Sunday, July 31, 2011

Sunday Salon: July Reading Reflections

July has been my best reading month in at least 5 years in terms of number of books read and it was also a pretty good blogging month as well. I can't tell you why, what it was that was different, other than the fact that my house looks like a bomb has hit it and I really need to do some housework!

This month I read 31 books! 31! And I managed to also write 10 reviews.  Once upon a time I used to review every book that I read but over the last few years I decided that I was making blogging more pressurised for myself because I always felt like I was behind. These days, I always start a post for each book I read with some basic notes, but if I don't get to write the full review...then that is okay. 10 reviews in a month is definitely good for me!

Of those books that I read, four of them were even books that have been on my bookshelf for more than a year, and another 10 were books that I have acquired this year, with the rest of them being library books. That is probably a more even mix than I usually read which is a good thing.

Here are the books that I read this month:

Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacey 4.5/5
Undeniably Yours by Shannon Stacey 4/5
Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey 4.5/5
Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare 4.5/5
Surrender of a Siren by Tessa Dare 4/5
The Countess Angelique by Sergeanne Golon 3/5
What Happens in London by Julia Quinn 3.5/5
Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis 4/5
Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James 3/5
Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins 4.5/5
The Female Man by Joanna Russ 2/5
The Creed Legacy by Linda Lael Miller 4/5
The Sweetest Thing by Jill Shalvis 4/5
A Fountain Filled With Blood by Julia Spencer-Fleming 4.5/5
Ten Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean 4/5
Meet Grace by Sofie Laguna 4/5
Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn 4/5
To the Moon and Back by Jill Mansell 4/5
If I Stay by Gayle Forman 4.5/5
The Perfect Play by Jaci Burton 4/5
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 4.5/5
A Friend for Grace by Sofie Laguna 4/5
Charlaine Harris' Grave Sight Vol 1 by Charlaine Harris, Denis Medri and William Harms 3/5
The Last Goodbye by Sarah Mayberry 4/5
One Good Reason Sarah Mayberry by 4.5/5

In terms of challenges, I read three books for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - The Very Thought of You, The Countess Angelique and Before Versailles. I only need to read one more book in order to complete this challenge.

The highlight for me this month was participating in Paris in July, hosted by Karen at Bookbath and Tamara at Thyme for Tea. The following posts were all done as part of this event.

Paris Breakfasts (blog spotlight)
Teaser Tuesday from Before Versailles (meme)
Cars2 in Paris (just for fun)

I am already thinking about what I might be able to do for next year's Paris in July event...assuming that it is being held again.

In closing, I thought I might start just having a section on each week's Sunday Salon post regardless of what topic I have chosen to post about where I talk about what I am reading and what I am expecting to read next.

Currently reading:

The Heir by Grace Burrowes - when this first came out I wasn't all that enticed by the blurb or the cover, but I have now heard quite a few good things about it so decided to give it a go.

Up next:

My next read will be a choice from The Wind Up Girl by Paolo Bacigulupi, Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman or City of Promise by Beverly Swerling.

15 comments:

  1. Wow! 31! That's fantastic, congratulations. Glad you had a good blogging month too :)

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  2. Wow, that's impressive! A book for each day. 10 reviews is also fab - great month!

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  3. oh wowww!! fantastic!! i wish i could do all that x_O haha.. great awesomenese! :D

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  4. That's an amazing amount of reading. Good for you!

    Next year, I hope to head to Paris in July. I have lots of Parisian books saved for 2012.

    Here's my Sunday Salon for this week:
    Sunday Salon: How to Read, Use, and Abuse Beautiful and Pointless Novels Like a Professor

    And a reminder: Today is the last day for you to throw your hat into the ring for my July Giveaway! Win a $25 Amazon gift card!

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  5. I started doing the exact same thing with book reviews - start a post but maybe not ever review it. Only if I have something half interesting to say. It was very freeing to make the decision not to review every book I read.

    Paris in July was a great event!

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  6. 31, what a month! Some of books look great too.

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  7. Oh my! 31 books is an amazing amount to have read in one month! Kudos to you for having that much reading steam! I am lucky if I finish three a week, which in the past few months has been a challenge for me. Mind if I borrow some of your reading mojo for a few months?

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  8. I'm still having a hard time getting my mouth to shut because it gasped out loud when I read the number 31 !! Holy moly woman!!! But you know what? The house will still be there to clean one of these days. It's much better to read!!

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  9. Fantastic month! Happy August reading!

    http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/2011/07/july-monthly-news.html

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  10. Thanks Fredamans and Sam.

    Staci, I know...right! I surprised even myself.

    Zibilee, sure you can borrow some of my mojo - just make sure you don't wear it out!

    Amy, there was a bit of a mix of books which is always good.

    Raidergirl, I am pretty comfortable with this as a blogging strategy. If I was forever feeling guilty then I would lose some of the joy of blogging I suspect.

    Deb, I hope you do get to participate in Paris in July next year. It was so much fun.

    Mel, I am pretty sure you read more than I did.

    Belle, I hadn't thought about that, but yes, it does work out to a book a day.

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  11. Wow, I'm incredibly impressed. July has been a little rough for me, but the hot weather helps some. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Good to find your blog.

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  12. Oh wow, girl, I've barely read more than that the year so far!
    This is awesome and the fact that you enjoyed most of your reads is even better.

    Here's to a great August too!

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  13. Wow, 31 books is amazing! I can't ever imagine doing that!

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  14. Kim, I can't imagine being able to do it again any time soon! lol

    Fingers crossed for a good August Iliana!

    Thanks for stopping by Robyn.

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  15. What an awesome reading month, Marg! I was proud of myself for reading 26. :)

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