(Eek! A day late this month. I just wasn’t home enough yesterday to get this post up. Such is life!)

ARGH, HOW IS IT JULY ALREADY???????????

Seriously, summer break JUST started, and now we’re already in JULY??? Pretty soon it’ll be back to school and then fall will start settling in and it’ll be too cool to read on the porch and my daughter will be back in school and SOMEONE MAKE TIME SLOW DOWN!!!!!!!

*ahem*

Someone seriously has this summer on fast-forward, that’s for sure. I’m so enjoying having both kids home for the summer, but the days are just flying by, and I don’t know how to make things stop. It’s been an interesting month around here, and I have some big, big news to share that will definitely affect my reading time, but I’ll get to that in a bit. For the moment, I’m just going to sit back and savor every single second of summer. Um, and also write this recap.

So let’s get this recap started, shall we?

Books I Read in June 2024

1. The Community by N. Jamiyla Chisholm

2. Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy by Michael Tucker

3. Rhymes with Witches by Lauren Myracle

4. Turtle Boy by M. Evan Wolkenstein (reread; read out loud to my daughter)

5. The Less People Know About Us by Axton Betz-Hamilton

6. Tiny Love Stories: True Tales of Love in 100 Words or Less by Daniel Jones and Miya Lee

7. The Killer Across the Table: Unlocking the Secrets of Serial Killers and Predators with the FBI’s Original Mindhunter by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker

8. Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail by Andrea Lankford

9. What Will They Say About You When You Are Gone?: Creating a Life of Legacy by Rabbi Daniel Cohen

10. How to Survive Middle School by Donna Gephart (read out loud to my daughter)

11. Yankee Magazine’s Living Well on a Shoestring: 1501 Ingenious Ways to Spend Less for What You Need and Have More for What You Want by the Editors of Yankee Magazine

12. Grounded: Slow, Grow, Make, Do: Simple Ways to Live in Harmony with Nature by Anna Carlile

13. The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson

14. Mexico by James Michener

15. Wildscape: Trilling Chipmunks, Beckoning Blooms, Salty Butterflies, and Other Sensory Wonders of Nature by Nancy Lawson

16. Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson

17. Mothering Earth: The Busy Family’s Guide to Saving the Planet by Julia Rockwell (read out loud to my daughter)

18. The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear by Kate Moore

19. Broken: Transforming Child Protective Services – Notes of a Former Caseworker by Jessica Pryce

Not a bad month! Lots of reading out on the porch, which helps. The Less People Know About Us is a memoir crossed with true crime, and it’s fascinating. I had it figured out early on, but it was still incredible. Trail of the Lost is nature mixed with true crime and disaster, about missing hikers and the search to find them, and I really loved this, as sad as it was. What Will They Say About You When You Are Gone? is deeply moving and will have you reconsidering your life and the choices you make. The Woman They Could Not Silence is an absolute brick of a book, but Kate Moore is a rockstar author and the story is one you really should not miss (I’m saving my copy for my daughter when she’s older). All in all, a really great month of reading.

Nineteen books total: five fiction, fourteen fiction. One came from my TBR, one was recommended by my therapist, nine came from my own shelves (and most of those were promptly donated to Little Free Libraries near me!). 

Bookish Things I Did in June 2024

So, first up, my younger kiddo and I hit up a $10-per-bag book sale!

It was smaller than I expected, but we did okay and came home with some gems. I always enjoy those sales. We’ve got another one coming up in July, too!

Second of all, and more importantly, I did one of the most bookish things I could possibly do:

I got a job at the library!!!

This blog’s name has always been appropriate, and now, it’ll be even more so! Starting mid-July, I’ll be shelving books and assisting patrons at my local library. We’ve got a gorgeous new building that’s full of light (and great books!), and I’m absolutely thrilled to become part of the team that makes it such a fabulous asset to the community. If you need me, I really will probably be at the library in the near future. : ) 

State of the Goodreads TBR

Last month we left off at five; this month, we’re sitting at six. One, my daughter and I are working through; two are on hold at the library; one, I’ll have to track a copy down somewhere (ILL said they can’t get it, for some reason…), one doesn’t come out until August, and the last one will come from another library. Not too bad!

Current Podcast Love

I’ve been listening to Dateline as I fall asleep, but as I walk or do volunteer work, I’m listening to The Slow Home Podcast with Brooke McAlary, which is lovely and super enjoyable. I had a hard time listening to it early on in this month, as we were in the path of the simultaneous 13- and 17-year cicada emergence, and they were LOUD. At the garden where I volunteer, we clocked them at 105 decibels, which is the same as a motorcycle’s roar! So yeah, a soft-voiced Australian woman was a tad bit difficult to hear, even with the volume turned all the way up. But their lifecycle is almost done (they were pretty cool, actually, despite the noise!), so I can hear the podcast again when I walk. : )

Stephanie’s Read Harder Challenge

Currently, I’m reading two chapters a day of Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. It’s interesting, but it’s a little heavy for fun summer reading, so I find it easier to read books like that a little bit at a time. Bonus: it’s from my own shelf, and it’ll go off to a friend when I’m finished with it!

Real Life Stuff

So yeah, this month, I’ll start my first out-of-the-home paid job in sixteen years! That is beyond exciting to me, especially because it’s at one of my most favorite places in the entire world. I’m so ready to be part of the team that helps make our library a great place for other people now. What an amazing opportunity!

Things are fairly quiet otherwise. Kids are home, so our days are filled with fun outings together, which keeps us busy (after I finish this, if the rain holds off, I’m going to go mow the back lawn). I’ve been busy at the garden where I volunteer, which has been super fun as always, and trying my hand at growing a few things around the yard. The rabbits mowed most things down (two sunflowers escaped their snacking, which is awesome!), but my beans/peas/squash/cucumbers that I’m growing in buckets are thriving, and there’s even an extra groundcherry that came up as a volunteer. My tomatoes (also in containers) seem to be doing well as well, so fingers crossed I’ll get some fresh produce by the end of the season!

What’s on the menu for July? WORK, of course! We have another book sale the day before my first orientation meeting, so that’ll be fun, and of course, reading, but my biggest challenge this month will be integrating my new job into my life. I’ll be working nights, mostly, so I’ll have to adjust my reading schedule and fit it in when and where I can. As one does. : )

Wishing you all a safe and happy July!