The middle of the month means it’s time for a new Quick Lit post! Every month around the 15th one of my favorite book blogs, Modern Mrs Darcy, hosts a link up for fellow book lovers and bloggers to share what they’ve been reading lately.
My reading life has taken a hit so far in June. I don’t know if it’s the wacky fluctuations in temperature we’ve been having or what but I haven’t been feeling like myself. It’s been hard to focus on reading. A lot of the books I’ve attempted so far this month just haven’t drawn me in as quickly as I hoped and my nonfiction book picks have been quite dry.
My husband and I have been enjoying watching old seasons of Survivor instead. We really like to discuss the players and strategy involved!
In the first half of the month I also became a little obsessed with a new interest – permaculture! I went a little overboard searching out all kinds of online resources for learning more about it.
It’s also been fun to look back at the last June Quick Lit. What I was reading then mirrors this month’s choices. I was reading earlier issues of Lumberjanes and my big obsession then was Ayurveda. I also read When We Believed in Mermaids, a fantastic book and somewhat of a beach read. My first pick, Malibu Rising, reminded me of that one.
June Quick Lit:
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Rating: 3.5 stars
Taylor Jenkins Reid’s newest novel, Malibu Rising, just came out on June 1st! I almost never get to read such a new release. I was on a 6 month library wait list for this book and then it popped up on Libby as a lucky day pick. Those are available as a 7 day loan. I read it in a single day!
This book follows the Riva family switching between timelines starting in the 1950s when their parents met and August 1983 when the four siblings are all adults about to host their annual end of summer party in their hometown of Malibu. While they’re the children of legendary singer Mick Riva, they’ve been estranged from their father most of their lives and have found success on their own through modeling, surfing, or art.
The timeline set in the past shares their parents tumultuous love story and later their struggles growing up with a single mother and a famous deadbeat father. The book unravels how their family got to where it is in 1983. The 1983 timeline takes on one day in August hour by hour. Each Riva sibling is facing a personal struggle. Secrets and lies are racing forward threatening to collide at the same time the 1983 fire is due to arrive in Malibu.
I could not put this book down. I read it in a single day so the drama surrounding these characters was definitely addicting. Some scenes still felt as though Reid were going for shock factor with sex and drug use rather than furthering the story.
The last quarter of the book didn’t really work for me. I didn’t like the Hollywood aspect and the focus on a bunch of random famous characters being introduced. Overall though I enjoyed the family saga and Nina’s growth and story line in particular.
Reid’s earlier contemporary books are still my favorites. Her historical fiction started out really strong with The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I liked Daisy Jones and the Six and then Malibu Rising was good. Her recent releases are on a downward swing for me though. I’ve enjoyed each less than the previous one. I’m definitely glad I didn’t have 6 months of buildup waiting for this one. I think it would have been disappointing.
Lumberjanes, Vol. 12: Jackalope Springs Eternal to Vol. 14: X Marks the Spot by Shannon Watters
Ratings: 3.5 stars to 4 stars
I’ve been making my way slowly through this comic series for the past year and half. Lumberjanes follows the adventures of five best friends at a magical and mysterious summer camp. They often have to solve problems brought up by the supernatural forces surrounding the camp. These volumes take on a tornado with a mind of its own, prehistoric giant insects, and an ex Greek goddess out for revenge.
These are short and sweet stories to escape into for an hour or so at a time. The artwork seemed to change to a rougher and more simplistic style with the last few issues I read. In Lumberjanes, Vol. 14: X Marks the Spot, the illustrations turned back around to a style I enjoy more. I also liked the return of the kittens and the Greek mythology story line. It’s been fun to see how this world develops more characters and further develops the camp history.
Permaculture in a Nutshell by Patrick Whitefield
Currently Reading
I’ve become a bit obsessed this month with permaculture. As we set up our land, gardens, and orchard, a system that mimics nature and takes less work to maintain sounds like a great place to start! Being sustainable from the start creating a system that gives more energy than it takes would be amazing.
This idea is simple and can easily grow into overwhelming. I’ve been eager to learn the basic principles, examples of reciprocity in action, and how people design their homesteads using it. There’s no single right answer. Much of it depends on your particular land with its climate, topography, and existing vegetation.
Permaculture in a Nutshell was the shortest book on the topic at my library. It offers a concise introduction to the principles and practice of permaculture. After covering what permaculture is, the book breaks into chapters how it can work in the city, in the garden, on the farm, and in the community.
The book is written from a British perspective. It’s been helpful but a little dry so far with understanding basic concepts. I’m hoping to find something with more detailed examples of different systems in the future.
The Nature Fix by Florence Williams
Currently Reading
The Nature Fix is my June book pick for my Year of Health experiment. In it, Florence Williams shares the recent science revealing the positive effects nature has on our brains. Our modern lives are getting further and further away from the outdoors, but nature seems to have the power to improve our mental and physical health.
I don’t know if it’s just the mood I’m in lately but this book is not grabbing my attention as easily as I hoped the topic would. While the insights have been very interesting, the beginning sections of the book are dry.
I’m reading it on my kindle and I don’t have the text zoomed in very much. So far there have been several pages that aren’t broken up by even a paragraph. I feel like that just signals to my brain dense reading. I hope it picks up for me soon.
What titles are on your June Quick Lit?
2 responses to “What I’ve Been Reading Lately: June 2021 Quick Lit”
I am curious what you’ll think once you finish The Nature Fix. I enjoyed the few chapters I read, but I had to stop because it was too dense at the time when I needed some lighter reading. The info was interesting, but it just was a bit too much
Linking my recent reads, if interested!
I completely understand that. The second half of the book is working better for me, but still reads more dense and dry than I was expecting. It seems geared toward people who live in cities and have very little nature in their lives.
“Reading Magic” from your quick lit looks very interesting! I’ll have to look into Mem Fox’s children’s books. I love that you share which book format you read!