Here’s my reading list from June:

1. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (335 p.)
2. Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder (372 p.)
3. On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder (339 p.)
4. By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder (291 p.)
5. The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (335 p.)
6. Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (308 p.)
7. These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (289 p.) Well, the Little House books are classics. It was fun revisiting them, and they put a smile on my face, all while reminding me how HARD our ancestors worked and how grateful they were for whatever they had. No expectations of handouts, no sense of entitlement. Wonderful books.

8. Checkmate: Sixth in the Legendary Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett (581 p.) The last of the Lymond series, where all the loose-ends get tied together. Just fabulous.

9. The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough (562 p.) Well, it was its 125th birthday, so I figured now was the time to read this book that I’ve been planning to read for years. Obviously, I knew that they were going to be successful building it, but still, what a great story. And, of course, David McCullough is always fabulous.

10. The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay (349 p.) I didn’t like this one very much, but it could have just been my frame of mind. Telling the story of an orphaned Tasmanian girl named Rosemary who comes to NY and gets a job in a used bookstore and gets involved with a long-lost rare manuscript … or, something like that. Honestly, I stopped reading around page 83 and wasn’t even interested enough to skim through to the end to see how the story ended.

11. The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery (465 p.) Also about an orphaned girl, this time a French-American named Aurelie who ends up in Japan, just as it’s being opened to foreigners in the late 1800s. Interesting, and the culture-shock was intriguing, but I did think the ending was weak–very abrupt–but still, decent.

12. General Winston’s Daughter by Sharon Shinn (342 p.) YA fantasy, telling the story of 18-year old Avery, going to visit her father in Chiarrin, where she immediately embraces as much of its culture as she reasonably can, but all is not well, because there are rebels fighting for their country’s freedom. Averie becomes friends with Jalessa, a young fabric seller. This was very good, with a big twist at the end.

13. The Black Stallion by Walter Farley (187 p)
14. The Black Stallion Returns by Walter Farley (199 p)
15. Son of the Black Stallion by Walter Farley (282 p)
16. Black Stallion and Satan by Walter Farley (178 p)
17. The Black Stallion’s Filly by Walter Farley (242 p)
18. The Black Stallion Revolts by Walter Farley (263 p) Well, you’ve got to visit the old classics once in a while, huh? And still pretty entertaining in that wide-eyed, 1940s boy’s adventure story kind of way–the kind written with lots of action and lots of exclamation points, but which is still just fun. They’re mirrors of their time, but they’re entertaining, and I haven’t read them in years.

19. Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert (263 p.) A look at happiness, and how we as humans do and do not recognize it when we see it, how our brains can’t predict it, and how we misremember it later on. Entertaining AND informative, this was interesting.

20. Beneath the Vaulted Hills by Sean Russell (480 p.)
21. Compass of the Soul by Sean Russell (407 p.) Yet another reread of this duology by one of my favorite authors. In Farrland, a world much like ours at the end of the 18th century, science is gaining strength as men of reason reject the idea of magic and yet, there is still one mage living, the last of his kind, committed to seeing the magical Arts end. But there is a secret group, hidden for centuries, who are just waiting for the last mage to die, so that they can revive the Arts according to their strictures. Now, throw in a pair of inquisitive academics who are convinced there are answers to be found in a series of caves, a man who lived for several years in the mage’s house but has tried ever since to pretend that had never happened, a countess that all men find irresistable, an artist obsessed with her, a church deacon who cannot be trusted … I just love these books. Well written, great story, intriguing, appealing world … just excellent.

22. ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income by Darren Rowse an Chris Garrett (211 p.) Exactly what it sounds like–ways to make blogging make money for you. I read the blog and had to read the book–good, clear, informative, reasonable. I can’t tell you one way or another how well the instructions WORK since I have yet to try “monetizing” any of my blogs, but it certainly sounds interesting–and possible!

23. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley (247 p.) Another reread of a delightful YA book–A sweet variation on Beauty and the Beast with all likable characters, no real villains, and just a good story. Refreshing and charming.

24. House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones (404 p.) A YA/fantasy sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle, Charmain–a fairly selfish girl who just wants to sit and READ (no, no, I couldn’t relate to her at all) has to go look after her great-uncle’s house while he recovers from surgery. But, of course, it’s not that simple. Her great-uncle is a wizard, and the house is a labyrinth of magically-hidden passages. And the kobolds who do much of the maintenance are on strike, and an unexpected apprentice who can’t seem to work any spell at all shows up, and, really, all Charmain wants to do is spend time with the BOOKS. Charming, and it was nice to see Sophie and Howl again, and dog, Waif? Adorable….

25. Magic’s Pawn (The Last Herald-Mage Series, Book 1) by Mercedes Lackey (349 p.)
26. Magic’s Promise (The Last Herald-Mage Series, Book 2) by Mercedes Lackey (320 p.)
27. Magic’s Price (The Last Herald-Mage Series, Book 3) by Mercedes Lackey (336 p.) A fantasy trilogy which tells the rather tragic story of Vanyel, the last Herald-Mage. This is actually the set of books of hers I ever read, and I like to revisit them from time to time. Good story, but the ending always makes me sniffle.

28. The Fight for English: How Language Pundits Ate, Shot, and Left by David Crystal (222 p.) What a fascinating book. It takes the premise that the “take no prisoner” attitude of grammar pundits is detrimental to the language. The first half of the book is a fairly straight-forward look at the history of the various attempts to stablilize English usage over the last few centuries. But the second half is where it soars–so fascinating. It made me think, which is always good, and his reasoning is sound–that rules are helpful, but that it’s more important to understand why they’re there in the first place. That learning the POINT of grammar is more important than blindly following the rules. Great.

29. Balance of Trade (A Liaden Universe Novel) by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (451 p.) A YA sci-fi book that tells the story of Jethri Gobelyn, a young Terran trader who gets apprenticed to a Liaden Master Trader. It’s just a darn good story. But then, you already know how much I enjoy the Liaden stories (grin).

30. Dragonseye by Anne McCaffrey (353 p.) A stand-alone book in her Pern series, telling about Pern’s preparations for the Second Pass of the Red Star. Not one of the best in the series, but by no means the worst, either. Pleasant enough, and Iantine and Debera are appealing.

31. Little House Sampler by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane (243 p.) A collection of writings and reminiscences of these two authors. These days, most people just know about Laura’s writing, but her daughter Rose was actually much more famous until the “Little House” books swept through the school system (grin). Nice collection.

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Books from June //