Monthly Reading Mews (July Wrap-Up) & What Should I Read Next? (August's My TBR List Poll)

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by the wonderful Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. As well as Stacking the Shelves hosted by the great Team Tynga's Reviews and Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.

After eleven years of blogging, I finally got around to setting up a Facebook page for my blog. If you are interested, I would love it if you liked/followed my page!

July In Review: I got very little reading done during the month of July, but I have no regrets. My mom, daughter and I flew east to for my niece's wedding and to celebrate my paternal grandmother's 100th birthday. The birthday party turned into a family reunion, with many of my dad's siblings and their kids coming from near and far for the celebration. My grandmother's actual birthday isn't until later this month, but since we were already in town for the wedding, everyone was gracious enough to move the birthday celebration up.

It was a whirlwind visit, and we had an amazing time. My brother and sister-in-law were able to spend much of the time with us, flying in themselves from Northern California. This was my daughter's first visit to the East Coast and meeting all of my dad's side of the family, including her great grandmother. My daughter, husband and I are pretty isolated where we live in Southern California with most of our family being hours away. Mouse was in heaven, surrounded by so many cousins, aunts and uncles. My husband, unfortunately, was unable to come due to work obligations.

We spent a brief amount of time in New York state, visiting Niagara Falls (Mouse's first visit, but my third), when we first arrived. And then on our last day of our visit, we met up with a long time friend and former pen pal of mine and her two children (who Mouse thinks of as her cousins) in Rochester at The Strong National Museum of Play. It's an amazing place, if you ever get the chance to go. The museum has its own library and their are children's books throughout the museum kids can read or check out. Mostly, during our trip, we were in northeastern Pennsylvania, which is such a beautiful part of the country. It was much more humid than I am used to, but I can honestly say I didn't mind given my surroundings. So much green!

The best part of the trip was being able to see my sister and her family, aunts, uncles, cousins, and my grandmother who I hadn't seen in 15 years--and introducing them all to my daughter. Hopefully it will not be another 15 years before we see everyone again.

Here's what I read last month:

Solely For Me:

• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• The Pinks: The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency by Chris Enss
• The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey

Some of the Books I Read With My Daughter in July (a couple of which we read over and over and over again. And then again):

• Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish and Lynn Sweat
• How Martha Saved Her Parents From Green Beans by David LaRochelle and Mark Fearing
• Ling & Ting: Together in All Weather (Ling & Ting #4) by Grace Lin
• Biscuit Finds a Friend (World of Biscuit Beginning Reader) by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and Pat Schories
• Niagara Falls (Wonders of America) by Marion Dane Bauer and John Wallace
• Pennsylvania: What's So Great About This State? (Arcadia Kids) by Kate Boehm Jerome

My Favorite Book Read in July: Even with my limited reading this month, the book that stands out the most is Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give. It will likely be on my list of top ten books at the end of the year.

Mouse's Favorite Book Read in July: Mouse was disappointed I did not read How Martha Saved Her Parents From Green Beans more often to her while we had it checked out from the library. She even told her dad she wanted to try broccoli because of the book. (Unfortunately, when it came time to eat the broccoli her father made for her, Mouse refused.)

Book Reviews Posted in July (but not necessarily read in July):

• Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
• Radio Girls by Sarah-Jane Stratford

Non-Book Review Posts in July:

• Monthly Reading Mews (June Wrap-Up) & What Should I Read Next? (July's My TBR List Poll)
• Where Is Your Bookmark? (It's Hot Outside, Let's Stay Inside and Read)
• My July TBR List Winner!

How did your July shape up reading wise? What was your favorite book you read in July?

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New To My Shelves:

July's My Lit Box included Roxane Gay's latest, Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body. along with a journal, pencils and a bookmark, centering around the theme of "Once Upon a Time". What happens to us does not define us necessarily, nor does it make us any less worthy of love and respect. Although I do not read memoirs often anymore, I am eager to read this one!

I also received August's My Lit Box, which came in the mail yesterday. The theme for this month is "Love After Loss". Included in the box is What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons. There's also a candle carrying the scent of memories: Lavender Chamomile, a floral pencil pouch, and a card representing the ideal Heaven for booklovers.

Bookstore Purchases:

The Witchwood Crown, Book One of the Last King of Osten Ard by Tad Williams
and
The Heart of What Was Lost by Tad Williams

(my husband's selections)

Uni the Unicorn by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Brigette Barrager 

and 

You Can't Win Them All, Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

(Mouse's selections)

The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St. James

and

Ordinary Grace by Willliam Kent Krueger

(my selections)

Monstress, Volume II: The Blood by Marjorie Liu, illustrated by Sana Takeda

(I am so excited about this one!)

Unsolicited Review Book (from publisher):

Betrayal At Iga by Susan Spann

E-Book Purchase:

I am not big on make-up, but I do like trying out new lipsticks. To support my friend, Wisteria Leigh, in her new business, I recently made a Lipsense purchase (and am quite pleased!). In her package to me, she included a book (The True Story of Balto), Forget Me Not seeds, and stickers for my daughter. Talk about winning over a customer!

Have you read any of these? What new books did you add to your shelves recently?

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What I Am Reading/Listening to Now: I took a break from Brave New World Aldous Huxley for the majority of last month because of lack of listening time, but I got back to it this week. I should finish it in another week or so. This past week, I finished reading Ernest van der Kwast's The Ice-Cream Makers, a multi-generational novel about following one's dreams versus family obligations. My dreams the night I finished it were full of ice cream and poetry.

I am now reading In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez with a Facebook reading group. The book has been sitting on my shelf for years, and so this is a great excuse to finally get to it. Alvarez's book is historical fiction, set in the Dominican Republic and tells the story of four sisters who were active in the rebellion against General Rafael Leonidas Trujillo’s dictatorship. 

Off the Blog:

School will be starting for Mouse the end of the month, and with it the fall soccer season. Mouse is looking forward to playing on a team again. As of right now, there is no coach for her team, and so we're waiting to hear if anyone volunteers. Mouse has been enjoying her ballet class quite a bit this summer and would like to continue with it. I noticed a combo ballet/tap/jazz class is being offered this fall, and, when I mentioned it to Mouse, she really liked the idea. It's going to be a busy school year, I have a feeling. Especially when Girl Scouts starts up again next month.

I am in the process of updating my LibraryThing catalog, going through all the physical books on my shelves and making sure they've been recorded in the system. It's a slow process as I am not able to devote big chunks of time to it at once. When I first entered all my books into the LibraryThing catalog, I was on vacation, childless, and able to devote days to the process, if I wanted to. I had been very good about keeping it up to date--at least until my daughter was born and then our big move. I have a lot of catching up to do, as you can imagine.

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Thank you for helping me decide what book from my TBR collection I should read next:

My TBR List is a meme hosted by the awesome Michelle at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and take a poll as to which you think I should read. I will read the winner that month, and my review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise). 

I am continuing this month with the "girl" in the title theme. I don't know how you are all going to decide! All three of these sound like winners. Two are by the same author, believe it or not (just under different names). I look forward to reading whichever wins the poll this next week!

The Girl With the Clock Heart by Peter Swanson ~ It turns out the girl he thought had been his girlfriend who had committed suicide, was not in fact the woman he loved at all. And now, twenty years later, having tried to escape her past, the one he loved is back--and says he is the only one who can help her.

The Girl Who Knew to Much by Amanda Quick ~ A reporter leans on a once world famous magician turned hotel owner for help in getting to the truth when an actress is found dead at the bottom of a pool in 1930's California.

When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz ~ A sister joins forces with a private investigator when she discovers her sister has gone missing. The two are drawn together the deeper the danger gets for both of them.



I hope you all have a great week! Happy Reading!

We were able to get up close (and very wet) to Niagara Falls via the Maid of the Mist Boat Tour.

(Canadian Side)

The American side of Niagara Falls from the Maid of the Mist Boat Tour

The Kinzua Bridge was once considered the 8th Wonder of the World, spanning 2,052 feet (625 m) long and 301 feet (92 m) tall. It eventually was closed to trains and opened to the public to walk across (which my sister and her family took advantage of in 2002). In 2003, the bridge was destroyed by a tornado, and the remaining portion of the bridge (since re-enforced) is now a sky-walk for tourists to visit. We walked out to the end--they valley is gorgeous.

 My Niece's Wedding, Along the Allegheny River

Allegheny River View From Wedding Site

Mouse and the Ring Bearer Playing

Mouse and her Great-Grandma

The Mystery Mansion at The Strong National Museum of Play

Display at The Strong National Museum of Play

Heading Home

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