Midway Through July And What I've Read

Well we're midway through July and I thought I would have done a ton of reading by now, especially since the kids were in full day camps last week. However, I haven't. Too many other things have been grabbing my attention lately, which is okay, but let's just say my TBR pile isn't getting smaller. Thus, this weekend, I am doing my own #24in48 -- the readathon where I read for 24 hours out of a 48 hour period. I usually read between eight and twelve books during these weekends so that will help my TBR considerably :) The official #24in48 isn't happening this summer, but I'm doing it anyways!!! Hahaha! #booknerdalert Sam will be joining me for most of it so I guess I technically won't be reading on my own.

All that aside, here is what I've read thus far in July...

I've been on an Elizabeth Acevedo kick lately. Her books just suck me in. They are about people overcoming the perceived (and real) odds to learn how to thrive. I love how strong Emoni is and her story of learning to trust herself was so powerful. While Acevedo's other books are written in verse, this one is written in really short chapters so that was different. (And made it easier to say, "just one more chapter" many times while I was reading!!!)

I have heard about this book for years and just never read it. It is such a powerful story of loss and depression and poverty and beauty and fighting to be who you are. I really didn't expect this book and that made it all the more beautiful. I was crying by the end and rooting for Julia to succeed.

Warning, this book will suck you in and it will be hard to put down. You will stay up way tooooo late reading it because you just want to know what happens next. Xiomara is struggling with faith and how to use her voice so that her parents, especially her mother, will hear her. I was crying during parts of this book because it was heartbreaking. But it was so, so good and I am definitely an Elizabeth Acevedo fan. Read her books. Just make sure you set aside a couple of hours when you start one, because you won't want to stop reading it.

This is a book which I found out about when looking for some alternatives to American Dirt. I think I didn't understand this short novel. It's written almost as poetry and I think there is a lot going on in the book which I don't get. It's like Shakespeare -- if you can understand all the references, then the story has more meaning. I don't understand all the references and the book is half novel, half myth, so it's hard to tell what is reality and what isn't. I would say of all the books I've read in 2021, this one stretched me the most in terms of how literary, and figurative, it is.

After taking a long break from the In Death series, I decided to read the last ten books again. The next book comes out in September so I want to be ready for it! These books really are such easy reads so I read the first three books over a span of about 24 hours.

So that's what I've read thus far in July. Hopefully my readathon goes well this weekend and I'll be back on Monday (or maybe Tuesday) with another book review :) Until then, what are your comfort reads? Which books (or author) do you turn to over and over again? For me, it's definitely Nora Roberts romantic trilogies and her In Death series.