What I Read: June 2014

I mentioned last month that I planned to read the Harry Potter series and I promised I would tell you guys more about that this month. Well, the short version of the story is that before June, I’d only read the 1st and 3rd book in the series! If you want to hear the long version, I talk all about it in

the video I uploaded yesterday. Yep, I’ve started making bookish videos, so if that interests you, you can follow along on SCS reads!

About- I’m sure y’all already know this, but the Harry Potter series is about a boy who finds out he’s a wizard and chronicles his life and his magical adventures.

Why I picked it- See here!

Grade A I’m so happy that I’m reading this series right now. It’s just so delightful and I feel like it’s a perfect series to be reading in the summer. When started the first book, it took me right back to my seven- or eight-year-old self who was reading the book for the first time and just discovering this magical world. There was some controversy a couple of weeks ago over an article that said that adults should be embarrassed to read young adult (YA) novels. I have to say that I disagree with the fundamental premise of the article. I think that people should read whatever they want to! Of course, not every genre or type of book is for me, but I’m not going to judge people for what they’re reading or tell them they should be embarrassed about it. I was thinking about that article when I started rereading Harry Potter and I’m not at all embarrassed that I’m reading these books now. I am a little sad that I didn’t get a chance to read them when I was a kid and I do feel like I missed out a bit on the cultural phenomenon, but better late than never, right?!

About- A retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairytale set in New York City during the Jazz Age.

Why I picked it- I won this advance reader’s copy from Goodreads- thanks Goodreads!

Grade B- I was looking to forward reading this because generally I enjoy retellings of fairytales. However, I thought this book was only ok. The story is mainly told from Jo’s (the eldest sister’s) perspective, but I would have liked to hear from the other sisters as well, to be able to connect with their characters. The writing was also ok- I found myself comparing this to Rules of Civility, which has a similar setting and features really sharp, witty dialogue. I would definitely recommend that book over this book if the idea of a novel set in New York during the Prohibition Era intrigues you. Overall, it was neither terrible nor amazing, just somewhere in the middle.

So that’s it for June! Right now I’m in the middle of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and I’m also reading The Snow Queen. I can’t wait for the long weekend and hopefully I’ll be able to do some reading outdoors. I’ll be taking off the holiday on Friday, so I’ll see you all back here next week!

Disclaimer: I won a copy of The Girls at the Kingfisher Club from Goodreads. I’m not required to do a review, but I wanted to and these are my honest thoughts and opinions about the book.