Is this…the first time I have ever done a wrap up? I think it might be! Sarah always does them but I’ve never jumped on this trend. Not necessarily because I haven’t wanted to but just because I’ve never given it a go and I forget to do things like this on a monthly basis. Anyway, here I am with potentially my first ever wrap up unless I’ve forgot about one from years ago! July was a fab reading month for me so I’m looking forward to diving in here.
Infinity Son by Adam Silvera
I love other books I’ve read by Adam Silvera but I did not enjoy Infinity Son which I am pretty sad about! It was really great to see queer characters in a fantasy book, since that rarely happens, but the story itself was not great. The characters felt one dimensional, I didn’t really enjoy the fantasy world and the writing fell flat for me. I won’t be reading the next in the series but I will still read his other non-fantasy works.
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
This is the first book I’ve read by Akwaeke Emezi and I absolutely loved it. The idea behind Pet is fascinating and creative and the way it is written is like nothing else I’ve read before. I found myself thinking about it a lot whilst I wasn’t reading it which is always a sign of a good book. I highly recommend this – I’ll be reviewing Pet on here soon. I’m also going to check out some more of Emezi’s books soon – their new book, The Death of Vivek Oji, is coming out later this month!
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Finishing this was truly an achievement for me! I started reading it about 4/5 years ago and only got about a quarter of the way in before I stopped and never went back to it (not because I didn’t enjoy it!). I figured lockdown would be a great time to start it again and this time finish it. I really enjoyed Anna Karenina and the array of characters and storylines it has! I’d recommend reading it alongside other books if you’re interested in giving it a go – it can be a bit wordy at points and I found myself needing a break at times.
Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
I spotted this in Foyle’s earlier this year and have had it on my radar since. Luckily, my friend Lois bought it and kindly lent it to me! It follows a young boy who is the only one to survive a plane crash and the aftermath he has to face. I was so looking forward to reading Dear Edward but it sadly didn’t live up to my expectations. The writing didn’t convey much emotion and the ending fell a little flat for me.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
I haven’t read a ton of verse books but I’ve been wanting to get into them more recently. Long Way Down is an amazing book with fantastic writing and characterisation – I want to go back and read it again to be honest! I feel like each time I read this I will get something new from it and I adore that in a book. I highly recommend this and I can’t wait to read more from Jason Reynolds.
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
I ordered both this and White Rage by Carol Anderson for Read with Shae’s Blackout Buddy Read back in June however they only just arrived last month! I decided to read White Fragility first and I’m going to be starting White Rage next week – once I’ve finished that too, I’m going to watch Shae’s liveshow about the two books. This book was a really insightful read in many ways and I have learned a lot from it. I recommend picking this up if you are white but please also read anti-racist books written by people of colour too.
Books read: 6
Pages read: 2246
Average pages per day: 72
Average Rating: 3.5 stars
New to me: 6
Rereads: 0
Off my shelves: 5
Borrowed: 1
Review copies: 0
Library books: 0
eBooks: 0
Books read so far this year: 28
What’s your favourite book you’ve read this month? Mine is definitely Pet by Akwaeke Emezi!
The Little Contemporary Corner 