Happy June! I am nearing the end of my post-surgery convalescence. I have had a few doctor’s appointments and dealt with a nasty bout of nausea last week, but otherwise, I’ve pretty much been spending the past two weeks eating, sleeping, and reading. In other words, living my best life. I won’t go so far as to say it’s been a vacation – healing from surgery isn’t my idea of a good time – but it’s definitely been restful and quiet.
I’ve become a fan of DoorDash. I just ordered an omelet this morning, and it was on my doorstep by the time I put in a load of laundry and made coffee. I could get used to this.
Another wonderful thing is that I’ve regained some of the focus I lost during chemo. I’ve already finished several books this month, and I have ambitions to finish many more. My reading lately has been cozy and homey with a nod to Pride Month sprinkled in, and most of my selections for this month seem to continue this trend.
Book Clubs (which I may actually be able to attend again soon!)
- A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner
- The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks
- Trash by Sylvia Aguilar Zéleny
- Keith Haring Journals by Keith Haring
Reading Challenges
I’m definitely making up for my lost year with the number of reading challenges I’m attempting. It’s been a fun way to choose what to read next. This month, I’m mostly focusing my efforts on the summer reading challenges. My yearly favorite is Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Summer Reading Guide. As a Patreon supporter, I have access to the whole guide in all its glory, but I’m working through the books that are out so far from the Minimalist list first:
- Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis
- skin & bones by Renée Watson
- The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
- There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Adurraqib
- Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan (already read and…maybe my last Kevin Kwan. Or maybe I try reading only print copies, because I really did not enjoy the audio of this one or Crazy Rich Asians. Or does he write any books about people whose biggest problems aren’t gaining or maintaining ungodly wealth and prestige? Because he’s a good writer – I might enjoy a story of his if he wrote about characters I could actually sympathize with or if I could care at all whether they get what they want in the end.)
In addition to its year-long challenge, the 52 Book Club also has a summer mini-challenge. For extra kicks, I’m going to try finishing off these prompts in the order they’re listed. June’s selections include:
- Set in Paris – The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
- Flame on the cover – How Can I Help You? by Laura Sims
- Go for gold – Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis (I get a little thrill when books satisfy more than one challenge)
- 100 M Spring (a short story collection) – Bobcat by Rebecca Lee
- Longjump (audiobook is 15+ hours) – The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks
- Steeplechase (character is a spiritual leader) – The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Boxing (a strong opening hook) – The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
- Wrestling (a heavy read) – The Cancer Journals by Audre Lorde
- Fencing (dialogue with witty banter) – Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett
A lot of these also fit prompts from some of my year-long challenges, so bonus!
Miscellaneous Reads
As with every month, there are books that I’m reading either because I’ve borrowed them from a friend, they’re due at the library soon, or I just couldn’t resist picking them up.
- Plant Dreaming Deep by May Sarton
- Fable by Adrienne Young
- Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
- The Minimalist Kitchen by Melissa Coleman
- On Beauty by Zadie Smith
- The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff
- The Guncle by Steven Rowley
- The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley
I realize this is quite an ambitious list, but at the rate I’ve been reading, it’s not impossible. This is, of course, assuming that my attention span doesn’t crash and burn again, but there’s really no predicting these things. I prefer to keep my plan pretty optimistic anyway.
I hope you are having a great June so far!
M. Suzanne Terry 
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