Summer is fully upon me here, meaning a lot of sun, some rain, and even some wildfire smoke. In fact, as I draft this the D.C. area is again experiencing another wave of poor air quality. Currently, my area is in code red (151+ AQI). It also means everyone is awake from their winter slumber and my social calendar is now busier. Typically I see a decrease in my reading during the summer, but I think I’ve just maintained my personal status quo. Now let’s take a look at my monthly book blog wrap-up for June.
Book Reviews
I posted four reviews in June. From earliest to latest they are:
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- Summer of the Cicadas by Chelsea Catherine
- Orchid Child by Victoria Costello
- Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton
I also participated in some book memes, which you can find in my June 2023 archive.
Blog Statistics
Every month I share some statistics from Google Analytics because I think it helps put expectations into perspective for other micro-bloggers like me who are out there.
My top five posts for unique (not total) page views as of June 28 are:
- Book Review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros: 145 views
- Arthurian Retellings Reading List: 64 views
- June 2023 TBR List: 48 views
- Book Review: To Bleed A Crystal Bloom by Sarah A. Parker: 41 views
- Book Review: To Snap A Silver Stem by Sarah A. Parker: 30 views
I’m pretty sure SEO is helping all three of the reviews on here receive some views.
I also hit a new record number of monthly blog visitors, which is fun. I also gained a couple more followers for a total of 144.
#BeatTheBacklog
Like last month, I’m still not doing as well as I want to for this challenge. Currently, I haven’t read any books that I placed on my TBR prior to 2023. However, if I manage to complete HER MAJESTY’S ROYAL COVEN by Juno Dawson, then my grand total will be one book read for this challenge.
NetGalley
My feedback ratio is at 79% for the end of June. I submitted one review this month: NORTH QUEEN by Nicola Tyche. I have 4 ARCs that will be published in August. Because I’ll be busy in July, I’ll be surprised if I manage to actually read and review all of them by the end of that month.
Other Bookish Items
I finished six (possibly seven!) books in June, which is slightly lower than the first five months of the year. But, again, it’s summer time and there’s a lot to do!
- ONCE UPON A TOME: THE MISADVENTURES OF A RARE BOOKSELLER by Oliver Darkshire
- A COURT OF SILVER FLAMES by Sarah J. Maas (buddy read)
- THE COURAGE OF THE LITTLE HUMMINGBIRD by Leah Henderson (children’s book)
- HAPPY PLACE by Emily Henry
- ORCHID CHILD by Victoria Costello (ARC)
- NORTH QUEEN by Nicola Tyche (ARC)
- HER MAJESTY’S ROYAL COVEN by Juno Dawson
I posted another On My Radar roundup of some posts I enjoyed this month.
I also posted my list of Anticipated Third Quarter Book Releases. There are a lot of books in here because August is stacked, so check it out.
Non-Bookish Items
I really made no progress on my non-bookish goals in June. I did a couple of runs, but that was essentially it.
There were a couple of family-related events that I won’t go into detail about because privacy is important. But one was a death and the other a birth, each unrelated to the other.
The birds finally noticed our suet feeder and really loved it. So we found a local bird shop, asked some questions, and put up a bird seed feeder. I love seeing all the different kinds of birds and so does my cat. It’s impressive how quickly the bird seed level drops! We also noticed that a pair of bluebirds finally, after at least a year, decided to start using the bird house we put up.
With respect to gardening, we planted some echinacea in the front yard. We also harvested a first round of potatoes. And we had a great snow pea and sugar snap season. Now all the cucumber and melon seedlings are in the ground.
And that’s it for my monthly book blog wrap-up! How was your June?
Congrats on the new record for blog visitors! June has been a surprisingly good reading month for me, and I’ve just been flying through the books.
Thank you! ^_^ I’m glad you had an unexpectedly great reading month…it’s always nice when you look at the total for the month and it’s more than you thought (or the books were all good!).
A lot of bloggers I know seem to be in the part of the country experiencing smoke from the fires, so sorry you’re one of them. Usually it’s California that gets fires, but it’s actually early for fire season here, which hits in late summer/fall. Sounds like it was a good month! Fourth Wing was my most viewed post of the month as well (and probably will be for a long time)
Yea, this is a pretty unusual experience, as you may have gathered from other bloggers or the news. Here in the D.C. area we were basically in code red all day and still are. I certainly never envied the CA wildfire season and am not pleased to see all this smoke here! Glad you got some good views on your Fourth Wing post, too!
It looks like you had a very busy month! Thanks for taking the time to do two buddy reads. 🙂
You’re very welcome! I appreciate you keeping them casual…I wish I had all the time to read, but it’s tough to juggle some days!
Well done on having so many people visit your blog. My June has been frantic with holidays, weddings and music. It’s been a fantastic month though and I have managed to read a fair amount. I’m looking forward to hearing what you think of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven as I’m just about to start that one.
Thanks, Janette! I saw you’ve been busy traveling in June…looks like you had a good time. 🙂 I plan to finish reading Her Majesty’s Royal Coven tonight and I hope to write up a quick review over the weekend. So stay tuned!
I used to feed birds in my backyard too, back when I didn’t use to live in a city (isn’t it so satisfying to all kinds of birds gathering around? My cat back then used to love it too lol)
Hope you have a great month ahead!
It is absolutely so satisfying to see all the birds stop by. I love it! I hope you have a great reading month in July! 🙂