June was such a strange reading month. I’m still catching up on my reading wrap-ups and looking at this pile of books three months later, most of my thoughts are how there was no pattern to my reading in June. After May I was determined to not hate-read, but I did that again! As well as continuing two series and starting another!
Marked by P.C. and Kristen Cast
I truly believe that all books that I don’t like, have an audience that I’m not a part of and that’s fine. I liked this book as a teen and it has an unbelievable sales record. But here’s the thing, everything you don’t want a teenage girl thinking is in that book: Racism, fat-shaming, joking about eating disorders, homophobia, slurs (everyone is called a r*tard or a f*g), weird references to “ancient Cherokee magic”, slut-shaming. And just the oddest comments on sex. I had to pause and read aloud to several friends, the paragraph about “the blow job issue“, where the MC tells us that: “those of us with functioning brains that it is not cool to be used like that“… I have no idea how to even start to unpack that.
I don’t think a book has to have a likeable MC, or even an unproblematic MC, but damn. I wouldn’t want a teenage girl reading this. I feel bad for past!Imogen for reading this and thinking badly about herself and others because of the narrative.
Spoiler Alert for my next unhaul: all the books I own from this series.
✮
Kitty Steals the Show by Carrie Vaughn
It’s been two years since I last read a Kitty Norville book but returning to this series felt like coming home, especially since this one was set in London! I love this world and these characters so much.
It is different from past books, with the different setting meaning little interaction with the pack and the radio show that I love so much, but I liked the change- there’s 9 previous books chocked full of that. Seeing Kitty gain status through the radio show, enough to be invited to a conference of paranormal studies, shows the world adapting to the news that werewolves and vampires are real. And I’m always interested in that kind of thing.
✮✮✮✮
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
After reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in May, I thought I was going to love this entire series but this is such an odd sequel. I enjoyed the book just fine when I was listening to the audiobook, although Martin Freeman isn’t as good as Stephen Fry when it comes to narrating. But by the end I couldn’t tell you what happened in those eight hours!
✮✮✮
The Haunting of Mount Cod by Nicky Stratton
You can find my full review for this here!
✮✮✮
Imogen's Typewriter. 