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!

Why a Library Card Might Be the Key to the Best Summer Ever

Congratulations, everyone, we made it: it's officially the First Day of Summer 2023! 

Granted, it doesn't exactly feel that way. For instance, the local school district still won't be scrawling "HAGS" in their yearbooks until this coming Friday, which feels incredibly unkind to those students who are still taking Finals for the next two days, despite the fact that Summer has officially gotten itself underway.

On the other hand, our family has already gone on our first camping trip of the year. I've had visits from my younger sister, who missed Washington sunshine by mere days, and am currently enjoying the company of my younger brother, visiting from the other side of the state. One of the counters in our family's kitchen has been stocked with what my mom calls "Summer Bar" - aka, seasonal liqueurs and mason jars with handles - for the last few weeks. My zucchini are already threatening to crowd out the carrots, and my strawberries have so many runners you'd think they were planning a marathon.

I think it's safe to say that Summer, whether your school district likes it or not, is truly here. 

But whether you've been celebrating the sunshine since June 1st, like I have, or you're still counting down the days until your manager signs off on your first Summer Friday - aka, the true beginnings of "drinking on restaurant patios" season - chances are, you're already making plans for how you're going to spend all of that free time. 

And I know just how you should: at your local library! 

now, hear me out

Granted, this is a books-and-reading-focused blog. Whether you're just now stumbling onto my corner of the Internet, or if you've been a frequent flyer for quite a while (Hi, Dad), chances are you don't need much convincing. 

And yet. 

Just a few weeks ago, I was scrolling through my feed on Bookstagram, and noticed that a fellow enthusiast who I'd been following for quite some time had recently made a significant life change: after years of living in New York City, and furthermore, working adjacent to the Publishing field, she had taken the plunge with her partner, and traded in their big city apartment, for a house in the suburbs. And for the first time ever, she wasn't just navigating a world on a much wider scale than she was accustomed to, but she was also contending with an entirely new challenge... that of learning to use her local library, for the first time, as an adult. 

So it's even within our own ranks, of Book Enjoyers Everywhere, that some might need a little convincing to branch out, and check out your local branch, to check out a book or two. Again, even my own father - I SAID HI, DAD - himself a lifetime reader, ventured off to the library with my brother and I earlier this year to pick him up a new library card, in order to make better use of the free audiobooks and ebooks available through the Tacoma Public Library system. 

If you're new to the game, no worries! There's no age limit as to who is "too old" to get a library card, let alone try something out of your comfort zone. There's nothing to lose, and everything to gain. And let me tell you something: the artistic choices for the library card you pick up, are probably a lot more aesthetically pleasing than the one I've had since approximately 2010 or so. 

And the best part is, Summer is, by far, the best time to get a library card. 

let me tell you why

Well, first of all, there's the material, physical benefit. Libraries are a public good, and as such, are one of the few places you can exist peacefully in the world without having to pay money for the privilege. Howard Schultz may think that he made Starbucks into the world's great meeting space; however, unlike Starbucks, libraries have restrooms without codes to unlock them, and friendly workers who are much more likely to spell your name correctly. 

They also have - barring general disaster - guaranteed air conditioning. And almost always a place to refill your water bottle, and usually chairs there, in case you need to just sit down and take a minute. They usually have computers you can use for free, and a printer that you can use for a certain amount of pages each month, for less than a dollar. Sometimes they're built next to a public park, or picnic tables, which are also more than enjoyable on sunny days. 

And while these all might seem like petty goods in comparison to what you might already have at home, they're not nothing. Not for a lot of people. Things like access to computers and the Internet, to comfortable environments, to social connection and community access, aren't guaranteed, though I think most sane individuals would agree they should be. 

Plus, I've also heard they have books there. 

The books thing is pretty cool. I mean, I think you should check out your own local library just to see how many books they have! Bet you can't count them all... but if you're willing to try, well, then, be my guest. 

But really, the whole "free books" thing is just half of the reason you should give a library a chance. 

(Note: I focus mainly on the Tacoma Public Library and Seattle Public Library, because they're what's local and accessible to me; however, you should absolutely stop by your own local library branch and ask a friendly librarian what sort of opportunities are available at your own local system!) 

TAKE PART IN A SUMMER READING CHALLENGE... OR SEVERAL

Summer Reading Challenges have been a longtime favorite of librarians the world over. For children, they help combat the Summer Slide - the documented downgrade of academic acumen that takes place during the months of June through August - by incentivizing continued reading development by way of fun prizes. For adults, it gives them a chance to pursue a new goal, or stretch their bookish wings during prime reading season... and also win fun prizes! 

No matter your age, chances are, your library has a Summer Reading Challenge you can enjoy, too, for no cost to yourself or your kiddos. It may require you to pick up or print out a Reading Challenge tracker - like Bingo sheet, a Candyland-style track, a puzzle, etc - or in this high-tech day and age, download an app on your phone. Depending on what your local branch's style is, you might be tasked with reading for a certain amount of minutes to progress, or checking off various book titles you've completed. 

Each is a great chance to test your own limits, and give your summer a fun challenge to undertake. You might surprise yourself, in seeing how much reading you can accomplish. 

And did I mention the "fun prizes" part? 

VISIT YOUR LOCAL MUSEUMS... AND SO MUCH MORE

Take, for instance, my local library branch: the Tacoma Public Library card can grant you access to a variety of museums and local attractions, many of which are perfect to enjoy during the hotter days of the year. 

For instance, I could check out an "Art Access Pass" for free entry to the Tacoma Art Museum (usually $18 for an adult visitor), a "Glass Pass" for the Museum of Glass ($20), a "History Museum Pass" to the Washington Museum of History ($14), a "Waterport Pass" to the Thea Foss Waterway Seaport ($10), as well as various local garden passes, like for the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden ($8), and Lakewold Gardens in Lakewood ($12). 

That means that if I wanted to make a summer project out of visiting everything the library passes had to offer, I would be able to experience $82 worth of local museums and gardens for zero cost to myself! 

All you have to do is look for the pass by location to see which libraries have the pass available, and check out the pass at your library as you would any other item.

Once you've got it, you simply present the pass at the museum or attraction, to receive free admission for up to seven days. Important note: the quantity of available passes varies by location, and you can't check out two of the same kind on the same library card... so make sure the friends you're planning on going with have library passes too!

Also note: passes cannot be put on hold, and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. They also cannot be renewed, so make sure to visit before the return date. You just return the pass to any Tacoma Public Library location as you would any item, which makes for an easy end-of-day task once you're done enjoying yourself at the museum. 

Maybe you can even check out a book when you're done?

TAKE A HIKE... OR A SWIM

Here's another really cool thing Tacoma Public Libraries is doing: as part of a cooperative project called "Check Out Washington," in collaboration with Washington State Parks, the WSP Foundation, the Washington State Library, and other various groups around the state, Tacoma Public Library cardholders have the ability to borrow a Discover Pass! 

If you don't come from an intensive camping background, like my family, you might not know what this means: a Discover Pass provides the necessary payment to help our state parks well-funded, and allows you to visit whatever Washington state parks you'd like. You actually can't visit without one (lest you incur a much more expensive fine). 

Honestly, I think a Discover Pass is a worthwhile investment, as a tree-hugging Washingtonian, anyways: we're a state well known for our gorgeous, protected public lands, as well as plenty of serviceable public recreation areas. Regularly, a Discover Pass will run you $30 for an annual membership - considering adding it to your Christmas List now - as well as $10 for a one-day pass. When you pay to camp at local campgrounds - which can run you pretty steep, depending on where you're pitching your tent - the Discover Pass is likely included at the time of purchase. 

But once you get comfortable with checking out Discovery Passes from the library, you can visit day use areas as much as you'd like, for absolutely nothing! 

According to their government website, Discovery Passes can be used to access "more than 100 developed state parks, more than 350 primitive recreation sites, including campgrounds and picnic areas, nearly 700 water access points, nearly 2,000 miles of designated water and land recreation trails," and even more. I'd say that getting all of that for free is a pretty worthwhile use of your time. 

(Note: while the Discover pass works on Washington State Parks and some other state-funded lands, it doesn't apply to federally-protected lands, like Mount Rainier, or the Olympic National Parks. Check out this website to find all of the places you can visit, and ideas on what to do when you get there!)

Unlike the museum passes, which place limits on how many people can use it at once, a Discover Pass hangs from the front windshield of your car, so there's less of a limit placed on those who can go adventuring with you! Bring along whatever friends you'd like for a hike, a swim, a bout of birdwatching, some frisbee, roasting s'mores in a firepit... whatever activities you can think to enjoy outside. 

You can check out a Discover Pass from a nearby Tacoma Public Library branch during service hours, using a valid library card, but during these gorgeous summer months, you're encouraged to check out the online catalog for current availability first. Discover Passes - like the museum passes - are available on a first come, first served basis, so you'll have to put in a little work to make sure you grab one when you need it! 

START A PODCAST... YES, REALLY

TPL has recently begun offering podcast kits you can check out for a limited time, and use to record, edit and upload high-quality audio. Specifically, they offer both All-In-One and USB Microphone podcast kits, and have a limited number of each, designated for two groups: "Grades 8-12" and "Adults." 

According to their website, "[t]he All-in-one kit includes a portable Zoom H1n Handy Recorder which allows for easy recording of high-resolution audio, and is perfect for starting out on your podcasting journey," and "the USB Microphone kit is ideal for voice overs, and home studio recording." Both of these sound incredible for anyone looking to pick up a new hobby, or figure out if this otherwise costly undertaking is right for them! 

And they're not just offering up the tech equipment: TPL is also staging "Podcast Cafes," a monthly group meeting led by a local digital media expert instructor, covering as varied topics as effectively setting up a usable recording space, how to generate interesting content across episodes, and even culturally-minded analyses on the popularity and effectiveness of current trends in podcasting. It allows you to connect with other people who might be undertaking the same journey you are, which allows you to pick up tips from other podcasting newbies, and provides a network for those looking for support in their creative endeavors. 

So whether you're an adult looking to learn a new skill set, a teenager looking to build out their resume before college apps are due in the fall, or a group of friends looking to find a new outlet for their creative conversations, you might want to see if your local library offers podcasting kits, too. 

I mean, you can even start up a podcast, using library equipment, about the books you've been checking out of the library! 

ATTEND LOCAL EVENTS... AND FREE ACTIVITIES

Okay, I feel like out of everything I've said so far, this might be right up there with "they've got books" as a kind of obvious function that libraries serve. 

After all, if you're like me, you might still vividly recall when your local branch used to have that great big room reserved for community meetings, where you'd occasionally overhear a local book club or lecture taking place. Like I mentioned, libraries are a community hub, one where people can easily gather for free. 

Then again, if you're like me, you also might have no idea as to exactly how MANY events and activities are available through your local library. I mean, I certainly didn't... at least, not until I started doing a little bit of research. 

Yes, they absolutely do have lectures and classes, usually available for free, and they're pretty darn cool. For instance, they're typically tailored to your particular locale, which means than some of the lectures offered in my neck of the woods for this summer include things like eradicating Northern Giant Hornets, earth stewardship-focused beach walks provided by experts, local government information sessions, and how to save money on your utilities, presented by Tacoma Power and Tacoma Water. 

Plus, how to make a box fan air filter... very necessary for Washington residents come August. 

Other offerings include a visit from the Reptile Man, as well as a Shelter Pets adoption event in collaboration with the Tacoma Human Society, and even an information session to learn more about Metro Parks Tacoma, our local Parks and Recreation service. All of these can only lead to more adventures across the summer! 

And if you're looking to get connected to other local readers, they've got plenty of options for those, too. I think almost all of them offers a book club or two. Typically these meetings are tied to things like location of the library branch, or a particular genre, but also cover a diverse range of things like LGBT reads, as well as "Books on Tap," which meets offsite each month, at a local brewery. 

Amongst the Tacoma Public Library calendar, there are links to local scavenger hunts, community puzzle events, game nights, checkers and chess games open for anyone, seed swaps, movie viewings, and so much more. There's plenty of children's storytime events, like you might expect, but also pajama storytime for families, and even adult storytime, where you just might encounter your next great read. 

There are art lessons... including "paint and sip" and "sculpt and gulp" nights, for those who are inclined to test their artistic merit under the influence, as well as lessons in string art, bottle rockets, and more. There's a virtual meetup for those interested in various kinds of fiber arts, too! 

Fans of nerd culture can take part in Pokemon League for both deck and DS users, Dungeons and Dragons parties, Comics and Animation Club, Lego "Brick by Brick" Club, Nintendo Night for Grades 8-12, and Mario Kart gaming. 

There are tons of movie + craft options, all of which appeal to me greatly, like a "Ghibli at the Grand" event downtown, where you can watch Spirited Away with free popcorn and make your own wooden bath token, or "Do You Believe: a Month of Cher Movies and Crafts," which, as you can see from the above conversation, has led to much excitement on the part of my sibling and I. 

Those looking for a little public assistance might be interested in events like like legal aid pop-ups, digital instruction for seniors, or drop-in tech help. There's also events for homeless outreach that provide library patrons "with comprehensive life resources" as needed. 

I'm sure that those looking to invest their time in those kinds of resources are more than welcome to reach out, as well: after all, the library is always looking for volunteers, too!

have I convinced you yet?

Yes, I know, this is an absolute behemoth of a post. But if you've been impressed by its length, that's only because of the incredible amount of challenges, events, and experiences made available to you, through the magic of your local library! 

Like I said in this particular blogpost, my experiences are pretty squarely tailored to my personal local institutions: the Seattle Public Library and Tacoma Library systems (as well as the Pierce County Library system, and King County Library system), are all the closest available resources for me, which means I've got a lot to pick and choose from.

To figure out what's on offer at your library, I heartily recommend checking out their website, or visiting in person to ask a friendly librarian about what kinds of resources they have available for your to check out. There might be plenty there that's not even included in this list... things like virtual reality headsets, other kinds of park passes, and even more adventures that await you, if you just take the chance to ask! 

It's like they said on Arthur: "Having fun isn't hard, when you've got a library card!"

Are you taking part in a Summer Reading Challenge? What sorts of events and activities do they put on at your local library? 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!

Summer 2018: Reading and Writing Goals

Well, after having already celebrated two graduations and a wedding shower, and gearing up for even more family events to come in the next couple of months, I think I'm pretty confident in saying that summer has finally arrived. Of course, it's not officially here until the 21st, but like every set of goals in your life, it's probably best to get them sorted out in advance.

Every summer since I was about 13, I've given myself a reading challenge over the course of my break, from completing 25 books (the standard throughout high school), to checking off library bingo cards, to last summer's podcast-inspired rereading of Twilight. Naturally, this year isn't any different... or is it?

Here are some of the challenges I've decided to undertake for Summer 2018...

ray bradbury challenge, and camp nano

Those who have been following my blog for a while might remember my NaNoWriMo project this past November: to use the course of the 50,000-words-in-a-month challenge to build out a collection of short stories, a medium I had only written for once before.

This summer, I'm trying something a little similar. Ray Bradbury was once quoted as giving this writing advice: "Write a short story every week. It's not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row." I've decided to adopt that mantra as a form of challenge for over the course of the summer: I'm going to try and write around one short story a week, with the objective that by the end of the challenge, I'll have at least five or six complete short stories before my family goes on vacation in August.

This way, I'll continue to flex those same concise-and-consistent storytelling muscles that I started to build up back in November, in the hopes that I'll keep improving in the medium. Thankfully, Camp NaNoWriMo is almost here (for the month of July!), so I'll be including my word counts towards that particular endeavor.

And who knows? Maybe in the end, I'll come up with something really worth reading... and maybe I'll have to test that theory on other people!

reading romance: an introduction to bodice-rippage 

For almost all of my reading life, I've traversed regularly over a consistent breadth of genres. Sure, I have my set of tried-and-true favorites - Biography and Memoir, Mystery, History, Self-Help, and Fantasy - but for the most part, I cover a significant amount of library ground.

Except, that is, when it comes to Romance!

And I'm not just talking about books with an undercurrent or subplot of romances, or even YA contemporaries that make romance the whole plot... I'm talking about dime-a-dozen '80s Harlequin mass market paperbacks. I'm talking about covers full of bare torsos and flowing dresses. I'm talking about the kinds of books I'm fully prepared to rent from the library or get on my Kindle, because I can't have the physical presence of those purchases manifested in the real world.

But why am I doing this, other than to make up for an area of bookish experience that I currently lack? I've been party to enough Gender and Women's Studies discussions on the feminist origins and theming of romance novels, without having actually gotten an up-close-and-personal look at the material, and I want that to change.

Keep your eyes out for an update soon on exactly what this kind of challenge is going to look like!

playing in the pages, on the 'gram

I've been toying with the idea for a while now of starting an Instagram account separate from my own personal one, on which to post all of my reading and writing updates that would be more in keeping with what I promote on this blog.

It's not that my own Instagram doesn't provide enough real estate for that kind of thing, but that it's geared a little more towards things like my family and friends, regular hobbies, and major life events, rather than reading time. It's not something I update terribly regularly, and honestly, I'd like to save it for some of the important stuff.

Additionally, I've been looking for a means of keeping myself a little more personally accountable for my reading and writing habits, and I wanted to start taking more pictures of these things that I do so frequently.

I figured that the best way to tick all of these boxes, was to start an Instagram profile specifically for these objectives: I can post daily accounts of how my writing is going, what I'm reading, and what I've been posting on the blog, while also upping the amount of pictures I take on a regular basis, and not bugging everybody in my regular life while doing so (while also hopefully making some new friends interested in the subject, too!).

other reading goals for 2018

Library Book Bingoes in Seattle and Tacoma

Another summer to me means, of course, another set of book bingo cards courtesy of the Seattle and Tacoma Public Libraries. This year, I'm not just aiming for another set of bingoes, but also looking to take on some of the more difficult blocks on the Tacoma card, like attending a library event, or utilizing some of their non-bookish resources, like the buildings index or cd rental systems. Others, like making a recipe from a library cookbook, or taking a shelfie at the library, are things my brother and I are already looking forward to completing together!

Continuing Harry Potter Rereads

I'm halfway through Goblet of Fire right now - I know, I know, the same thing I said in my most recent "Year with Harry" recap - and am looking forward to my next Potter Party with my brother, but I have to say, I thought I'd be further along in this journey by now! I'm trying to read at least the fifth book by the beginning of August, because we've still got a ways to go on this particular adventure.

Reading books from my TBR shelves instead of the Library

Out of all of my resolutions for 2018, this one is probably off to the roughest start, because out of the over 30 books I've recorded in my Goodreads Challenge for this year so far, only about 8 of them have come courtesy of my TBR shelves, the rest having been rereads or library checkouts. Yikes! That's got to change over the summer, which makes for the perfect time to tackle those tomes that might be a little too thick, intimidating, or otherwise require more attention than your average beach read.

What are some of your reading and writing goals for the summer? What are some projects you're trying to tackle in the sunshine? Let me know, in the comments below!