What I Read in June: Summer Book Bingoes 2025!

There are few events in a year that I look forward to more than Summer Reading. It's up there with the likes of Christmas, Eurovision, Mardi Gras, and my birthday, in terms of personally committing to enjoying myself as much as I can.

Summer Reading gives me a chance to sign off on that annual permission slip to revel in one of my longest-running and most passionate hobbies. It encourages me to explore outside of my comfort zone, and look for new opportunities beyond my normal purview. It's about turning longer daylight hours into longer lounging hours, and promising myself "just one more chapter," knowing that the sun will still be there when I finally decide to get up again. 

As for June alone, I read SIX (!!!) books. That's more than I had been able to complete in any individual month so far in 2025 (And a quarter of the books I read, total, in 2024!). It's double what I managed to read in February or March of this year, and triple of what I read in April or May. That's amazing! 

Plus, I'm HAVING FUN. And you've got to remember that that's really the goal, here. 

This success is definitely owed to a couple of specific factors: for instance, I've finally decided that I love listening to audiobooks on my commute to-and-from work every day, which is a cumulative hour of driving time - two hours of listening time, for those of us who listen at two-times speed. Furthermore, I love the days I actually manage to prioritize staying off of Instagram, because it saves me a few of those hours of screen time to invest in other projects. 

I also want to highlight the fact that these reading challenges would not be possible without the incredible resources available through my local library. I have a TBR bookshelf numbering well into the hundreds, and even more ebooks tightly compressed into my Kindle Paperwhite, but the wide-ranging themes and exciting new topics always send me running towards my local library branch. In June alone, my library checkouts included four ebooks on Kindle, five physical copies, and five audiobooks, just to construct my starting block for launching into these challenges.

All told, June was a killer month, that kicked off a really exciting Summer. Can you really blame me for taking so long to get these reviews up, when I clearly required recuperation from all of this fun I was having? 

Seattle Public Library & Seattle Arts and Lectures' Summer Reading Challenge Book Bingo

An annual tradition that began back when I actually did still live in Seattle, this Summer Book Bingo Challenge is exclusively self-imposed and rigorously followed. 

Bingo Square: "PNW Nature"

Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt

"Smart cookie. I am smart, but I am not a snack object dispensed from a packaged food machine. What a preposterous thing to say." 

Three lives - an old woman contemplating her future, a young man seeking the truth of his origins, and a giant Pacific octopus in residence at a local aquarium - meet in a coastal Washington town. 

The book appears to be somewhat universally beloved, with many friends of my acquaintance regularly granting it four or five stars on Goodreads... leaving me frustrated, and bored out of my mind, attempting to blaze through the audiobook on my morning and afternoon commutes from work. 

As it turns out, the answer to this disparity may lie within a lunchtime conversation I had with two of my coworkers - one of whom read the book and gave it 4.5 stars, and another, who listened to the audiobook like me, and... did not. 

Whitney had many of the same gripes I did, which - after discussion between the three of us - seemed to arise from an issue of format ("If you're going to have two narrators, why have one ONLY do the octopus, and the other... literally everything else? And why does he have a pan-Atlantic accent?"). Then again, even Paige could admit to some of the other flaws ("I hated pretty much everything that had to do with the male main character. He was just such a loser."). 

As for me, I had some of my own structural issues, as well: it was too neat. Characters were somewhat preternaturally lucky, for all that they hit their bumpy patches. So many things just HAPPENED to work out, that the entire overarching narrative felt shallow. I get that it's a small town, but yeesh. 

And speaking of a small town, Washington is full up on plenty of cool ones. I'm baffled by the decision to invent an entirely fictional location... not when I could think of at least three small coastal towns off the top of my head that would easily fit the geographical bill. 

(After all, even Tessa Bailey's It Happened One Summer is set in Westport.)

three-and-a-half stars

Bingo Square: "Monsters"

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology, ed. Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. 

"Could be his story's already Horror, yeah? Sure. The way he told it was more... it was more about how there's more to the night, and the land, than we generally acknowledge. Which is to say, when we feel his story in the base of our jaw, in the hollow of our chest, in the sway of our back, then the world clicks that smidge wider, to allow more stuff to be going on." 

A compendium of shorts written by notable Native authors operating within the schema of Dark Fiction, with stories focused on ghosts, monsters, contemporary social issues, and more. 

Short answer: I absolutely loved it. I loved it so hard I read it in only a handful of sittings. I loved it so much I considered just going out and buying my own copy when I was afraid I wouldn't make the library due date in time. I'm probably going to end up buying my own copy for keeps anyways. 

I loved the breadth of genre representation: this collection is classified not just as Horror, but actually Dark Fiction - a confusion I've seen trip up multiple reviewers when discussing this book - a genre whose scope includes Crime, Thriller, Suspense, and even Dark Humor / Satire. I loved how every single author involved was given space to breathe and flex and show off a little. I loved that there were authors I recognized, and others that were totally brand new to me. I love that I now have a reading list of authors to look out for in the future. 

I love how some leaned into myths, monsters, folklore, and legend; I loved how some felt current, contemporary, real, and reflective. I love how some used stereotypes and recognizable tropes as target practice to be knocked down; I love how some claimed new ownership on long-held practices and traditions. I loved how much representation there was - serving as a reminder that no Native American culture is a monolith, but instead, that indigenous Americans belong to wide spanning and far-reaching communities, each with their own unique history and voices. I loved it.

My only critique that I can even come up with is that I personally feel the organization of how the stories were arranged could have flowed a little better in places. That's really it. There's only so much I can say negatively about a book that got me so good that I have two pages of handwritten notes about it, jotted down just to help me sort through all of that gorgeous content. 

I look forward to reading this one again in the future. 

four-and-a-half stars 

Bingo Square: "Resistance"

Pleasure Activism, adrienne maree brown 

"And perhaps that would be fine if the top searches were 'woman on top of someone she could never identify as a family member,' 'strapped women taking tender tushes,' or 'grown up legal-aged professionals of all genders in hot consensual anti-racist role play.' But if pornography is another space in which we practice exploring our fantasies, I have questions." 

A collection of personal essays, interviews, artwork, and more, oriented around the idea that Pleasure is not only worth seeking in all ways on all days, but especially within the scope of social justice conversations and intersectional community organization. 

Parts of this book were thought-provoking, insightful, and edifying... in fact, a lot of it reminded me of taking a Comparative History of Ideas class in college. And parts of it felt sort of self-involved, abstract, and gratuitously provocative... like taking a Comparative History of Ideas class in college.

I wanted something concrete and static to hold on to, something like numbers or data, reinforcing a salient point with evidentiary backup. Instead, this wandering and wordy collection felt like it was constantly shifting attention, in ways that occasionally came off as a little directionless and unsteady. 

The problem is, parts of this are so, so relevant and important - to the point where my phone Camera Roll was filled with pictures of pages while reading, because simply writing down a quote wasn't enough: I needed context to give scope around the ideas that I liked. 

I found myself revisiting notable phrases and concepts as I was otherwise simply going about my day. Pleasure IS vital to successful sociopolitical recruitment efforts; Black women DO deserve to reclaim sexual freedom against dangerous racial stereotypes; the ultimate power in both pleasure and activism IS rooted in community! Imagine an old Uncle Sam-style poster hanging on the wall: Have YOU de-centered the phallus today? 

But all of this gets bogged down by the jetsam cast to the second half of the book, tenuously tied to the orienting concept, with controversial - and almost exclusively anecdotal - takes on explorative drug use, ethical non-monogamy, the idea of going commando in a skirt and sitting your butt directly on grass as a meditative grounding technique... like I said, it reminded me of the kinds of conversations we had back in college. It tired me out a little bit. 

I just really wish this had gone through at least another round or two of editing before publication. Instead of feeling like a commonplace book of scratch thesis development, it could have been two or three different, tightly-directed books... maybe even a really good zine series. 

two stars 

Ripped Bodice Bookstore Romance Book Bingo 

Hosted by the Ripped Bodice Bookstore - with locations in Culver City, CA, and Brooklyn, NY - this annual Book Bingo just celebrated its ninth year, and focuses on Romance novels that fit into unique and humorous categories.

Bingo Square: "Telepathic Connection"

Dark Prince (Carpathians #1), Christine Feehan

" 'A Carpathian male will do anything necessary to ensure the happiness of his lifemate. I don't know or understand how it works, but Mikhail told me the bond is so strong, a male cannot do anything else but make his woman happy.'

'I don't understand how taking away choices would ever make anyone happy.' " 

A psychic seeking to distance herself from her hazardous past tracking serial killers, finds her European vacation interrupted when she's inexplicably drawn to the leader of the Carpathians, a remote blood-sucking population under attack from unknown forces. 

Okay, full cards on the table here: I cannot emphasize enough how much I absolutely disliked this one. 

Enough that I got so sick and tired of their repeated lovemaking sessions that I couldn't help but yell out loud when I realized I was only 30% of the way in. Enough that the generally misplaced and reductive stereotypes drove me to angrily verbally-download the whole thing to my brother after he made the mistake of looking me in the eye as we passed each other in the hallway. Enough that in the last third of the book, I started wishing that the main heroine would get knocked unconscious or locked underground (plot-relevant), so that I wouldn't have to suffer through her narrative voice anymore. 

Things I hated, in no particular order: 

• How small the heroine was. How DAINTY and PETITE. It was only reiterated and reinforced every few minutes, alongside how her silky black hair fell like a sexy curtain, how her blue eyes shone through the darkness like LED headlights about to run me off the road, and how despite how eensy-weensy and Polly Pocket-sized she was, that she also had full, round, perfect breasts. Because of course. 
• How frequently and without any plot necessity at all, violence against women - especially sexual violence - was portrayed as a major motivating factor for the actions of every single bad guy. 
• Not the main Hero, though! He was just domineering, argumentative, obstinate, dictatorial, manipulative, and callous. He deliberately withheld information from the Heroine, turned her into a vampire without her consent, willed her into obedience with vampire powers, and demonstrated tremendous, earth-shattering violence towards OTHERS. But not her! Which makes it okay!
• Every time she was described as shaking her head, I'm surprised that a muffled rattling sound didn't follow. Her main "powers" seemed to be the stunning inability to accurately gauge a situation, and how to find herself in a maximum amount of trouble as quickly as possible. But as our Hero would describe it, it was just her sense of "compassion" that was leading her astray. 

I'm a Christine Feehan believer, for the most part - I really did love Dangerous Tides - but had I been kept in the dark about authorial identity, I think I would have just assumed this was written by a guy (no offense meant, gentlemen sirs), sheerly on the basis of how often our main character breasted boobily into dangerous situations that could only be remedied with violence. 

one-and-a-half stars 

Bingo Square: "Has a Sportsball On the Cover"

Cleat Cute, Meryl Wilsner

"One of the downsides of being a lesbian athlete is other women are always doing hot things around you." 

A rookie hotshot butts heads with the well-established captain of their New Orleans soccer team, but they quickly find something they like in common: each other. As they start spending time together both on and off the field, they learn that the whole teammates-with-benefits thing might be more than just a game to either of them. 

Okay. So. Did I like this book? Yes. Did I enjoy this book? Mostly. 

A few gripes:

• One of the primary concerns of one of the main characters is that the world would someday know about her private life, and more specifically, that she was a lesbian. Somehow, despite her legendary soccer status, her close friendships with numerous lesbian members on the USWNT, and a decade-plus-long career in women's sports, she just never happened to come out, nor had anyone asked directly. Be so for real. 
• I swear, one of the two audiobook narrators has the exact same tone, cadence and expression as a Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse character - to the point where I even googled it to verify that it wasn't true, and still didn't trust it until I found a second source - which made some VERY unfiltered sex scenes VERY uncomfortable for listening. (It was difficult not to just skip through them, but unfortunately, plot-heavy sex scenes exist in this genre, and in this book, so I was stuck.)
• I HATED the dirty talk in the sex scenes. I am definitely not a fan of certain verbiage that was not only utilized, but used to the extreme. The first sex scene also happened only at about the 33% mark, and they were fast and furious with the effing of each other, which just really doesn't do it for me... I'm someone who tends to look for a little more relationship development between characters before that bridge gets crossed. 

However, I did have some real, powerful positives:

• There were mature, (semi) rational adults, with real families, real careers, real concerns, and real side gigs: women's soccer doesn't sustain a rookie paycheck like a "real" job, so Phoebe part-timed as a waitress so her schedule could stay flexible. Grace didn't just make bank playing soccer; she also did sponsorships, brand deals, and commercials. They both had a difficult relationship with being public figures, and the various ways their words and actions were interpreted by the press. It was one of the most realistic and nuanced perspectives on athletic stardom that I've ever read. 
• I liked that they argued and fought. Counterintuitive, I know! But it was another piece of the puzzle that felt realistic and normal to read. I didn't exactly love how many of these arguments stemmed from slightly insane miscommunications - Please, dear reader, never surprise reveal to your friend-with-benefits that they definitely have undiagnosed ADHD after a tense moment with their parents - but I liked that they acknowledged their disconnect, and fought back towards each other again. 

All told, it was a quick, fun, and unique read, that I would probably end up recommending to at least one or two people I know. Maybe people who are just a little bit more invested in soccer, or rapid-fire romance, than I am. 

three stars

Bingo Square: "Haunted House"

Haunted Ever After, Jen De Luca

"There was a lot to process about tonight, but two major themes swam to the forefront. 

Ghosts were real. 

Nick was a damn good kisser. 

She wasn't sure which one was scarier, or more exciting." 

After committing to a house sight-unseen and impulsively moving to a small beach-front town, a woman finds out that her new abode is one of the main stops of the local ghost tour. Good thing the coffee shop owner down the street makes some great banana bread, and might know a little something about raising her spirits. 

I am a fan of De Luca's Ren Faire-oriented Romance series, Well Met, but this is the first I've heard of that she's written outside of that scope. I wouldn't even had known that this book (a recent release, no less!) existed, had I not been looking for a Summer Book Bingo recommendation for "Haunted House" specifically. Naturally, I snapped up the library copy... and finished the whole thing in what was, essentially, one sitting, on a random Monday after work. 

It reminded me a lot of Meg Cabot's recent witchy, small-town-in-New-England Romance - Enchanted to Meet You - though I feel that book focused a lot more on generating a really established sense of setting, aesthetic, and lore. This one, however, took a more direct "You know how it is" kind of approach - you know small beach towns, you know Florida, you know ghosts, you know puns, right? You honestly don't need to think about it too hard. You're in the drivers seat, the car's filled up with gas, and your only job as the reader is to push your foot down. Even then, it's a smooth cruise: just think the words "horniest Scooby Doo episode" or "tamest Ghost Whisperer episode," and drive. 

It's easy entry, just like the banter between the main characters is easy, the friendships come easy, the major mystery feels immediately obvious the second someone acts out of character. It's just a very dip-your-toe-in-and-swim kind of kiddie pool: a little shallow, and easy to splash around in. The ghostly elements are done in such a goofy way it gives carnival funhouse vibes, rather than any genuine spooks. It was silly and obliquely feminist, and full of good humor, so yeah, that feels like a recipe for a pretty good Monday night to me, too. 

four stars

Did you read anything good this summer? Would you have picked up something different to fulfill these prompts? Let me know, in the comments below!

Summer Reading Challenge Pt. 3: What I Read in August!

Man, this summer has just been... a LOT. 

Hence why I haven't been able to muster up the ability to tell you about the end of my Summer Reading Challenges until we're nearly halfway through the month of September. I'm experiencing the brain scramblies, as a result of a pseudo marathon of travel and social engagements, and the only thing more ravaged than my mental health, to-do list and Fall planning, is my digestive system. Things have been full chaos city in my life for the last month or so, and some days it feels like the only tape binding my broken parts together is a combination of iced caramel coffees and the fact that I actually get to sleep in my own bed every night from here to the end of 2023. 

(I washed my bedding AND two week's worth of travel laundry yesterday. It took all day to get done, and when I went to bed last night, between those crisply-folded, freshly-laundered sheets, I truly felt the bone-deep-exhausting reward of self care. I nearly cried.)

But it's time to move on. Fall, in my mind, is already here, even though the calendar insists that it doesn't start until a week and a half from now, for some obviously incorrect reason. The local school district I volunteer with has already begun their academic year; friends have begun asking me what my plans are for Halloween and my 30th Birthday next month. This morning, the Dancing with the Stars cast list for this season was announced, and tonight, I'm headed to the local state fair to see one of my favorite country bands in concert with some of my cousins. 

Autumn has arrived. And yet, until I get this blogpost - and its inevitable successor, which we'll address in a second - published, August keeps hanging over my head like a disgruntled cloud that just wants to rain, already. 

So. Let's talk about August. 

What I Read in June

What I Read in July

The final month of Summer, stymied by a packed travel schedule but desperate to gain at least ONE Bingo before I resigned myself to September, I ended up reading EIGHT books... however. However! Only three of them were quote-unquote NORMAL books. 

With about ten days left in the month, I suffered something akin to a mental breakdown and read five Romance novels across five days, and ended up finding two of the best Romance novels I've read in the last few years. So. That's going to have to be a different kind of blogpost, you know? 

But I still have those three "normal" books that I read. I ended up being able to count two of the Romance novels on my regular Seattle Public Library Book Bingo Summer Reading Challenge, too, and altogether, I not only managed to get one Bingo... I got three! 

While I'm still busy trying to recover from the effort, why not read some of the reviews I wrote for them? 

Bingo Square: "Debut Essays or Short Stories"

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self Delusion, Jia Tolentino

A funny, self-deprecating - but nonetheless salient and well-researched - collection of personal essays, covering topics like reality television, coming of age in the Internet, and the wedding industrial complex, with a unique and feminist edge. 

The first time I attempted this dense, yet conversational, collection of essays, I was suffering from an extended panic attack while flying home alone from LA in October of '21. I had been mislead in the idea that it would make for beneficial vacation reading, but the jaded and often pessimistic discussions of gender and culture were only adding to my distress the higher we flew. I ended up bailing out 30 pages in, and decided to listen to the Beetlejuice musical cast album for the umpteenth time instead. 

It was only when I saw the square "Debut Essays" on my Summer Book Bingo card that I figured I would have to give this particular hardcover another chance. Even so, I absolutely dreaded returning to it. 

Then I saw it pop up on one of my social feeds, in an Instagram post shared by a friend, in a list of reads titled "Books to Read After Watching Barbie," and that comparison felt way more apt and appropriate than calling it a beach read. Barbie's gentle perspectives on constructions of femininity, impacts of the patriarchy, and coming of age in a complicated girlhood, felt salient to the topics discussed in the collection, and approaching it within that mindset made the whole thing feel far easier to digest. Instead of feeling overly dismissive or glib, the author's voice felt more like an extended vent session with a friend, after a particularly spirited Gender and Women's Studies quiz section. 

The fact that one of the final essays in the collection involved an exploration of the author's views on marriage felt particularly notable to me, as I was on vacation with my sibling, her partner (fiancé), and her partner's family, in celebration of the engagement (Yes, I did end up reading it on vacation after all). The conversations that resulted from me sharing quotes from the floor of our shared bedroom lost no degree of authority for all that they also made us laugh. 

It's complicated, being a woman. 

Four stars. 

Bingo Square: "Includes a Recipe"

Something Old, Something New, Tamar Adler

A joyful exploration and authoritative retrospective on vintage and antique recipes that a well-versed chef believes should find their way back into dinnertime rotation. 

I've been a part of the growing appreciation for Tamar Adler's impeccable first book - An Everlasting Meal - for several years now, including at a time when securing the elusive ten-year-old hardcovers felt impossible enough to consider "misplacing" the only one I could find (the solo copy on offer from our local library system. I have a paperback copy now, though, so don't worry for my immortal soul). The near cult fanaticism many feel for that installment in her canon of work made me giddy enough to pick up this next title shortly after its paperback release, then preserve it for the occasion where I could fully read it at my leisure, with a bundle of page flags nearby. 

The "Includes a Recipe" square on my Summer Book Bingo card certainly helped promote this decision. 

SOSN carries the same meditative elegance present in AEM, the same blissful confidence that you, too, can cook like this, punctuated by flashes of Adler's characteristic humor. The topics, however, couldn't be further from each other: whereas Everlasting's gastronomic perspectives make you feel like you will never waste a scrap of food ever again, SOSN dives into antiquated gustatory novelties with gusto. I have no room to talk - I literally have a monthly cooking newsletter dedicated to exorcising trapped recipes from decades-old cookbooks, myself - but seeing her glom onto recipes for aspic, souffles, and seafood served with a variety of surnames attached, did feel a little detached from her previous theses. 

What seemed unequivocally true, regardless, is that Adler seems to be having an excellent time while doing it. It doesn't quite live up to my levels of appreciation for its predecessor, but then again, very few selections of Food Writing do. I have a favorite within M.F.K. Fisher's ranks, as well, and the comparison feels worthy of merit. 

Three and a half stars. 

Bingo Square: "Trans or Nonbinary Author"

I Kissed Shara Wheeler, Casey McQuiston

After the popular and intelligent daughter of their private Christian high school's principal goes missing a few weeks before graduation, those she left behind - her boyfriend, the boy next door, and our main character, her closest rival for the valedictorian title - piece together a series of intricate clues she left behind, to figure out why she left... and where she's hiding now. 

I was an early adopter and fan of McQuiston's debut novel - Red, White and Royal Blue, which was also adapted into a very popular Amazon Prime movie this past summer - and have continued to be a fan of it in the years since... but their other novels haven't really interested me. One Last Stop seemed a tad convoluted, and this, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, trod a little too close to John Green's Paper Towns to capture my interest... something that, funny enough, the characters own up to the context of the story. 

However, the continued goading of my younger sister finally got me to commit (as talking about novels we have in common has become one of our favorite phone conversational topics now that she's established in California for good). And, of course, the Book Bingo square for a "Nonbinary Author" made for a compelling argument. And it was a title I already had on my shelves, thanks, of course, to the aforementioned sister who had abandoned it in my keeping.

To jump to the end, and provide some high-key spoilers, I was fairly disappointed. Because I was already acquainted with McQuiston's authorial voice and subject matter, most of the plot felt fairly predictable: in both an "obviously those two characters are in love with each other" and an "obviously those two other characters are in love with each other" kind of way. Obviously if the main character mentioned her penchant for "megabitch" villains who fall for the hero, then her archnemesis will be revealed to be a secret megabitch who's obsessed with her. Obviously. This all made each "plot twist" revelation the kind of thing that sent me pedaling backwards, thinking to myself, Wait, why is this a reveal? I thought we knew that already. 

Shara, for all that she was seemingly the focus of the entire novel, also felt bizarrely two-dimensional, like one of the Ashleys from Recess, or any other bitchy queen bee of the '90s or early '00s, crossed with the competitive streak of Tracy Flick. The final act conflict - the revelation that the principal had been taking bribes to alter peoples' grades - felt like McQuiston had simply popped on the news to determine how to resolve character conflicts, in ways that actually didn't end up meaningful to the overall narrative. Parts of the resolution felt unreasonable, or unrealistic. 

And yet, there were absolutely parts that made me laugh. I believe it's McQuiston's first YA attempt, which explains why the whole thing feels ripe for another Amazon Prime adaptation. I just might not watch that one. 

Two and a half stars. 

So, those are my August reviews. Except, of course, the five Romance reviews I read in the space of one week, which I'll talk about some time in the next few days... and the Paranormal Romance I DNF'd. That Big Box is due for another update soon, I think. 

Hopefully I'll manage to wrap up August sometime before October starts. 

What did you end up reading this summer? Any guesses for what some of those Romances are? Let me know, in the comments below!

Seven Steps to Prepare for a Summer Reading Challenge, According to Me

The arrival of Summer is heralded by different things, for different people. 

For some, it may be the first time you hear ice cream truck music crackling through burnt-out speakers, playing through an open window. For others, it's when the temperature tips above a certain number of degrees (Tacoma hit 80 in mid-May this year). It may be the last of final papers graded and input into your classroom portal, or it may be the quiet resignation you feel towards finally starting to clean up the yard a little bit, while the grass is still green. 

For me, it's when the Seattle Public Library finally publishes their Summer Reading Challenge Bingo Card for the year. 

First discovered when I was in my senior year in college, living in my own apartment for the first (and last) time - soaking up as much independence as I could while completing my final class before graduation - SPL's Summer Book Bingo has become as quintessentially "summer" to me as strawberry lemonade, local baseball games, or manhandling gargantuan, spider-covered zucchini from the garden. 

It is the defining factor as to how much room I need left in my luggage while I pack for Central Oregon, or what's going to keep me distracted from the mosquitos or wildfire smoke we inevitably encounter on our various camping trips. It's what causes my purse to hang a little lower, with the heft of my Kindle tucked inside, when someone decides on an afternoon jaunt to the waterfront, and it provides the backdrop for a variety of gorgeous titles in my room, luxuriating in the late evening sun that splashes across my bed, shining through the slats of the blinds. 

It's what decides if my August is spent in tense self-hatred, or a warm feeling of accomplishment. (Full disclosure, in the many years I've been taking part in this challenge, last summer was pretty much the first time ever with this challenge that I got to enjoy that second experience.) 

The point is, SPL's Summer Book Bingo provides a framework around which I organize my summer reading, every year. It has led me to books that changed my worldview ( like This is Going to Hurt, by Adam McKay), and books that I still mutter about under my breath (like Paolo Bacigalupi's The Water Knife). It causes me to reach beyond my comfort zone, or indulge in old favorites, or finally pick up that one title on my shelf I've been eyeing for forever. 

And yes, it's still not the only reading challenge I have on deck for this year. (Because of how much I love The Ripped Bodice, as well, it's not even the only bingo reading challenge I'm taking part in THIS SUMMER.) But it is the one that takes up the most of my time and brainpower, and the one that earns itself a giant stack of books teetering perilously across the span of my endtable. 

Because I want you to take part, too, I figured I'd make you a handy step-by-step guide on how to prepare for your Summer Reading Challenge of Choice. 

(Though if you are taking part in the SPL Bingo, too, I certainly can't wait to hear about all of your plans!)

STEP ONE: Wait, anxiously, for weeks, until your Reading Challenge of Choice finally gets uploaded to the Internet. For Seattle Public Library's 2023 Summer Reading Book Bingo, that means May 25th. For the Ripped Bodice's 2023 Romance Book Bingo, that's June 3rd. Both feel like an eternity. 

STEP TWO: Print out your Bingo card, or various reading challenge forms of measurement. For some people, that might look more like hooking up to an app on your phone - which is increasingly used at libraries these days - but for those of us who prefer a more tactile recording style, that means you either have to hightail it to your nearest library branch, or print out your own copy online. 

(And if you belong to the Summer Book Bingo challenge in Seattle in particular, make sure your printer has plenty of yellow ink left. Trust me.)

STEP THREE: Get your bearings. Read through your Challenge one or two times before you even take another step, just to get a lay of the topography of what you're working with. How confident are you, before diving into the nitty gritty work? How are you feeling? 

Assemble one (or two, no more than three) beverages or snacks of your choice, grab something to write with and something to write on, and mosey on over to your TBR stack(s) or shelf(/ves). 

STEP FOUR: One by one, go through each square on the Bingo Card. Try not to balk at anything too early, daunting though they may be - 'Joyful?' you may think, 'Hip Hop'? 'Sea Creatures'? - but just take each new square as it comes. When greeted by the prompt, does anything come to mind immediately? Are there any 'Indigenous Author's in your stacks? What about a 'Manga / Graphic Novel'? Start to assemble your Summer Challenge TBR Stack with things you already have on hand; no Barnes and Noble run or library holds waiting required. 

Of course, some of them are going to get you stuck. The Seattle Public Library has, thankfully, thought of his already, and has put together various lists for you to choose from, should you not be able to make it on your own. Some are, obviously, not included - for instance, 'Read with a Friend' has a lot more to do with a Friend than the Library - but most are there for you to select from a large assortment. It's up to you to decide! 

(And if the Library Lists don't work out, of course, there's always Google, and Goodreads Genre Lists, and Storygraph selections, and all sorts of pathways for diving your future reads. Make sure you reach out to a bookish friend or two and see what they're reading this Summer, as well!)

STEP FIVE: In the case that you've figured out a book worth reading that fits the Challenge prompt, but you don't necessarily have on your shelves, then you've got a perfect solution: remember how these kinds of challenges are hosted and promoted by your local library? It's time for you to use it! Even for someone with particularly robust reading shelves, like me, I still had to place about twelve different holds for books throughout the library system to cover absolutely all of my bases. 

Make sure you're taking into account things like Due Dates, which might otherwise interfere with your summer reading plans, as well as Holds Lists, because chances are, other people are taking a part in the same challenge you are, too! I'd recommend going after "achievable" holds lists only, and not bothering with those that might take longer than your summer to get through: for instance, Shelby Van Pelt's Remarkably Bright Creatures certainly might have fit the "Sea Creatures" bill perfectly, but there are over 30 people in the holds line before me, and there are only ten copies on deck in the library system for lending. Yikes! 

If you're the kind of person who is NOT on a Book Buying Ban - you lucky thing, you - make sure to plan where you're picking up each of your reads, too, and get to ordering what you need. Barnes and Noble, or Half Price Books, or Goodwill? Thrift Books, or Bookshop.Org? Chart your course! Though I would, of course, recommend starting with your cheaper options first, and climbing upwards as availability wanes. Remember some online retailers, like Book Outlet, have fairly long wait times for your packages, in case you're trying to get your books read sooner rather than later! 

STEP SIX: After you've got all of your materials pulled together, it's time to rank your stack. Anything with a Due Date goes on top first: any and all library books have got to go, before someone else stakes a claim on your title before you finish it! 

Next up, are any books that have been lent to you from other bookish companions, so you don't force your very generous friends to wait for you. Then, everything else! 

STEP SEVEN: Plan it out. There are approximately fourteen Sundays between Memorial Day Weekend and the first Sunday of September... you need to make sure you know what goalposts to be hitting each week! If you're trying to complete the Seattle Public Library Book Bingo, that means twenty-four books, across fourteen weeks: if you can commit to reading two books, every week, then you'll end the Summer Reading Challenge with time to spare... ideally, for more reading! 

Are there any books, in particular, you're going to want to read earlier or later in the Summer? What's going to make for the perfect beach read, or what will make more sense to keep at home for weeknight dedication? Which Horror novel are you going to want to be safe in your own bed while reading, and which Romance makes more sense to bring along with you on that overnight camping trip? 

At the very least, try to divide your stack so that you know what you're going to be attempting for your upcoming two weeks at a time.

Then, all there's left to do is get started! Make sure you keep your Book Bingo Card handy, for easy recording, and keep on top of those Library Due Dates, so you don't incur any unnecessary fines as a result of sheer enthusiasm. Check the Events section of your local library's website to see if there are any Reading Challenge-related events you can attend; SPL partners with Seattle Arts and Lectures for this exact reason. Check out an author visit, or if your library branch is super high tech, see if you can attend virtually.

There's more Summer Library content coming down the pipe from me, but for now, get to charting your course for adventure this summer, by taking part in a Reading Challenge! I can't wait to see what new treasures you'll discover this year... my own challenge is already well underway.

Are you taking part in a Summer Reading Challenge this year? Is it through Seattle Public Libraries and Seattle Arts & Lectures? Let me know, in the comments below!

What I Read this Summer: My Summer Reading Challenges, Part One

Insert requisite "I can't believe Summer's over," blah blah blah. In fact, I can believe that Summer is over. The weather has turned, local schools are back in session, and my soul is plagued by a persistent itch to break out all of the Halloween decor early (Not until the 24th! We have it written down in the family calendar already). 

Besides, despite the fact that there are still plenty of tomatoes hanging out on the vines outside - Washington has had a miserable growing year for tomatoes - the seasons have officially begun to turn, from "Farmer's Market" to "Wildfire and Spiders." It's a more welcome transition than you might think. 

However, more importantly, the onset of September brings to a close yet another year's worth of Summer Reading Challenge Library Book Bingoes, and all of their affiliated distractions. 

The official close of the Seattle Public Library and Seattle Arts and Lectures series Adult Summer Reading Book Bingo was on September 6th, and I can't say that I didn't breathe a sigh of relief. Not because I wanted it to be over, necessarily, but because I actually managed to up last year's miserable performance, and get three individual Bingoes across my card! 

Out of the 25 possible squares, I successfully filled up THIRTEEN squares with the titles of books I read this summer. (There are also an additional five romance novels that I completed that didn't necessarily manage to work into the list, but you've already heard about two of them here.) Due to the nature of this online space supposedly being a Book Blog, and because I've managed very little else by way of updates over the course of this summer, I thought you might like to see what I've been busy reading, and why. 

JUNE

Square: A Book with a Blue Cover

Book: The Nest, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

I started off the Summer with the best of intentions of also tackling one of my other longstanding reading challenges: chipping away at the towering TBR stack lurking over my reading nook. So, when given such a deliberately ambiguous prompt, I selected one of the titles that has been sitting here the longest, purchased in hardcover in the Spring of my senior year of college. 

Unfortunately, I really, really didn't like it. 

The Nest follows a family of upper-class New Yorkians, specifically, a family of four siblings and their various spouses and children. The four were promised shares of a large nest egg, bequeathed by their late, wealthy father, that would become available to them all when the youngest was old enough to spend it responsibly... unfortunately, they never get the chance, as their oldest brother's indiscretions and legal trouble have scrubbed the whole thing clean right before they can legally access it. Now, they're forced to grapple with the various ways they've been banking on that money - to shore up failing businesses, to pay for college, to smooth the wrinkled edges of an expensive lifestyle - while contending with their own fragile family relationships. 

To break the entire cast of characters down to their bare essentials, everyone in The Nest falls into the following criteria: absurdly horny, morally repugnant, worthy of pity, and positively delusional. And yes, there are absolutely people who fit all four categories at once. 

Obviously book characters don't have to be good people. In fact, it's often more fun when they're not! But from a moral / ethical standpoint, these people were all over the place, and it's not fun reading a book where a good 70% of the total cast are making decisions that warrant a response of "What the hell are you thinking?" while shaking the book like you've got a hold on their shoulders. 

And then, even in the other characters, you get shades of xenophobia, racism, sexism, etc. For a book that includes two different major queer relationships, some of the other subtext of the book oriented around it carries this weird, mid-'00s flavors of homophobia. I'm sure these kinds of shading were included to round things out, make the entire world of the novel feel more real, but honestly, the overall impact was just really kind of sideways-preachy, like the author was presenting them in a way that made sure no one would accuse the author herself of being racist or homophobic. It was just what the characters were doing. 

Also, what the hell was that ending?? I won't detail the specifics, given the nature of spoilers and their associated social no-nos, but seriously? Come on. 

It was not an auspicious way to start the Summer's reading. 

Square: First Book by an Author (partnered with another square, "Most Recent Book by Same Author")

Book: Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness #1), Tamora Pierce

Okay, don't get on me about this. I'm not a fake fan, I'm just someone whose first Tamora Pierce book was Trickster's Choice, and I've read pretty much every series since out of sequential order. And I've dragged my feet SO LONG over reading the Lioness Quartet. Strictly speaking, I have attempted this book multiple times before - including a format change, on audiobook - and I even had a copy of it that I ended up giving away a couple of years ago, absolutely determined that these books were just the Tamora Pierce novels I wouldn't read. 

However, my younger brother, equally set on me meeting him at his level, was so motivated at changing my mind that he ended up purchasing me a boxed set - one that matches my Daine boxed set - with the insistence that I give it another go. 

Then, he sat beside me as I read, and listened to all my mutterings and exclamations, in real time. Unbeknownst to me, he was also running the Stopwatch app on his phone as we were taking our time, only pausing it once when I got up to use the restroom. At the halfway mark, he boasted about what good time I was making; once I'd finished, he proudly showed me the score: two hours, sixteen minutes, and 42 seconds. 

Alanna: the First Adventure, is the first novel of the first series legendary YA Fantasy author Tamora Pierce first wrote back in 1983. Since then, her multiple series set in the world of Tortall have only served to continue to develop the rich, immersive landscape her many characters occupy. Alanna, a young noblewoman desperate to become a knight, switches places with her brother in order to be allowed to learn... along the way, she makes friends with a Rogue and a future King, squares up against school bullies, and proves her own merit against dark forces. And that's just the first book! 

I mean, not only was it worth it to finally get my brother a quarter of the way off my chest about it, but the book itself was quite good. Despite the decades she's been writing across, Tamora Pierce's voice rings incredibly consistent throughout the years, her stories are populated with compelling characters and incredible feats, and she is equal parts sentimental and light-hearted, which is a great juggling act for an author for teenagers. I love the realm of Tortall, and reading this after getting to know Beka, Kel, Daine and Ali already almost makes it feel like a prequel. I especially love seeing how much Alanna's story in turn shapes Kel's, who will always be one of my favorites. 

And yes, I'm genuinely excited to read the next in the series. Hopefully my little brother will help inspire the same kind of motivation from the other side of the state once he returns to college. 

Square: Debut Author

Book: Trail of Lightning (Sixth World #1), Rebecca Roanhorse 

I actually had attempted to read this book for the first time the previous summer, amidst a period of frustrating mental health and a near-desperate urge to pretend I was anywhere but Earth. Needless to say, a post-apocalyptic world of near-constant violence was not the right sandbox for my fragile mind to shovel knee-deep into, and I DNF'd within the first thirteen pages. 

The second attempt was actually made in the same location (Sunriver, OR), but in a more positive frame of mind: instead of the End-of-August Scaries (which are kind of like the Sunday Scaries, but with the Pavlovian instillation of back-to-school dread that hangs around from childhood far into your adult years), the only thing I was dealing with was still shaking off the ooze of a Springtime slump, and trying to work my way into a Summer Reading mindset. Because I really wanted to get this novel off of my TBR, I decided that instead of allowing myself to be overwhelmed by the violence, I was just going to push through it until it gave way to plot. And I found it! Also plus more violence. 

Trail of Lightning - the first in the Sixth World series - is set in Dinetah, the protected remnants of the Navajo reservation, left after a great flood and the appearance of mystical boundary walls wipes out access to the rest of the world. Maggie, whose monster-killing powers come as a byproduct of her powerful lineage, collects bounties on the heads of strange and terrifying creatures in order to get by. After she teams up with a confusing bigger-city medicine man at the behest of her mentor, the two track a developing evil causing mysterious disappearances, while it quickly becomes clear that someone has it out for her, too. 

My feelings on this book are a little confused. It belongs to one of my more rapidly-expanding least favorite genres (Post-Apocalyptic fiction, mainly due to last year's Water Knife, by Paolo Bacigalupi, which still makes me grimace every time I think about it, and which I hated so much I never pushed 'publish' on the blogpost I wrote about it because I was just so sick of thinking about it). Trail of Lightning really does manage to be both extremely violent and angry - with a lot of that violence and anger perpetrated against the female main character - and really freakin' grim in places. But... the mythology and world-building really IS THAT GOOD, just like pretty much everyone has been saying this entire time. 

There just aren't a lot of people out there that are this uniquely adept at translating Native American mythology into such a tangible and enthralling genre landscape. Fantasy names have long held the stereotype of being some keysmash abomination with a few extra Zs, Xs, and apostrophes thrown in, but in Roanhorse's book, she utilizes real Navajo; instead of the familiar and long-utilized Greek and Roman Gods, trotted out of their Pantheon every once in a while for accessible popular effect, she utilizes familiar characters from ancient and American folklore, like the trickster Coyote.

In fact, I've been so completely taken in by the actual world itself, that in the past two trips to Barnes and Noble, I've very nearly picked up the second in the series, Storm of Locusts. Maybe I will, when my stomach is strong enough. 

(Oh, and in case you were wondering, while tackling three of the longstanding books on my TBR was absolutely the move and a source of personal pride, I almost immediately added a total of NINE back onto my shelves the same month, thanks to a gift from a family member, a vacation impulse purchase, and a Book Outlet order. Then I bought a ton of books in July for my Bloggoversary and because I love thrifting, and more in August because I went on vacation again. You win some, you lose some, you never learn some.) 

JULY (Part One!)

Square: Recommended by Library Staff / Peak Pick

Book: Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid

Maybe a stiff and uncomfortable camp chair, in the middle of a lush, green forest, wasn't the right environment to be reading a book about the dry, hot sand of a California beach... but then again, I finished it in very nearly one sitting, so what do I know?

In Malibu Rising, the annual party thrown by the Riva family - helmed by eldest sister Nina, almost-twin brothers Jay and Hud, and overshadowed youngest Kit - is the stuff of Malibu legend, and this year, it promises to be even more over-the-top than ever before. Over the course of one eventful day, each of the sibling's lives will be changed forever, as relationships are forged and broken, secrets are revealed, and ugly truths are confronted. By the end of the night, the party will end in a whirl of police sirens and flames.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is a pro at making her novels evoke a sense of time, style, and memory. Daisy Jones and the Six held fast to the magic of the '60s and '70s music scene of Downtown LA and California sun-soaked rock. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo centered a complex narrative around the glow of Old Hollywood soundstage lights, and a whirling catalogue of fake movie stars. She attempts the same here, by bringing the readers to the beaches of the '80s surf scene in Malibu, where the burgeoning glitterati of media glory intersect with modern perspectives on feminism and family. 

Unfortunately, unlike with her previous two books, I feel like Malibu Rising's attempt at a nostalgic, idealized form of time travel fell flat. With so much focus being placed on bringing forth a specific cultural timestamp, she wastes attention on establishing retro collateral - emphasizing how everyone does their hair, what they're wearing, who they're listening to - without making more concrete moves to build out her characters, instead. As a result, plenty of the cast feels shallow and insubstantial, lacking any kind of dimension. 

Again, I don't want to dispense any spoilers here; on the other hand, I don't really know if spoilers would altogether change any part of your reading experience... because while each of the Riva siblings does, in fact, find what they've been looking for or deserving, the expectations of them are established so completely obviously within the first 50 pages that their bestowal is less of a revelation than an eventuality. Attempts at foreshadowing are done so ham-handedly it's like Reid doesn't trust her audience to catch any kind of nuance, so she feels the need to hand it to them on a platter instead. 

And like I said, I read this in essentially one sitting, as my chronic insomnia and hatred of camping combined to perch me in a folding chair on a well-lit morning at 6am, and have the whole book finished before breakfast. If a bleary, uncomfortable camper can still manage to find your book overly simple while running on four hours of hard-ground sleep with no coffee, then maybe it could have used some more character development. 

Yes, I will be reading Carrie Soto Is Back anyways. I don't even know why you felt the need to ask. 

Square: Out of your Comfort Zone

Book: Ariel: the Restored Edition, Sylvia Plath

Two things that are totally true: one, I really, seriously do not get Poetry, and two, I have been going through a major Poetry period recently that I can't quite figure out how to explain. And no, I do not mean "poetry" in the overly-Instagram-friendly kind of way, I mean it in the way that I am a big fan of both abstract metaphors and occasional rhyming and this is a quick and convenient way to get access both of those things. Also, I like it when books are short. 

I've also been having a major Sylvia Plath fixation recently - in a "published journals and letters" kind of way, not in a "rereading The Bell Jar yet again" kind of way - so I figured that this would be a knockout way to get both a bookshelf-sitting collection of poetry and a difficult Bingo square out of the way at the same time. 

Unfortunately, I still seem to be one of those boring people who more enjoys Sylvia's fiction and journals, rather than her poetry. 

As always, she uses beautiful, evocative language, words that call to mind carefully assembled visuals and characters. Making heads or tails of them is kind of like constructing a puzzle very carefully, and in my case, required reading a couple of times over to get the clearest picture, like how we used to slowly tune my grandmother's old TV to sort through the static, in order to get to PBS after the younger cousins had cranked the knob out of focus.

Some of them were really quite lovely, while others felt more jumbled or deliberately inscrutable. Some included antiquated language that made it very obvious what time period Plath wrote in (in a "you definitely can't use those words anymore" kind of way), which I understand, but was still sensitive to in reading. 

Common themes included motherhood, with frequent uses of the word "baby," and dual usage of black-red color juxtaposition. Her feminist perspectives are definitely in full-force here, especially in poems like "Lady Lazarus" and "Lesbos." 

One particularly notable element of the collection that I read, was the inclusion of Frieda Hughes - Sylvia's daughter, and last living child with Ted Hughes - who wrote both the introduction as well as bonus material in the back. She served as a sobering relative force, who provided a necessary recontextualizing of Plath as a human and mother first, and an artist second; however, by the end of her materials it more appeared that she was foremost motivated by the defense of her father, and promotion of her own artistic views. 

I'm still not a Poetry kind of person. But I'm glad I was able to take an afternoon in a hammock to sort and sift through the words and images Plath constructed, almost like a kind of meditational practice. I'll be back to my Wendy Cope soon enough, but sometimes it's nice to riddle things out for yourself a bit. 

Square: LGBT Love Story

Book: So This Is Ever After, T. J. Lukens

I've actually already written a review for this one! You can check it out in my "So, You Accidentally Read Three Novels That Were Basically Fanfiction" post from back in July. 

With a total of eight books, July will probably go down as one of my greatest reading months out of the entire year, no doubt thanks to a couple of heartily welcome romance novels and two of my favorite childhood middle grade series ever. Hence, this blog post will be divided into several more portions: next up, the second half of July and all of August, and after, the rest of the Romance novels I read! 

Did you undertake any reading challenges this summer? What was the hottest read of the hottest months, for you? Let me know, in the comments below!

What I Read While I Was Camping, Weekend #4: Dungeness Spit

Well, it's been a summer full of shoving pillows into garbage bags, packing and unpacking sleeping bags, and being as minimally involved with the air-mattress-inflation situation as I can be while still considered "helping." While our final destination for family campouts this summer might not have shaken out like we'd originally planned it to, I think we were all still plenty happy with the result. 

And by that, I mean my brother and I are very happy not to have to go camping again until next year. My mother, on the other hand, has been eyeing if there are any extra spots at some of our favorite places this November.

Where we went: Dungeness Spit Recreation Area and Campground

About a two hour's drive away from our home in Tacoma, Dungeness Spit is also one of the only non-state park campgrounds we visited this year. Honestly, you can kind of tell: this area is managed by Clallam County, and there's a much more hometown feel to the way that the campgrounds are laid out. Big, sprawling campsites, ample room for navigation, and even a small playground for children... but also, smaller amounts of amenities, and a more narrow availability of things like spigots, or even hot water in the showers. 

There was a lot of ambient light at our campsite, which I enjoyed, and the trees do a decent job of breaking up any sound from neighboring sites, as well. A lot of the other campers we saw at this location came bearing RVs, campervans, and teardrops, because - again - the spots were quite large. 

It's located an easily navigable distance from both the Dungeness Spit, as well as other trails along the bluffs you can use to get a glimpse of the water. Also, as was ascertained by my sister with the help of Google Maps, Canada! 

What I packed:

I'd like to think I've learned at least one or two things from a summer full of packing a duffel every other weekend or so. Have I finally read Emperor Mage, like I've been threatening to do for literal weeks now? (Like I did here, here, and here!) No. But at least I'm not at the same place I was last year while camping, which meant stuffing four or five books into my bag for a three-day trip. 

This time, I only packed one hardcover copy, and my Kindle! 

Professional Troublemaker: the Fear-Fighter's Manual, Luvvie Ajayi-Jones (on Kindle)

Trick Mirror, Jia Tolentino

What I actually ended up reading:

So, here's the deal: we left early. Like, way early: after arriving and setting up shop on Friday afternoon around 530pm, us kids - my brother, my sister, her girlfriend, and I - had convened around the post-breakfast not-a-campfire (because the Washington State burn ban is still in effect through September, at a minimum) on Saturday morning to discuss what we were going to tell the parents.

The weather coming up off the water led to a night that was chilly and uncomfortably clammy, while the morning had already brought sprinkling rain, with a forecast that was showing threats of more across the afternoon. Again, the burn ban meant we couldn't have the normal, warming campfire we're used to, and huddling around a singular propane burner didn't exactly yield cozy rewards. 

Was it all that bad? Not really. We've camped plenty of times in too-cold temperatures... memorably once when there was still snow on the ground in late June. We've camped in rain plenty of times, too. But after a summer that had already seen three full weekends of camping?

Instead, we all went home, went out to eat at a local Italian place we love, had an actual firepit - complete with a large propane burner - in our backyard, and stayed up watching some YouTube, before going to bed in a spacious, cozy queen-sized bed. 

I got half of the way into Professional Troublemaker before we called it quits.

Trip Highlights:

That wasn't to say that it was all bad, though! There still managed to be some nice moments in the midst of the not-ideal temperatures. After all, there's no easier way to have fun, than spending time with family. 

We made up for a less-than-cozy nighttime temperature with a walk along the bluffs, which led to a really gorgeous sunset view. Then, my sister rigged up a mini-propane stove around the structure of our campground's fire, so we could end the day with at least a little bit of light.

I refused to leave without having at least a little time to hike out on the Dungeness Spit... it was the reason we'd chosen this campsite, after all! We only made it a little ways down the surf and sand, but there was still plenty to see, including wildlife - and wildlife remains, as you can see here - as well as a whole lot of bull kelp. And we got to breathe in a little bit of the salt air coming off the ocean, which is always good for the soul!

What I finished up at home: 

Professional Troublemaker, obviously! It took a little bit of time back at home... but when you've only got less than four hours before your library ebook copy is due back, and you've got two hours left in the ebook itself, there's a little more pressure to wrap things up. 

Well, that's it for camping trips this summer... but it's not the end of camping content! Keep an eye out for full reviews of everything I read while camping to come soon, as well as a few more posts I've had lined up for a while... like the full haul from my bloggoversary thrifting adventure! 

Did you camp at all this summer? Are there any more vacations left for you before schools start back up again in August? Let me know, in the comments below!

What I Read While I Was Camping: Weekend #3, at Kanaskat Palmer

Alright, already. We get it. Your family loves camping to the point where you're willing to do it four times in one summer. Enough! 

I'll admit, even we get sick of all of the trappings and trimmings of what a camping experience typically entails. The tents, with their confusing, interconnected pole placement. The tarps, which have to be spread out underneath the tent. The camp stove and it's mini propane hookups, the meal planning and its various picky-eater hangups. It's a lot to handle, especially back-to-back-to-BACK across the course of one summer.

Which is why for this particular adventure, we decided to forgo some of that particular baggage, and proceed with as minimal effort and maximum trunk space as possible. 

Oh yeah. I'm talking yurt camping. 

Where we went: Kanaskat Palmer State Park

Kanaskat Palmer State Park is located only about an hour from Tacoma, traveling the route along Highway 18 towards Covington and Enumclaw. It's not too far of a distance during the less crowded times of day - for instance, about a half an hour - but when things get a little stuffier, like during rush hour, the drive shakes out more towards about fifty to sixty minutes. 

The park itself is pretty far out from much by way of civilization. Sure, there's about a fifteen minute drive towards Four Corners Plaza in Covington - with a much-recommended assortment of restaurants, including a Farelli's Pizza - but the park is only located past a few sparse ranch-style houses. Most importantly of all: this is the first camping trip we've gone on so far this year which has yielded absolute zero cell reception... we're talking no 5G, no bars, no nothing. 

Which is a fair trade off for what you get: spacious, well-shaded campsites, decent coverage from the road, and a selection of well-constructed, well-maintained yurts, as well as regular campsites. 

I truly can't tell you enough about the yurts... they each come complete with a bunk bed (twin on top, double on bottom), and a futon that easily collapses out into another double bed, sleeping a total of five guests. They also have their own radiant heaters, ready for your use, overhead lighting by way of electrical outputs as well as a skylight, and a series of outlets to charge your electronic devices on. Again, the phone coverage isn't going to leave you much to do with your smartphone, but as a big fan of podcasts and picture taking, I definitely got my use out of them. While my brother and I conspired to spend at least an hour watching The Vampire Diaries on his tablet, we never got around to it... but it was nice to know that the option was there.

So if glamping's your game, this is certainly the campsite for you! 

What I packed: 

I've got a confession to make: remember how in my last two installments, I kept talking about how I was going to eventually read Emperor Mage? I decided what I really wanted to do, was spend time with it at home... and then proceeded to not bother picking up ANY BOOKS AT ALL for two weeks straight. Seriously, the last book I read was Disability Visability, which I talked about in my last installment! I know, I know... I'm pathetic (and remember when I said that I wanted to read TEN books this month? Puh-lease). 

So, I decided to put that book away altogether, and focus in on something different. More specifically, I mean other boxes on my Summer Book Bingo sheet: "Essays," "Cli-Fi," and "AAPI Author," more specifically. 

I Miss You When I Blink: Essays, Mary Laura Philpott

The Water Knife, Paolo Bacigalupi (on Kindle) 

The Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo 

What I actually ended up reading: 

I spent the better part of a day working through The Water Knife. 

So, not only were we taking it easy glamping, but as it turns out, my parents were planning on having an even easier time of it: after arriving Friday evening, they bailed early Saturday morning to go home and shower. It was for a good cause - two events, both a wedding reception, and a memorial service - and they arrived back shortly before dinner on Saturday... which left me plenty of time to read through The Water Knife that afternoon. 

It's definitely not a new favorite genre, or style of writing, and it inspired some pretty tense campfire talk with other members of the family about certain habits and tropes of male writers in Science Fiction I find morally repugnant. But even with the difficult subject matter, difficult conversation, and honestly, me just banging my head against a wall trying to simply make it through to the end,  I ended up clocking in with more than enough time for lunch, an hour-long river walk, and a few rounds of crossword puzzles with my brother. Which, after this particular novel, was sorely needed. 

I got about a third of the way into I Miss You When I Blink.

Which is pretty impressive, when you consider that I only spent a little over an hour working my way into it, on Saturday night while making best use of our yurt's overhead lighting. 

Easy to get into, conversational, and friendly, this book is so funny and cleverly written that I probably would have managed to get even further into it, had I not been pausing quite so often to read a certain selection or paragraph for my brother. 

It's enjoyable, and engaging, and I know for certain that I could have finished it in even half the amount of time that The Water Knife took, had I used it. Instead, we decided that on Sunday morning - with a checkout time of 11am - to enjoy some oatmeal and conversation, practice some Words of Affirmation, and roll on out of there, in the hopes of getting unpacked and showered before noon. 

Trip Highlights: 

I think the major draw for Kanaskat Palmer - as a State Park - is absolutely its access to a gorgeous water system; more specifically, a series of various rapids systems through which you can sail a kayak, raft, or more. Unfortunately, this summer's heat snap has made things a little more difficult for anyone who enjoys the rivers and lakes of Washington, as the water levels have gotten more shallow. 

In truth, we didn't see anyone making use of any kind of watercraft, but they found plenty of other ways to enjoy it: fishing, sunbathing, and splashing were all frequent activities by families we spotted along the water as we took a river walk trail past some of the public areas for day use. 

 Hands down, one of my favorite takeaways from this camping trip, was playing a hotly competitive game of Trivial Pursuit, well until after it got dark.

What I'll finish off before the last trip: 

I'm absolutely stoked that I finished a square I was dreading quite as much as Climate Fiction, and am excited to quickly put that particular read out of my mind. 

Also, I'm really enjoying making my way through I Miss You When I Blink, so when I get a free afternoon, I'm really just planning on queueing up some ambient pop music, pouring some cold rose in a glass, and taking some time to read. 

Of course, eventually, I'm eventually going to make my way through Emperor Mage. Hopefully sooner rather than later, right? 

Have you gone camping yet so far this summer? Where are your favorite places to go? Let me know, in the comments below!