everything I read in June
25 books and a pretty good time
The closer I get to reading a book a day, the more you should be looking for coded messages in my lit-fic-about-women-ruining-their-lives recommendation posts that spell out WELLNESS CHECK.
Although now that I think of it, repeatedly suggesting you read books where the only plot is a woman losing her mind might be enough of a cry for help in and of itself.
Anyway, in June I read 25 books, a few less than in May. So to translate, we’re on the ups.
Add to that the new favorites I read this month and we’re even better.
What paid subscribers got
Above all, my appreciation, gratitude, and honestly…love. Plus some posts:
reading the books I’m most excited about: Immediately I found multiple five stars, just by reading books that actually sounded good to me. Who’d’ve thought? I’m a genius.
every tab I have open: Turns out it was north of 400. I closed all the duplicative Zillow listings, Philly sports results, and restaurant menus I’m going to in two weeks, and summed up the rest here.
every book I’ve ever reread: I’ve gone through phases of never rereading and eras where it’s all I do. This reflects all of that, in order of some kind of importance.
hyperspecific book recommendations: Some of my favorite books, organized into very niche made-up subgenres. For example, my personal favorites are Japanese literature about cats, literary romance, books about the beauty and magic of the mundane…
What all subscribers got
Still kinda figuring out what the difference between free and paid posts is, other than “this is the idea I had at the time.” Nevertheless!
why do people hate readers?: My first opinion essay, but I have a lot of them, so. It won’t be the last.
everything I read in May: Damn good month! Almost as good as this one. Actually maybe better. I’m bad at clickbait.
books for people who hate everything: As someone who hates everything, all of my recommendations qualify as this.
reading is cool now. why do we hate that?: Opinion essay #2! I told you I have lots.
Projects
I’m working on something secret. Watch this space.
Besides that, I of course had my monthly self-imposed project long classics assignment: A JUNE WITH A VIEW.
It was lovely.
Review copies
The only thing that threatens to put me in a reading slump / hate everything I read / give up on my ineffable joie de vivre entirely is my NetGalley addiction.
And I have no plans to change anything about it, so.
Last month, I had 14 June releases to read, plus 2 May hangers-on (read: books I did not get to). And I did read 14!
It just so happens that somehow I now have six leftovers, plus 13 books that come out in July. See you in August for more math.
Other media on my mind
Well. Let’s see.
I am watching a lot of World Cup games and fervently rooting for whichever country seems to have a less colonialism-based past.
I am listening to Phoebe Bridgers’ new single, which is a fun song with significantly worse lyrics than her usual standard.
I rewatched the People We Meet on Vacation movie while doing some deeply belated spring cleaning. I think it’s really good. The Beach Read adaptation status is an encroaching nightmare.
The books in question
We’ve put it off long enough. Here is what I read in June:
Maggie; Or, a Man and a Woman Walk into a Bar by Katie Yee
May 28 - June 1 | Source: Library
I respect this title so much. A comma AND a semicolon AND a setup to an as yet undetermined punchline. That takes a lot of courage so I assumed I would love it with no further information needed.
Read more: Reading the books I’m most excited about
Almost Life by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
May 30 - June 3 | Source: Book of the Month
This book kept me company as I binge-read it over the course of an insomniatic night. Actually the worst kind of insomniatic night, in which you keep thinking you might be able to fall asleep and you cannot. That’s the nicest thing I have to say about it.
Also, I learned in writing this that “insomniatic” is more “Aly & AJ album title” than formally recognized adjective, and therefore I will be keeping it.
Read more: Reading the books I’m most excited about
Whistler by Ann Patchett
May 29 - June 3 | Source: Bought, from a book event, the best night of my life, nbd
Oh, god. I’m smiling at my laptop just thinking about this book.
Read more: Reading the books I’m most excited about
Vilhelm’s Room by Tove Ditlevsen
May 30 - June 4 | Source: NetGalley
This was such an icky, grimy-feeling book. Both intentionally and less so. Either way I had a pretty bad time.
Rating: ✯✯✯
The Flowers of Buffoonery by Osamu Dazai
June 4-5 | Source: Library
Each of Dazai’s books is so different and so excellent. Schoolgirl? No Longer Human? The Setting Sun? All hits no misses. Or I guess three hits one miss.
Read more: Reading the books I’m most excited about
The Pleasing Hour by Lily King
June 3-7 | Source: Bought
I shouldn’t ever have to run out of Lily King backlist books to read. I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything wrong in my life.
Read more: Reading the books I’m most excited about
The Sisters by Jonas Khemiri
May 28 - June 7 | Source: Library
This was Hunter Harris’ favorite book of the year, and her recommendations have never steered me wrong. By which I mean “her reading taste introduced me to Katie Kitamura, the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
Read more: Reading the books I’m most excited about
John of John by Douglas Stuart
May 27 - June 8 | Source: NetGalley
I’m not sure what happened here. I dreaded picking this up, I found its story unpleasantly immersive, I felt haunted by its injustices large and small (lots of gross farm stuff here). And yet when I finished it, I thought, did I love that? Do I have to read Shuggie Bain?
Rating: ✯✯✯✯
Glyph by Ali Smith
May 31 - June 9 | Source: NetGalley
Another mind-bender. I strutted around all over town talking about how Ali Smith is doing our culture the service of teaching authors that lit fic can have sequels, and then I put off reading this for as long as I could. And then I enjoyed every page! What am I ever on about.
Rating: ✯✯✯✯
The Children by Melissa Albert
June 4-10 | Source: NetGalley
I love Melissa Albert’s dark, eerie, fairytale-y fantasy, and I love no plot just vibes books, but this combination of the two didn’t work for me.
Rating: ✯✯✯
The Typing Lady by Ruth Ozeki
June 11-15 | Source: NetGalley
And! I love Ruth Ozeki’s meta, quirky work, and I love short stories, and THIS combination of the two didn’t work for me!
I’m going to stop now because I could probably use this sentence structure until the end of the post.
Rating: ✯✯✯
The Summer Girlfriend by Kristina Forest
June 11-15 | Source: NetGalley
Took the risk of trying to find a rom-com type beach read (not to be confused with Emily Henry’s rom-com Beach Read) and it kind of…paid off? This was nice!
Rating: ✯✯✯
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
June 8-16 | Source: Publisher
Don’t let me procrastinate reading modern classics by authors whose other work I’ve enjoyed EVER again! This is a candidate for one of my favorite books of the year.
Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯
The Satisfaction Cafe by Kathy Wang
June 15-17 | Source: Publisher
Had me at the Ann Patchett blurb, lost me at the upmarket literary/commercial no man’s land, the weird and very dark scenes against the smiley style, the out of place ending sequence…
Rating: ✯✯✯
The Future Perfect by Cay Kim
June 12-17 | Source: Publisher
Another tough read, and another style that didn’t always work for me, and yet I admire the big swings and intense feelings and gray areas that this one went for so much more.
Rating: ✯✯✯✯
Nymph by Sofia Montrone
June 16-19 | Source: NetGalley
I am not taking any Euro trips this summer (the term “down to earth relatable queen” gets thrown around a lot these days…) but this book helped me to feel like I was on vacation in the Italian countryside. Insert Arthur quote about library cards.
Rating: ✯✯✯✯
The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa
June 18-20 | Source: Library
If you’re wondering how, or why, or from what the cat in question saved the titular library, do NOT ask me. I’m still pretty confused about the whole situation.
Rating: ✯✯✯
Pool House by Mary HK Choi
June 9-22 | Source: Publisher
I have no comment at this time.
Okay wait, I have one comment. It’s :(
Rating: ✯✯✯
Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung
June 17-22 | Source: Library
A novel (love) in ghost stories (LOVE)! This is one of those books where you can tell how much fun the author had writing it. So readable, so weird, so good.
Rating: ✯✯✯✯
All This Want (and I Can’t Get None) by T Clark
June 16-23 | Source: NetGalley
A troubling and true collection of stories about what it means to be a teenage girl in this country, and more so to be becoming a Black woman — desire and being desired, the threat and the act of violence, the ever encroaching arm of the patriarchy.
Rating: ✯✯✯✯
Dictee by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha
June 19-26 | Source: Library
I love getting book recommendations from other books. This was such a mindfuck in the way that only a rich, complex book that has earned its abstractness can be.
Rating: ✯✯✯✯
Girl’s Girl by Sonia Feldman
June 23-27 | Source: NetGalley
I enjoyed reading this so much that it prompted me to do the unthinkable: post an Instagram story. It’s a dreamy, sweltering story of a teenage summer/first love/finding yourself. I never thought I could enjoy immersion in the feeling of being 15, but here we are. Could be another favorite.
Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯
They All Fall in Love at the End by Haili Blassingame
June 7-29 | Source: Author
Substack queen Haili Blassingame kindly sent me her book — which is both funny and readable and serious and true to our current moment — and I, of course, really really enjoyed it. Strongly recommend!
Rating: ✯✯✯✯
Mornings without Mii by Mayumi Inaba
June 23-30 | Source: Library
I told you books about Japanese cats are one of my favorite literary niches. I got two of them in this month.
This one was a tough (in more ways than one) love letter to having a pet.
Rating: ✯✯✯
Summing things up
Having just fully recapped it…was this an incredible reading month? Feels generational.
Out of the 28 books I read, I would fully recommend…drumroll please…13 of them. That’s more than half, which is an amazing ratio for me.
The very best book I read was REDACTED. Read to find out! Not withholding the worst book I read, though, which was a tie between The Cat Who Saved the Library and Vilhelm’s Room.
Your turn!
Ive been waiting my whole adult life to hear ‘Queen of substack’ lol thank you for reading and featuring my book!!! 😭
Remind me to not take a massive gulp of water while I read your posts. “Down to earth relatable queen” had me spit it right out again. Classy me. 🙌🏻😉