Here are the books I read last month:
- The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett -3.5/5 stars- TFG's book for June. Mentioned as the starting point for the "detective noir" sub-genre.
- Home by Marilynne Robinson -5/5 stars- I love going back to Gilead, going back to the solemn and fervent narration, and meeting old characters. This turned me into a sappy sack, but I don't regret it.
- Lila by Marilynne Robinson -5/5 stars- It is really astonishing how Robinson gave this a different voice while retaining that certain quietness found in the first two books.
- Flawless by Sarah Lemmon -3/5 stars- This SF debut has some good potentials.
- Arrival: From the Sky by David McGowan -3/5 stars- Part I of a series, with an interesting array of characters.
- Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool -5/5 stars- This is a gem of a story and the characters stick like glue.
It's July, we are halfway through 2015 already. For the past 2 two years, I posted a list of my best reads as a mid-year report. This year I've decided to include it here instead since there are only four books that reached that special mark this time.
- Home by Marilynne Robinson
- Lila by Marilynne Robinson
- Perdido Street Station by China Miéville
- The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
* For special mention, I have to include Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It was such a fun, fun read that I can still picture it in my head.
According to my Goodreads Stats, I've read 41 books for the last six months, which put me ahead of my reading plan. Yay! So, I'm going to take it a little slow and give attention to some promised ARC reviews this July. I'm not going to post the list here since most of the publishers asked that all reviews should be scheduled to run after the publication date. The list is not exactly a secret, that is, if you are checking my current reads, every now and then. *wink *wink
The Quiet American is TFG's book for the month. We're having our online discussion here and will meet-up on July 25th, at Ba Noi's Vietnamese Cuisine in Makati, for the face-to-face discussion. Come join us.
Happy July, everyone! Update me on your reading list, okay?
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Oh, you've already read Moon Over Manifest. I plan to read it in December, to cap my reading year which I started with Navigating Early. :) And Home, I should really read Home soonest. I think I'll read it this month. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, both are very time-worthy books. Happy reading! :)
DeleteOnly four? Wow, super picky! But I'm glad to see that half of those are Robinson's books. :)
ReplyDeleteHihihi. Not picky, let's call it "growing perspective" instead, okay? <3
DeletePerdido was so good. I was not quite into the TC & TC so I was surprised by how much I liked PSS. And The Maltese Falcon, I am beginning to think I rated it way higher than necessary. LOL. I think I was too delighted by the narrator doing various somewhat silly voices in the audiobook. :) Happy July Mommy L!
ReplyDeleteCM's 'Three Moments of an Explosion' is coming out this month. I'm looking forward to it.
DeleteReading The Maltese Falcon was monotonous for me, so I listened to the dramatization, wherein Michael Madsen played Sam Spade. You can say that the audio made it better for me too. :)