Welp. Definitely summer. July is here, and I want nothing more than to stay inside and not be out in all that nonsense. It’s a good thing I have plenty to read.
There are a lot of books this month, but some I have started already and many of them are pretty short, so hope springs eternal.
Book Clubs
- The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose
- The Maid by Nita Prose (technically for August, but our meeting is August 2 and I’ve already started it, so I’m just going to finish it this month)
- Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
- A Field Guide To Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit
- Florida Woman by Deb Rogers
- The Dead Romantics by Julie Poston
- Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Reading Challenges
- The 52 Book Club – Title starting with the letter F – Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
- GirlXOXO – Keyword “star” – Stardust by Neil Gaiman (also goes with the 52 Book Club’s prompt for repeating a prompt with a different genre – audiobook narrated by author)
- POPSUGAR – a book about witches – The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow; a Hugo Award winner (best novella 2018) – All Systems Red by Martha Wells
- Read Harder – a challenge from a previous year – a microhistory – Wanderlust: a History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit; recommended by a friend (Hi, Maggie!) with different reading tastes – The Obsession by Nora Roberts
- Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Challenge – The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez and Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Lush
The selections this month focus on finding lush moments in daily life. They’re also research for my 31 Days series coming in October (specific topic TBA).
- The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
- The Little Book of Lykke by Meik Wiking
- The Little Book of Fika by Lynda Balslev
- Shelter: A Love Letter to Trees by Ada Limón
La Dolce Vita Weekend(s)
Speaking of living lush, I have a stockpile of books from multiple genres about the sweet life in Italy. I’m going to take at least one weekend this month to binge and cook out of them. Right now, I’m planning on that weekend being July 22-23, as I will be participating in Dewey’s Reverse Readathon that Friday and Saturday, but don’t be surprised if I block off the weekends before and after it as well. After a trip to our new-ish Italian market, first, of course.
- Living La Dolce Vita by Raeleen D’Agostino Mautner
- Giada’s Italy by Giada de Laurentiis
- A Table in Venice by Skye McAlpine
- Dating Da Vinci by Malena Lott
- Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes (as much as I love this movie, I’ve never actually read the book. Time to fix that!)
General
These are a few just-because books I’ve been wanting to read for a few months, so here we go.
- State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny
- Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley
- The Lonely City by Olivia Laing
- Stir by Jessica Fechtor
M. Suzanne Terry 
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