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Ashley IN MEDIAS RES

• Dragonquest (Dragonriders of Pern #2) by Anne McCaffrey
• Rule of Wolves (King of Scars #2) by Leigh Bardugo
• Think and Grow Rich for Women: Using Your Power to Create Success and Significance by Sharon L. Lechter
• 30-Day Stay: A Real Estate Investor’s Guide to Mastering the Medium-Term Rental by Zeona McIntyre and Sarah Weaver

Nikki IN MEDIAS RES

• The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction by Justin Whitmel Earley
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio
• Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Ashley FIN

• Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern #1) by Anne McCaffrey
• The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali
• The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He
• Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian

Nikki FIN

• Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Blackstone Ranger Chief (Blackstone Rangers #1) by Alicia Montgomery
• The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali
• Not Like the Movies (Waiting for Tom Hanks #2) by Kerry Winfrey
• The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He
• Rule of Wolves (King of Scars #2) by Leigh Bardugo
• Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian

Darling Readers, let me tell you a story of a reader who could not finish a book in time before the library took it away from her. I was happily reading along in Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo and I realized that my deadline came…and went… and I kept reading for a whole other 24 hours until POOF somewhere after the 50% mark amazon/the library realized I still had it checked out and returned it for me into the ether. I was very sad. I read it on a plane to Arizona. And because of Vacation and a Conference and my borrowing time being up, I am 3 books behind in my goal for the year according to GoodReads. I’ll catch that up and surpass it at some point, but it’s very disconcerting to this Enneagram 1. I have finished 4 books this month and have at least two that I will finish before month end. There are a few more days for that.

Let me also tell you a story about dragons, bronze and brown and blue and green, aloft on wing seen, then unseen! I’m having a nostalgic re-read of (at least the first two books of) Anne McCaffrey’s PERN series.I haven’t read all the newer ones that have been posthumously published and some written by her son, Todd McCaffrey, but Dragonflight and Dragonquest have brought me back some 25 years to my middle school dragon obsession, a notebook of epic weirdness (that may or may not still exist), and a story that is science fiction at its core but seems so much more like fantasy at first read. If you were to ignore or skim over the prologue to Dragonflight the reader wouldn’t know that this planet, PERN, Parallel Earth Resources Negligible, was colonized by humans thousands of ‘Turns’ before we meet Lessa and F’lar, and all the other dragonriders, holders, and craftsmen. If I remember correctly, it’s not until Dragonsdawn, what is book 9!, that we finally learn the whole story of the creation of dragons and the society that is separated into weyr, hold, and craft hall.

I’ve had quite the nostalgic reading life this long Memorial day weekend, and Canadian Adam has had a nostalgic TV weekend as The Muppet Show has been playing every time he sits down to watch the TV. I guess I’m not the only one in my house that appreciates our Disney+ subscription. Ha!

What relaxing or nostalgic thing did you do over Memorial Day Weekend?

~Ashley

While Ashley is lamenting being “behind” on her reading goal (which we all know she will blow through at some point this fall), I’m lamenting having three books that are roughly half way through.  It’s a whole thing between fiction, nonfiction, middle grade, adult, e-book, and the dead tree I finished today didn’t help. I am VERY much looking forward to wrapping up all of them.  I say that, and also let me say, I’m enjoying all of them for different reasons.  Some will show up here later on, others may, but all that to say, it’s a weird thing for me to have so many in progress at the same time and hopefully won’t last long.

Other than titles we’ve read and reviewed here, I’ve also read two books from my holds list, and one other that I already owned this month, and I’m calling it good.  May has been a month of four and five star titles, and that is everything I want my reading life to be.  I might not finish my nonfiction this month, but it’ll be close, and with it, I’ll hit my other reading goals, and you know what, it’s fine.  A few days don’t really matter when considering the goals for my hobby.  I also need to consider that I’ve taken some of what was previously my reading time and spent it working out over the last two weeks.  I have more energy, my body feels better, and I’m calling that a win too.  I frequently reduce my reading goal each January compared to the number of titles I read the previous year, and this is an example of why I do that.  It’s not that I want to read less, it’s that I want to do other things more.  Saying yes to other things (like working out) does require saying no to something I’m currently doing (like reading and scrolling on social media).  It’s not a statement I make with judgement, it’s just facts.

I do have two series I want to speak to before signing off.  First, Rule of Wolves (King of Scars #2) by Leigh Bardugo was everything I wanted it to be.  Don’t start here, or even with King of Scars.  Go back to the beginning with Shadow and Bone and read the whole thing in chronological order.  Meet Alina, Mal, and the others to see how their dramatic, YA fantasy trilogy shakes out.  Then meet Kaz and the Crows in Six of Crows and see how their hijinks connect with the Ravka, and only then should you pick up King of Scars to leave Ketterdam and return to Ravka in all its chaos, because after all, it is Ravka.  This duology was a gem of a bow, and a solid several adventures, and I would not be sad to see more books following these characters, however Bardugo wants to share them with us.  If these titles feel fun to you, I did read several of them at the beach, and highly recommend the experience!  

Next, Not Like the Movies (Waiting for Tom Hanks #2) by Kerry Winfrey is the second in a romance series, so while I’d encourage you to meet this cast of characters in Waiting for Tom Hanks, it’s not necessary.  If you like Nora Ephron movies, like the heroine in #1, these books are a delightful hang.  They include dimensional characters, snappy dialogue, and some open door scenes (that could be skipped if those aren’t for you).  I was not ok with how seen this title made me feel, but also appreciated the mirror shown back at me with an HEA to tie it all up.  I do hope the series continues, although Winfrey doesn’t have plans to do so.  She does have two other titles that seem to have a similar feel out, and a holiday romance coming soon!  I 100% did just recommend two of them to my library and placed the third on my wish list!  These would also make for a great beach read, and a good palate cleanser too!

What titles are you loving and looking forward to this summer?

~Nikki 

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