Reading Wrap Up: June 2021
Welcome to the June edition of My Monthly Reading Wrap Up!
And in case you missed it, check out May’s reading wrap up!
June has been a ROUGH reading month for me. I only have five books below and just two of them were read in June (the other three I finished at the end of May but after I had already written my May reading wrap up). Plus, they were mostly all audiobooks, which means I didn’t spend much time sitting down to read.
I’m not sure why I’ve had such a hard time reading this month. I’ve been busy with work and we’ve been doing some wedding planning tasks on the weekend. And it’s been stinking hot, which is not my ideal reading atmosphere. But mostly, I just haven’t made time for reading. I’ve opted for podcasts and scrolling on my phone instead of audiobooks or e-books.
I want to get better at reading more and carving out time for reading. I know it’s better for my mental health than scrolling through Instagram or staying up late taking Buzzfeed quizzes. But I also want to give myself grace for “not reading enough.” I know my reading pace and interest change from month to month, and that’s okay. I’m also reading for pleasure – not for school or work or an assignment – so there’s no one I have to read for but myself. If I’m not in the mood to read, that’s okay.
With that said, I did still read some pretty great books and I’d love to share them with you!
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
Contemporary romance, 304 pages, published 2017
“It would be easier to be a criminal fairly prosecuted by the law than an Indian daughter who wronged her family.”
This is my kind of fiction. It’s well-written, there’s characters I can root for, the dialogue isn’t cheesy, and it combines romance and family drama. I really enjoyed Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows! As mentioned, this book is part romantic comedy, part family drama and even part mystery – plus there are some steamy scenes for the romance readers.
This story follows Nikki, a young British-Indian girl who gets a job at a temple teaching English. Only, the widows who sign up for her class are more interested in sharing erotic stories they make up than learning English! I loved that this story was so unique, unlike many romance-type books that seem to redo the same tropes over and over again. I loved meeting all of the different women and learning their very different definitions of love, marriage and independence. It was also very interesting to learn more about Punjabi and Indian culture, and the immigrant experience.
TW: racism, death, murder, honour killing
Rating: 4/5
Eat, Pray, #FML by Gabrielle Stone
Memoir, 292 pages, published 2019
“And so I began to walk. In my power, by myself.”
So when I first saw this cover, I thought this was going to be a millennial self-help book that would have me rolling my eyes all over the place. But I’m happy to report, it was not as bad as I thought it would be! Was there a lot of partying and mentions of social media? Yes. But there was also a lot of heart.
Eat, Pray, #FML is the true story of Gabrielle Stone, an actress who gets divorced, gets her heart broken by her new boyfriend and then takes off for a month solo through Europe. I appreciated how honest Gabrielle was; her self-reflection was refreshing and she wasn’t preachy. I listened to this book on audio and Gabrielle herself narrates, so it felt like chatting with a girlfriend. I especially liked her use of the “thought onion” to break her thoughts down into the superficial thought, the authentic thought and the subconscious thought.
I picked this book up because the idea of spending a month in Europe sounds glorious! And while there are lots of great travel moments, this book is primarily about Gabrielle’s romantic relationships. At points, this got very tiring and I found Gabrielle to be melodramatic. But as much as I wanted to shake some sense into her, my heart also felt for what she was going through. However, for me personally, I would have preferred more travel (and not just more diary-style entries of which club she went to each night).
Lastly, I was surprised by some of the offensive things that slipped into this book. Considering it was published in 2019, I was shocked by the blatant fatphobia as Gabrielle constantly berates herself for eating too much, being too fat for her bikini, etc. She also includes lines like “tranny alley” to describe a place in Amsterdam’s Red Light District and “I love my gays and they love me” – which both struck me as quite dated and ignorant.
TW: divorce, infidelity, death
Rating: 3.5/5
The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
Non-fiction psychology, 289 pages, published 2016
“In the summertime, you are allowed to go for a wider range of colors, even something crazily flamboyant like gray.”
A book all about how to be cozy and happy? Yes, please! This book was cute and cozy at every turn and really made me smile. I loved learning more about the Danish concept of Hygge (pronounced hoo-guh) and their serious love for candles, books and cakes. It makes me think I need to spend more time in Denmark (I’ve only spent one rainy day in Copenhagen) and spend more time creating Hygge moments for myself.
This book is a short and easy read. I found some parts, particularly around the historical design of lamps, to be quite dry. But it was mostly really funny! I liked that the author was so self-deprecating. And while he really believes in Hygge and studies happiness for a living, I appreciated that he could poke fun at himself while talking about serious things like the importance of cardigans. Bonus: This book comes with recipes!
Rating: 3.75/5
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
Young adult memoir, 304 pages, published 2020
“It’s time for the world to let Queer Black boys unpack their shit. Smile, Black boys.”
This book was all over Bookstagram last year and I was so glad to finally have my hold come through from the library. All Boys Aren’t Blue is a memoir written for a young adult audience, which I think was such a great choice and a genre I haven’t seen often. In it, George shares stories from his life growing up in a really beautiful and kind way. It reads like a love letter to so many members of his family and friend group, as well as to Queer Black boys everywhere who pick up this book.
George unpacks a lot of trauma that he experienced, which can be heartbreaking to hear, but I think is really important to know. He’s also very mindful of his audience and shares openly about his feelings at the time compared to his feelings now as an adult who has processed the experiences. One of the things George includes is his first sexual experience because young, Queer boys don’t get that kind of education. I thought that was so important and really appreciated his honesty and vulnerability in including it.
TW: racism, homophobia, death, assault, rape, sexual abuse
Rating: 4.25/5
Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe by Dr. Bonnie Henry
Non-fiction science/memoir, 216 pages, published 2021
“I hadn’t been the manufacturer of this crisis. Still it was evident that for people in BC, I had become the face of the pandemic.”
In case you don’t know, Dr. Bonnie Henry is the provincial doctor of BC (the province I live in) and quickly became one of the central figures in Canada fighting against the pandemic. While not everyone agrees with every measure she has put in place, I think most British Columbians are very happy to have her at the helm during this time.
This book covers the first few weeks of the pandemic and is told in alternating chapters by Dr. Bonnie Henry and her sister, Lynn Henry, who happened to be visiting when the pandemic first shut things down in early March 2020. I was really excited to get my hands on this book and hear more about what those beginning days looked like behind the scenes. It was fascinating, heartbreaking and very humanizing.
I appreciated learning about Dr. Henry’s experience fighting past pandemics, such as polio, ebola and SARS in Toronto. However, I did find the history part of this book a little dry, especially compared to the more fast paced parts around her current work. It was really interesting to see behind the curtain and better understand the reasoning behind Dr. Henry’s decisions. It was also very nice to be reminded of her role as a sister, and just as a person, instead of a figurehead.
I found Dr. Henry’s chapters more interesting than her sister’s, but still appreciated her sister’s insight into what was going on at the time. I also felt that there was a little bit of justification going on when Dr. Henry sounded a bit defensive about some of her decisions. But overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a short and easy read, and I think British Columbians should pick it up.
TW: covid & pandemics, illness, death
Rating: 3.75/5
Best book of the month
Overall, my favourite book in June was All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson. This one totally lived up to the hype and I think it should be required reading for young adults. Definitely would’ve been a better choice than Catcher in the Rye or 1984 (or whatever else kids have to read these days!).
Annual reading stats update
Here is a quick update on my 2021 reading stats!
- Total number of books read: 37 books
- Total number of pages read: 11,494 pages
- Fiction vs non-fiction: 8 fiction & 29 non-fiction
- Male vs female authors: 10 male & 30 female (some books had two authors)
- Diversifying my reading: Of the 40 authors I’ve read this year, 18 are BIPOC and 2 are LGBTQ+
Share my monthly reads – Pin it!
Of these books I think I woild find the one on Hygge the most interestings. Some Danish friends have tried to explain it to me and I think I get it ,but I guess I must go to Denmark and see them to get the full picture. A good mixture of titles and themes here. I just wish I had more time to read books.
Thanks, Barry! Yes, the hygge one was a great, cozy read!
All Boys Aren’t Blue sounds like a book I would like to read, thanks for the recommendation. I’ll have to go look for that one. And as a BC resident I was interested to hear about the Bonnie Henry book, although I can’t help but feel it might have been more interesting to write it a bit later since so much has changed since it was written. Kind of feels like it could feel half finished. I’ll still give it a read though
Thanks, Emma! Yes, very true about Dr. Henry’s book. It was very interesting to see what was happening in the early weeks. But I would also love to read a sequel based on the last 12 months.
I’m so glad you have yourself grace for not reading enough in one month. Like any passion or hobby we need to take mini-breaks to make us realize how much we need them in our life.
I’ve had Hygge on my list for a while. Glad to hear you liked it.
Thanks, Renee. I appreciate that!
Those sound like very cool and interesting reads. And don’t beat yourself up over not reading the set goal amount. Things happen and certain months are busier than others, just have to try again next month!
Thanks, JoJo! Definitely seeing that I have up and down months when it comes to my reading.
Always jealous of how many books you read but keep going and I keep adding recs to my list!
Thanks, Gus!
Great post! I really liked your mention of giving yourself grace for not reading as much as you would have liked to. I think this is so important! Reading it for your own pleasure so there’s really no need to pressure yourself towards a goal unless you want to (I know it can kind of be fun to sometimes haha). Nevertheless, these books look so interested and I’ll be checking some of them out :)!
Thanks! Yes, so important to remember I’m just reading for pleasure and don’t have to hit any predetermined goal.