Hey Bookworm friends! This June was another really busy and exciting month in the books! So much happened and I’m grateful for so many things this month. I didn’t have time to post as much as I would have liked and I’m making a small change in the way I’ve been doing my wrap-ups. I used to share my thoughts on each book but going forward, I’ll simply share which books I read and the ratings I gave them. Since I don’t read that many books per month, sometimes I feel like I repeat myself a bit too much within various types of posts. I want my wrap-ups to be quick and less wordy. That being said, let’s get into what I was up to in June!
June Highlights
- I’ve been way less active on Instagram; instead I revived my old Tumblr account to share pretty book pictures when I have them and I joined Mastodon. So far, this change has made a massive difference on my mental health. I was not aiming to get rid of social media as a whole because I find it’s a great creative outlet for me, but a lot of the pressures I was feeling are now gone or massively decreased.
- My best friend, who lives in The States, came to visit and I hadn’t seen her in a couple of years so I spent a few amazing days hanging out with my high school Besties 🖤.
- I bought my husband tickets to see Penn & Teller for his birthday because they were on their 50th anniversary tour and we had so much fun! We also went to dinner beforehand with friends who were also going to see the show, which made it even more exciting.
- We made guava ice cream, with Arequipe (Colombian Dulce de Leche) and it was incredible!
- We got Cheeto comfortable with his new backpack and explored a new-to-us neighbourhood in our city! Now I can carry him comfortably (as I could not with his old backpack), what a upgrade!
- My husband and I went to get our ears pierced again, very spur of the moment for me. There was a sale for International Piercing Day and it turns out he’d been thinking about it for a while but I jumped in and joined him! Two helixes for him, one lobe for me. (sidenote: ‘helix’ sounds so much cooler than ‘lobe’ but fine 😂)
- We made a different kind of puzzle I’ve never done before that includes a short mystery story you read before. Then you make the puzzle without knowing what it’s of, meaning the picture on the box doesn’t help at all. Once the puzzle is completed, the picture contains clues to help you solve the mystery. We caught all the clues just didn’t quite figure out how to string them together in the right way but it was such a fun experience!
What I Read
June Reading Stats
Total Books Read: 9
| Format Read |
|---|
| 📱E-Books: 3 |
| 📚 Physical: 2 |
| 🎧 Audiobooks: 4 |
| Genre |
|---|
| 🐲Fantasy: 3 |
 😱Horror: 1 |
| 🚀🕵🏼♀️Sci-Fi Mystery: 1 |
| 🖍️Children’s Lit: 1 |
| 💕Romance: 1 |
| ✒️Memoir: 1 |
| 🏠Literary Fiction: 1 |
| Book Format |
|---|
| Graphic Novel: 2 |
| Novella: 1 |
| Novel: 4 |
| Picture Book: 1 |
| LitRPG: 1 |
📱The E-Books 📱
🐲 Slime Sweets and Dungeon Treats by Pandora Pierce│LitRPG│3.5⭐
✒️ Us by Sara Soler│Graphic Novel│4⭐
😱 Universal Monsters: Dracula by James Tynion IV with Martin Simmonds │Graphic Novel│3.5⭐
📚The Physical Books 📚
🖍️ The Outermost Mouse by Lauren Wolk with Kristen Adam│Picture Book│4⭐
🏠 The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna│Novel│Review │1 ⭐
🎧The Audiobooks 🎧
🐲 The Librarian of Crooked Lane (The Glass Library #1) by C. J. Archer │Novel│3.75⭐
🐲 The Medici Manuscript (The Glass Library #2) by C. J. Archer │Novel│ 4⭐
💕 SOS Hotel: Sleep With Us (SOS Hotel #3) by Ariana Nash as Adam Vex│Novella│4⭐
🚀🕵🏼♀️ The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton│Novel│3⭐
What I Watched
Steven Universe, Seasons 1-5
This is the main thing we watched in June, almost every night. I had tried to watch Steven Universe before but stopped in season one so now I’m watching it all the way through for the first time. I’m enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would and the story is getting really good but we’re almost done!
Witch Hat Atelier, Season 1
I watched the second half of WHA with my friends again and it was incredible! The season finishes in a huge cliff hanger so I’m mildly devastated because now we have to wait again! But if the quality stays this good all the way through, I don’t mind waiting. Highly recommend!
Taskmaster Australia, Season 5
As always, I enjoy watching all the Taskmaster I can get my grubby little hands on so now that Australia is in the middle of their 5th season, you can bet we’re waiting for each episode on Youtube.
Gaming Highlights of June
My Top Video Game of the Month
Overcooked: All You Can Eat
We were in the middle of our Overcooked 2 replay when a sale of Overcooked dropped and we couldn’t say no! It combines OC 1, 2, all the DLC plus new levels we’ve never played before. So of course we immediately restarted from the beginning! It’s my favourite game to play with my husband.
My Top Board Game of the Month
Castle Combo
This is a really fun card game that we’ve been picking up when we want something quick to play while we’re eating. The goal of the game is to collect a tableau of 9 cards that give you the most points possible and there are so many cards that it’s different every time. Cards give you points by combining in different ways so you have to pick cards that have good synergy together but sometimes that may not be possible. We played this one three times this month and I don’t see myself getting tired of it soon.
Let’s chat in the comments!
What have you been watching or playing lately? Or, have you read any of these books? How was your June?
Cheeto looks very happy in that backpack! I love the Witch Hat Atelier manga and I can’t wait to see the adaptation.
He was so happy, he loves his old backpack so I was glad he took to his new one well, too! He loves a free ride 😂.
Also, I can’t wait for you to watch the Witch Hat anime, it’s actually incredible, I’m so impressed!
I cannot let my partner know about the new Overcooked! That game stresses me out.
Ahaha better keep it on the down low then 😂. It’s my fav game to play with my husband even though I totally understand the stress, we’ve certainly gotten into an argument over it, it can get intense lmao 😂 But honestly it’s so addictive!
Cheeto is adorable and looks so happy! I’m glad June was such a good month😁
Thank you, and honestly if my dog is happy then I am happy 🥰! Thank you, Tammy! Wishing you a really nice July!
Aww, Cheeto looks so happy in that backpack! Hope he’s having a great time with it.
Thanks, the boy loves a free ride. Not having to walk = his dream. 😝
Omg that picture of Cheeto in his backpack is so freaking adorable! He looks like he’s living his best life 😍 Also, that stack of blueberry pancakes looks delish! 🤤 Sounds like you had an eventful but happy June! I hadn’t heard of Slime Sweets and Dungeon Treats or US before, but both sound like books I’d really enjoy so that’s going on my TBR radar list! I’ve also been thinking about watching Witch Hat and now that I’m actually using my Netflix instead of just letting others use it, I think I’m going to be watching much more stuff. I hope you have a brilliant July, Vero! 🌻
hehe aww thank you, and yes he’s always living his best life as he deserves lmao! The blueberry pancakes were actually incredible, I’d have them again! Indeed super eventful but no complaints at all! ❤️ I’ll be writing a review for Slime Sweets and Dungeon Treats soon so hopefully it can give you more details in case you’re interested. US was really heartwarming and beautiful! Ohh amazing, yes I highly recommend the Witch Hat anime, it’s sooo good! I’m glad you can use it yourself more now 🙂 Thanks lovely, I hope you have a delightful July too, Dini🥰!!
You had a fantastic month. Thanks for sharing your pictures – so lovely. Hope July is equally good for you.
Lynn 😀
Thanks for visiting my post and I’m glad you enjoyed my pics, I do enjoy sharing them when I remember to take them! I hope you have a lovely July as well 🥰!!
Glad to hear you’ve had a lovely month, it certainly sounds like another busy one. Im glad you got to go watch a show and see your best friend for the first time in a while. The ice cream sounds lovely and the puzzle experience sounds fun too. I really must get back to mine. I didnt realise you were trying other platforms instead of Instagram, I just thought you’d been off of it for a while. I’ve never heard of the second one that you’ve mentioned 🤔 also Cheeto looks so delightfully happy in that last picture 😍😍
Sorry to see that Last Murder turned our to be a rather average read. And omg the hare one got one star? Ouch 😬 although I’ll admit I’m now oddly intrigued to go and discover why 😂
Hope the wait for more WHA doesnt end up too lengthy and that you have a lovely July 🥰 how is this year flying by so fast??
Thank you, yes so busy but so good! I spent a lot of time with my best friend for the first time in like two years so I’m really happy about that :)! The puzzle was so different and creative I would absolutely do more like it and I think you might enjoy them too if you don’t mind that the box doesn’t have the picture on it haha.
Aha yeah I have been experimenting with other platforms because I do feel like they’re good creative outlets, I’m just sick of Meta specifically, not gonna lie. But I won’t be leaving it entirely at least for a while and if I ever do I will let you know. There’s definitely a lot of friends on there I don’t just watch to ditch lol.
The second one I mentioned is one I kept seeing mentioned but never thought about trying until now, it’s a bit difficult to get your bearings on but once you learn it’s actually great because there is no algorithm which is nice.
Aww thank you, yes he had a fun outing that day!
I think I just had a hard time getting all the details of The Last Murder on audiobook, it very much felt like the type of book I would have preferred to read with my eyeballs but oh well🤷🏼♀️. The Hare one was atrocious and I’m not even sorry 😂. hahah
I hope the wait for more WHA isn’t horribly long either but honestly even if it is it will be worth it. Now having seen it I understand why Season 1 was pushed back by a year, the animation was just top notch! And I have no clue, such a good question the year is flying byy!!! Happy July right back at you, my friend 🥰!
Definitely must have been wonderful to hang out again after all that time 🥰 tbh I usually love a pretty picture but I think I’d like the challenge of not knowing what it is that I’m trying to make. As someone who tends to race through 1000 pieces in an afternoon (depending on the design, obviously) I think I’d quite appreciate the challenge
I need to join Storygraph soon thinking about it. And I get it about Instagram as it can be pretty non stop. It has so many wonferful creators and opportunities too though. Things like disappearing stories do mean its designed to keep you hooked though.
Oh right, I’m glad you’re enjoying it 🥰 I kind of want to look into it but theres only so many platforms I can juggle 😂
I’ll make sure I read it physically when I get to it then. Some reads definitely suit different formats better. Having read your review I can tell. Although honestly that book sounds atrocious.
Thats awesome, definitely worth a wait if its because time is spent making something better quality 🥰 thank you ❤️❤️
For sure, it was 🥰! Yeah same, I’m finding the challenge of not knowing what the picture is so satisfying! Oh wow, yes I’m sure you would enjoy it then I’m so impressed you can race through the 1000 pieces ones in an afternoon!
Oh yes for sure it has a lot of pros and cons, I appreciate all of the opportunities I found on there❤️.
Yes, you’ve nailed it, it’s designed to keep you hooked.
Oh yeah I won’t even say you should try it or whatever because as you said there’s only so much one person can handle in one day haha.
For sure, as much as I love audiobooks in general, I agree some books are suited better to different formats!
Heheh yeah
Honestly, yes I wish more projects were like that, taking their time to be the best version of themselves.
Those blueberry pancakes look so yummy!
They really were and I ate them all in one sitting which is rare for me! Thanks for stopping by, Zezee! 🖤
Sounds like you had a really eventful June! Cheeto is so cute in that backpack. I’ve only ever owned big dogs, but I think it would be so nice to carry them around. I hope you have a wonderful July!
Thank you, Alicia! 🐶 That band of bag ‘Little Chonk’ has bags for big dogs too although I know that a lot of big dogs don’t like being picked up and I’m sure it would be heavy but it’s potentially do-able! haha 🙂 I hope you have a great July as well!!
Cheeto looks so cute in his backpack!
I’ve been wanting to read that C.J. Archer series. Good to see you enjoyed the first couple of books in the series!
Thanks so much 🥰🐶! It’s a really fun historical fantasy/ mystery. I’m loving the mix of genres and really like the characters.