing especially) and trying to figure out exactly what my plans for the fall are going to be.
Fingers crossed that July will also bring a few more blog posts your direction now that I’m not completely caught up in the hectic pace of highly condensed summer courses!
What I Read This Month
May and June have been hefty reading months (of course that was because of my summer classes), but I also did a decent amount of reading for fun. Overall, I read 38 books over the course of two months. Many of these were picture books (I read a lot of Little Red Riding Hood adaptations), but they totally count! I also read a bunch of board books, short stories, and academic articles that aren’t reflected here!
I also hit my 2020 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 100 books this month! I enjoy hitting my goal before the 1/2 way point of the year. It’ll be fun to see how many books I actually end up reading over the rest of the year.
As always, check out my Goodreads page for reviews of each of the titles listed!
Books for Fun
- One Second After by Willian Forstchen
- These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Fire by Kristin Cashore
- Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
- Red White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy
- Just a Boy and a Girl in a Little Canoe by Sarah Mlynowski
- The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich
- Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
- Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
- The Reckless Oath We Made by Bryn Greenwood
- Beartown by Fredrik Backman
- Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz
- Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
Books for Class
- Little Red Writing by Joan Holub
- Red Riding Hood by James Marshall
- Lon Po Po by Ed Young
- Sidewalk Flowers by Jon Arno Lawson
- Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell
- Little Red Riding Hood by Tina Schart Hyman
- Poisoned Apples by Christine Heppermann
- Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust
- I Was a Rat! by Philip Pullman
- Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible by Ursula Vernon
- Through the Woods by Emily Carroll
- The Real Boy by Anne Ursu
- Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis and Traci Sorell
- Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
- The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale
- Judy Mood was in a Mood. Not a Good Mood. A Bad Mood by Megan McDonald.
- The Great Niikinsky: The God of Dance. By Lynn Curlee
- Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de La Peña
- Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox
- Fry Bread by Kevin Noble Maillard
- Merry Christmas, Curious George by Margret and H. A. Rey.
Review – The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse: My Favorite Book of the Month(s)
It was hard to choose a book because in my heart, Fredrik Backman’s Beartown was easily my favorite book I read in May and June, but I’ve also read Beartown before, and have an extensive Goodreads Review that I wrote the first time I read it.
So, for my favorite book of May/June, I chose The Boy, The Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. I placed an ebook hold on this book through Libby back in early April after reading an article from the New York Times, entitled “Looking for a Book to Read With Your Family?”
This book is at it’s heart about a boy who meets a mole. The boy and the mole meet a fox. The boy, the mole, and the fox meet a horse. It’s whimsical and simple and lovely. The illustrations make it feel as charming and as heart warming as Winnie the Pooh.
I don’t want to say too much, because I want you to pick this book up and be delighted and surprised by it yourself! This is one that I hope to get a copy of to treasure and read and reread in person for years.
My Favorite Non-Book Things
Friends in the Mountains
My friend Katie came to spend a week with me up in Colorado and we had a great time hiking, exploring Rocky Mountain National Park, and getting to spend lots of time together after having not seen each other in person for a year! I’m also looking forward to seeing my friend Kristen when she comes to spend a weekend here (although that will technically be in July).
Good Academic Work
This is technically a non-book thing, even while being tangentially book related. Even though summer classes were a ton of work, I find it really satisfying to be able to do good academic work. I did a few projects for my courses that I ended up really enjoying and being proud of, which was honestly more than I expected for my summer courses!
Being Crafty
I’ve enjoyed continuing to work on and hone my embroidery skills over the past couple of months. I’ve been working on a set of embroidered pillowcases that I’m hoping to finish soon! I broke out some of my scrapbooking skills for a project for class, and I sewed a pair of pajama shorts out of the cutest cat fabric. I’ve always loved crafting and being crafty, and I’ve glad that I’ve been making time for that again! Hopefully moving forward this month, I can continue to be crafty!
Bookishly Bright 