I really thought I had completed six books this month. But unless I completely forgot one, it looks like I missed my goal.
To be fair, it’s been a crazy month! My first read was completed at the tail end of our vacation, after I picked it up at a cool used bookstore in Wildwood, New Jersey.
Final Argument by Clifford Irving is a legal thriller, one of my favorite genres, by an author who is new to me. I couldn’t put it down and I’m excited to look for more of his books at our local used book store.
Just one week later found me traveling to the Vita Institute at Notre Dame. I never even put my suitcase away and I certainly did not have time to finish any books. But I did read some of my free Amazon Prime ebooks while flying back and forth.
Say Her Name by Dreda Say Mitchell and Ryan Carter was a thriller/mystery with a somewhat more socially-conscious twist, as it was partly written to draw attention to the lack of attention paid by authorities to abductions of young women of color.
Under Her Care by Lucinda Bert was an absorbing murder mystery with an autistic boy as the prime suspect. There were some irritating parts–like the main character and supposed expert advocating for “people first” language, which most autistic people don’t like–but it kept me up late finishing it my first night in South Bend.
I arrived home and started feeling sick, and picked the next one up off my to-be-read pile as a comfort read.
The Ghost Next Door by Wylly Folk St. John was one of her better books, in my opinion. It is always fun to read a “new” book written by a favorite author. She was one of my favorites as a child but some of her work has not aged well.
Turns out that I caught Covid during my travels and the rest of the family promptly caught it too. Between being sick and then trying to catch up on work missed from traveling and being sick, I only managed to finish one more book, and that only because I had been listening to it rather than reading it for over a month already on Hallow.
The Story of a Soul by St. Therese de Lisieux is something I had always wanted to read. I enjoyed it more than I expected to, especially the parts about her childhood. It’s such a personal book and makes the Little Flower seem very close and more relatable than I thought she would be.
I am so close to finishing so many books right now that I am hopeful to meet or even exceed my goal in July, but who knows what life may throw my way this month?
As ever, I am linking up with An Open Book. I encourage you to click below to discover more great reads!
