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Reading report for June

I read a total of 17 books in June. 6 were rereads and 7 were TBR. The genres included romance, travelogue, history, geology, biography, fantasy, true crime and visual humour.

I reached the 100 books mark around mid-month, meaning that if I keep up the current rate of reading I will finish just over 200 books in the course of the year. I also read the 30th TBR book of the year, putting me on course and boding well for the completion of the challenge.

The stand-outs of the month were Krakatoa and The Kon-Tiki Expedition, closely followed by The Nonexistent Knight and Medicine Road. I bought all four books on clearance sale at one of the charity shops I sometimes visit.

Krakatoa is one of those juicy history/science books that I love to read, and it doesn't hurt that it was written by Simon Winchester, whose writing never fails to please me. The subject of the book is the explosion of the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa, the lead-up to the event and the aftermath. Winchester is a trained geologist and clearly interested in the subject, and manages to make the complexities of volcanic activity and tectonic movements understandable for a layperson.

The Kon-Tiki Expedition is Thor Heyerdahl's first-hand account of his epic journey by raft from Peru to Polynesia in 1947. I read an English translation I came across in a charity shop, but when I was about 2/3 finished with it I found a copy of the Norwegian edition. However, I decided to finish it in English because otherwise I might be liable to remember it as two separate stories. The Norwegian edition has many more photographs and also illustrations and artwork by one of the expedition members, so I'm keeping both.

The Nonexistent Knight and Medicine Road are both accomplished works of fantasy, one a humorous medieval tale of knights on a quest and the other a gorgeously illustrated romantic story of mythical beings in modern south-west USA looking for love and trying to break a spell.


The books:
  • Þjóðsögur frá Eistlandi (Estonian Folk Tales). Folk tales.
  • James Bowen: A Street Cat Named Bob. Memoir.
  • Italo Calvino: Riddarinn sem var ekki(The Nonexistent Knight). Fantasy, historical novel.
  • Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer : Agnes and the Hitman. Romantic suspense. Reread.
  • Kate DiCamillo: Because of Winn-Dixie. Children’s book.
  • Georgette Heyer: The Unknown Ajax. Historical romance. Reread.
  • Georgette Heyer: The Nonesuch. Historical romance. Reread.
  • Thor Heyerdahl: The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By raft across the Pacific. Travelogue.
  • Elizabeth Kaye: Lifeboat No. 8: An Untold Tale of Love, Loss, and Surviving the Titanic. History.
  • Charles de Lint: Medicine Road. Fantasy.
  • Nancy Mitford: The Pursuit of Love. Novel.
  • Derek Pell: Doktor Bey's Book of Brats. Humour (mostly visual).
  • Nora Roberts: Jewels of the Sun; Tears of the moon; Heart of the sea. Paranormal romance. Rereads.
  • Ferdinand von Schirach: Glæpir (Crime). True crime.
  • Simon Winchester: Krakatoa: The day the world exploded: August 27, 1883. History.


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