What I’ve Been Reading: June 2024

Hello and happy book day!

This month, I definitely found my reading groove and for the first time ever I listened to a couple of books.

It felt really nice to have so many books downloaded on my Kindle that I was excited to read.

Here are the books I read this month:

{As always, book summaries are from Goodreads…}

After Annie:

Summary:

When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her four young children and her closest friend are left to struggle without the woman who centered their lives. Bill Brown finds himself overwhelmed, and Annie’s best friend Annemarie is lost to old bad habits without Annie’s support. It is Annie’s daughter, Ali, forced to try to care for her younger brothers and even her father, who manages to maintain some semblance of their former lives for them all, and who confronts the complicated truths of adulthood.

Yet over the course of the next year, while Annie looms large in their memories, all three are able to grow, to change, even to become stronger and more sure of themselves. The enduring power Annie gave to those who loved her is the power to love, and to go on without her.

Quick Thoughts:

This book was sad, but beautiful and inspirational as well. I liked how it was organized by season following the year of Annie’s death.

Rating:

3.5 stars

The Last Life Boat:

Summary:

 
1940, Kent : Alice King is not brave or daring—she’s happiest finding adventure through the safe pages of books. But times of war demand courage, and as the threat of German invasion looms, a plane crash near her home awakens a strength in Alice she’d long forgotten. Determined to do her part, she finds a role perfectly suited to her experience as a schoolteacher—to help evacuate Britain’s children overseas.
 
1940, London : Lily Nichols once dreamed of using her mathematical talents for more than tabulating the cost of groceries, but life, and love, charted her a different course. With two lively children and a loving husband, Lily’s humble home is her world, until war tears everything asunder. With her husband gone and bombs raining down, Lily is faced with an impossible keep her son and daughter close, knowing she may not be able to protect them, or enroll them in a risky evacuation scheme, where safety awaits so very far away.
 
When a Nazi U-boat torpedoes the S. S. Carlisle carrying a ship of children to Canada, a single lifeboat is left adrift in the storm-tossed Atlantic. Alice and Lily, strangers to each other—one on land, the other at sea—will quickly become one another’s very best hope as their lives are fatefully entwined.

Quick Thoughts:

Oh my word! I loved this book. Of course, you know I love historical fiction, but the premise of this one hooked me from the beginning. There were tense, heart-warming, sweet, sad and hopeful moments throughout the plot. I loved that it was inspired by a true story, and this was a page turner for me.

I really appreciated the historical note at the end as it just shared so much insight, explanation, and meaning.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

• The gift of reading, a love of books, was something she would have forever, could take with her wherever she went.
• Speaking about the ocean – Water has a memory, Alice, a soul.…and it knows the way home. It remembers.
• …Because she knows that even in the profound sadness of death, there will always – must always – be a place for the astonishing, enduring beauty of life.

Rating:

This Summer Will Be Different:

Summary:

This summer they’ll keep their promise. This summer they won’t give into temptation. This summer will be different.

Lucy is the tourist vacationing at a beach house on Prince Edward Island. Felix is the local who shows her a very good time. The only problem: Lucy doesn’t know he’s her best friend’s younger brother. Lucy and Felix’s chemistry is unreal, but the list of reasons why they need to stay away from each other is long, and they vow to never repeat that electric night again.

It’s easier said than done.

Each year, Lucy escapes to PEI for a big breath of coastal air, fresh oysters and crisp vinho verde with her best friend, Bridget. Every visit begins with a long walk on the beach, beneath soaring red cliffs and a golden sun. And every visit, Lucy promises herself she won’t wind up in Felix’s bed. Again.

If Lucy can’t help being drawn to Felix, at least she’s always kept her heart out of it.

When Bridget suddenly flees Toronto a week before her wedding, Lucy drops everything to follow her to the island. Her mission is to help Bridget through her crisis and resist the one man she’s never been able to. But Felix’s sparkling eyes and flirty quips have been replaced with something new, and Lucy’s beginning to wonder just how safe her heart truly is.

Quick Thoughts:

I’ve read the other two summer books by Fortune, and this one was similar to those in regards to setting, plot elements, and “R rated” scenes. It was organized by present day and flashback and the story came together bit by bit. It’s definitely a summer book for sure.

Rating:

3.5 stars

Summer of Songbirds:

Summary:

Four women come together to save the summer camp that changed their lives and rediscover themselves in the process.

Nearly thirty years ago, in the wake of a personal tragedy, June Moore bought Camp Holly Springs and turned it into a thriving summer haven for girls. But now, June is in danger of losing the place she has sacrificed everything for, and begins to realize how much she has used the camp to avoid facing difficulties in her life.

June’s niece, Daphne, met her two best friends, Lanier and Mary Stuart, during a fateful summer at camp. They’ve all helped each other through hard things, from heartbreak and loss to substance abuse and unplanned pregnancy, and the three are inseparable even in their thirties. But when attorney Daphne is confronted with a relationship from her past—and a confidential issue at work becomes personal—she is faced with an impossible choice.

Lanier, meanwhile, is struggling with tough decisions of her own. After a run-in with an old flame, she is torn between the commitment she made to her fiancé and the one she made to her first love. And when a big secret comes to light, she finds herself at odds with her best friend…and risks losing the person she loves most.

But in spite of their personal problems, nothing is more important to these songbirds than Camp Holly Springs. When the women learn their childhood oasis is in danger of closing, they band together to save it, sending them on a journey that promises to open the next chapters in their lives.

Quick Thoughts:

I loved this book! I’ve read quite a few books by Woodson Harvey including the entire Peachtree Bluff series, and while I enjoyed all of those books, this one is my favorite.

I think the camp setting immediately reminded me of my love for The Parent Trap, and my mind kept thinking of that movie. I enjoyed the three main characters equally, and their friendship was so special.

A few fave quotes:

• “…because she knows that even in the profound sadness of death, there will always – must always- be a place for the astonishing, enduring beauty of life.
• “Just like every year, every phase of our life had its seasons. Cold ones, windy ones, sunny ones, warm ones. We could not choose which part we were living; we could not predict how our future would play out.

This is definitely a perfect book to read in the summer.

Rating:

Birdie & Harlow:

Summary:

The funny and poignant story of one woman’s wonderfully codependent relationship with her dog – and what he taught her about chosen family and the reward of motherhood. Birdie & Harlow  is the story of a baby and a dog. But motherhood is never quite that simple. In Taylor Wolfe’s case, it’s a long, zigzagging and winding road. Meant to be a last-minute anniversary gift for her then boyfriend (and now husband), the highly-energetic and loud-mouthed Vizla puppy named Harlow turns out to be the best snap decision twenty-year-old Taylor ever makes—and the beginning of the most epic friendship she ever has. As Wolfe’s resistance to 9-5’s and traditional adulthood grows, Harlow becomes the perfect companion for her eccentricities in a world that thrives on conformity. Wolfe’s twenties—full of pitfalls and surprises, sad days and silver linings—led her to the realization that life is too short to spend your days in a crate (or a cubicle), that parks are meant to be enjoyed, and most importantly, she wants to be a mom. But  really, isn’t she one already?  A charming and touching memoir,  Birdie & Harlow  is a tribute to the many expressions of modern motherhood, to both human and fur babies alike. Taylor’s story reminds all of us that life will surprise you and that families should come in every shape and size.

Quick Thoughts:

If you are on Instagram, then you probably follow Taylor (@thedailytay). She is so funny! Her Instagram reels just crack me up. Anyway, I remember when she shared that her beloved dog passed away, and then later sharing about her book. I think she linked it to Audible, so I bought it. I listened to it off and on over the past month, and finished it on my car ride to KC a few weeks ago.

I really enjoyed Taylor reading it and truly hearing her voice as she shared about her life, upbringing, career, Harlow, becoming a mom and more. She even shared Harlow’s internal dialogue which was endearing and sweet.

Anyway, I thought it was a good book, and it was a great one for me to listen to as my first audio book.

Rating:

The Office BFFs:

Summary:

An intimate, behind-the-scenes, richly illustrated celebration of beloved The Office co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey’s friendship, and an insiders’ view of Pam Beesly, Angela Martin, and the iconic TV show. Featuring many of their never-before-seen photos. Receptionist Pam Beesly and accountant Angela Martin had very little in common when they toiled together at Scranton’s Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. But, in reality, the two bonded in their very first days on set and, over the nine seasons of the series’ run, built a friendship that transcended the show and continues to this day. Sharing everything from what it was like in the early days as the show struggled to gain traction, to walking their first red carpet—plus exclusive stories on the making of milestone episodes and how their lives changed when they became moms— The Office BFFs is full of the same warm and friendly tone Jenna and Angela have brought to their Office Ladies podcast.

Quick Thoughts:

I’ve watched quite a few episodes of The Office, but I’m not a huge super fan. I think both Jenna and Angela are so funny. So, since I knew I had a car ride back to KC with time to kill, I downloaded it from the library Libby app.

I really enjoyed this insight and background info. It was fun hearing them narrate this and hearing their relationship in real life. I’ve listened to some of their podcast episodes too, and I’m assuming there’s some overlap, but overall, I thought it was light-hearted and heart-warming.

Rating:

Summer Reading Update:

I was able to read a couple of summer books this month!

• Read: This Summer Will Be Different and The Summer of Songbirds
• Ready to Read: On Fire Island, The Comeback Summer, and The Darlings
• On library wait list: A Hundred Summers
• Not out yet: The Summer Pact, Swan Song , A Happier Life (just recently released)

I think July will be another good reading month for me. Thanks to listening to some books, I’m back on track with my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I’m up to 19/40 books that I hope to read this year.

What have you been reading lately?