July was a busy month for me so now it’s time to catch up on the Virtual Adult Summer Reading Program Challenge! Click for Challenge One and Challenge Two and Challenge Three. Below, the next three challenges
Read With Someone Else
My most frequent reading buddy is probably my sister, who is a flight attendant so she’s not here at the moment. We share books but mostly we just read the same ebooks or physical books one right after the other and it seems we’ve been doing it more and more as each year passes which is great now that I’m thinking about it.
The last book she passed my way was Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (Add it to Goodreads) which I have not read yet but am excited to get to before the HBO miniseries airs and the next book that I’m sending her way is the biography Unashamed by Lecrae (Add it to Goodreads), a Christian musical artist whom my sister is a fan of. Stay tuned for my review of the book as well!
Book Recommendation
What are the books that I recommend the most? Well, I actually made an entire post for this, detailing my Top 25 All Time Favorite Books That I’ve Read In the Past 3 Years AKA the books that I recommend the most. If I had to cut that list down to the Top 5 Books That I Recommend & the Most People Actually Read (And Enjoy, Obvi! All Good Things!)… it would look like this:
1. In the After by Demitria Lunetta
As I’ve said before, In the After is the best YA alien/post apocalyptic book I have ever read! Read my full review here. You’re so very welcome.
2. This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers
For all of the zombie lovers looking for the best zombie book ever or all of those interested in a really good zombie book, this is it. This. Is. IT. The absolute best.
3. These Broken Stars by Meagan Spooner & Amie Kaufam
I didn’t realize how long I’d been missing out on a spectacular space opera in book form until I read this. Read my full review here.
4. The Archived by Victoria Schwab
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.
Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.
Ahhh. If that doesn’t sound killer, I don’t know what does. This book delivers in every way. 5 stars. And yes, there is a sequel that is just as fantastic!
I also interviewed Victoria back in 2012 and still find this interview to be the most exciting of all of the authors that I’ve interviewed! Check it out here.
5. Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
In 1959 Virginia, the lives of two girls on opposite sides of the battle for civil rights will be changed forever.
This book is absolutely phenomenal. It floored me. It gutted me. I’m left speechless now just thinking about it but boy did I have a lot to say in my review. You can read my full review here.
Progress Report
How many books have I read since the summer began on June 20th? Well, let’s take a look at my Goodreads Challenge and subtract the short stories and novellas. That brings us to…17 books, 13 of which were diverse books!
Now, 3 of these books were graphic novels and 1 of these books I finished reading on June 20th and started on June 19th so it’s up to you if you want to count these 4 as well. If so, that puts me in the “Spin Bait Read” level and if not, the “Fishing Jig Read” level. Either way, I’m #winning and will totally make it to the Book Worm level before September even gets here. Now that’s how you kill it in a summer reading challenge!
My favorite read so far this summer and one of my favorite reads of the year is Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos (Add it to Goodreads). This book was on my TBR list for the longest and I am so, so, so, so happy that I finally got to reading it! You can read my full review here.
Guppy Read 1 to 5 books
Minnow Read 6 to 10 books
Fishing Jig Read 11 to 16 books
Spin Bait Read 17 to 24 books
Book Worm Read 25 or more books
Feel free to share your challenge answers on Twitter including the #VASRP hashtag!