Quarterly Reading Round-Up #2.

I don't know about you, but these past months have absolutely flown by! It feels like just yesterday I was giving you guys my first quarterly round-up, and here we are, end of June, and I feel like I've barely blinked. But we're here now, so without further ado, let's talk about what I've been reading this quarter!

Losing steam.

I won't lie, I haven't kept up with my reading as much as I would have liked to these past few months. My year got off to a flying start with my Goodreads Reading Challenge. I had read four books by the end of March and was working my way through a fifth. So I got cocky, slowed it down a bit. And in the end, I didn't pick up a book for over a month... whoops! Luckily, though, earlier this month I went on holiday, which gave me the opportunity to catch up on those lonely, lonely books I had neglected.

Flying past the finish line.

The two books I finished this month were good'uns. The first, Moving by Jenny Eclair, which I reviewed here, and the second, After the Last Dance by Sarra Manning (review coming soon). Both lovely reads about older women reflecting back on their lives. Moving is contemporary, and After the Last Dance is more historical, as half of the book is set in World War II. I really enjoyed both of these books, and I'd say that they're my favourites of the year so far. I don't know what else to say without reciting the whole reviews again, so be sure to check those out to see what I thought.

In last place...

I often leave books half-read, because I get distracted so easily. It's not uncommon to look through my book shelf and see lots of books with bookmarks sticking out, begging to be picked up again. And I have every intention of finishing those book. HOWEVER, in this past few months, I've found one that I don't plan on revisiting ever again. I was so excited to read Beside Myself, as I got caught up in the psychological thriller hype. The concept seemed so interesting, two twin sisters who swapped places as a game, except one refuses to swap back. It deals with themes of identity, mental illness, expectation, perceptions... I thought it was going to be a ride. Except, it was really slow-moving, kinda boring, and just really sad on the most part. I barely got halfway before I gave up. It seems to be one of those super slow burners that climax right at the end. I don't usually mind that, but none of the characters compelled me enough to persevere, so I just called it quits on this one.

Currently reading.

Right now, I'm reading a memoir by a guy called Jensen Karp, called Kanye West Owes Me $300: & Other True Stories from a White Rapper Who Almost Made It Big. Karp was a guest on a podcast I listen to on the reg (the Best of Friends Podcast, to be more specific) and I found his story very interesting. Basically, the book is about his foray into freestyle rap when he was a teen, and how he almost score a multi-million recording contract, despite the fact he is very white and very jewish. I'm about a third of the way through it and loving it, it's so fresh and funny, and I'm loving all of the anecdotes about today's big names in rap and hip hop (like Kanye himself) who were still pretty much unknown in the 90s.

On the TBR: A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald, On the Other Side, Animal: The Autobiography of a Female Body, The Girls.

Find me on Goodreads, read my last update here, and let me know what you've been reading. See you in September for my next QRR!