June 2016 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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Hi! July is here. Some of you are already on summer vacation. So I hope you have a good summer. For me, that usually means spending my day reading books and relaxing. Unfortunately, this year June means thesis deadline and oral presentation. That’s fine though because finally I’m one step closer to getting my master degree. Anyway, I did read 5 books and one novella in June. I’m so proud of myself because I only read two books in May. That’s quite an improvement. So, here’s the books I read in June.

Books read in June

	Delirium – Lauren Oliver (★★★★)
	Delirium is the first book in a dystopian trilogy by Lauren Oliver. This book was popular a few years ago but I finally able to read it this year. I won’t write much about this book since I’ve written a review which was posted in June. The link is provided below.
	Pandemonium – Lauren Oliver (★★★)
	Pandemonium is the continuation of Delirium. I enjoyed the previous book much more than this one. Like Delirium, I’ve posted a review of this book early in July.
	Requiem – Lauren Oliver (★★★)
	I like marathoning series. So of course I had to read Requiem which is the last book in the trilogy. There is however, a short story collection for the series. I’ve also written a full review for this book which will be posted in July. There will be spoiler since Requiem is the last book in a series.
	Delirium Stories: Hana, Annabel, & Raven – Lauren Oliver (★★★)
	This book is a collection of short stories told from three points of views, Hana’s, Annabel’s, and Raven’s. Each set in a different time line between and before the original trilogy. The first short story, Hana’s, is set at the same time with Delirium but told from Hana’s perspective. I’ve read Requiem before reading this book, so I already knew what really happened at the end of Delirium. Hana’s story fills some unexplained events and gives more insight into her personality. The second story is Annabel’s, Lena’s mother. Her story is set in two different timelines, one of which is when she’s being held in the Crypts. The other timeline is what excites me more. She told her struggles when she’s young and the country is still in transition to be a free Deliria country. I like Annabel’s story because I didn’t read much about her in the original trilogy. Even if she came up in the book, it’s told from Lena’s perspective which usually sounds more bitter and sometimes antagonizing her mother. While the last story kind of surprised me. It’s a back story of Raven and her side of Julian Fineman’s liberation mission. Raven has always been the mysterious one. So it’s nice to read about her backstory. Overall, it’s a nice addition to the original Delirium trilogy. It definitely fills some plot holes such as how did Raven even manage to take care of baby Blue. So if you enjoyed reading Delirium trilogy, I think reading this book would be fun.
	Alex – Lauren Oliver (★★)
	Alex is a novella which set after Delirium. It’s told from Alex’s perspective and mainly is about his time at the crypts. I’m not sure if I liked this novella or not. I like Alex and love to read about him more. When I decided to pick this novella, I thought I’d like him more. I don’t. This novella makes him look like a creepy stalker/ sociopath. He told the readers, his earlier memories that he remembered was of him burning houses. Then he keeps on justifying his killings like he had no other choice. I don’t know. If you like Alex from the original trilogy, I don’t think reading this novella is a good idea.
	Sharp Objects – Gillian Flynn (★★★★)
	I love Gone Girl so I was excited to start reading this book. It’s just as twisted as Gone Girl. I enjoyed reading this book so much. Although this book may seem like a mystery book with a serial killer on the loose, Sharp Objects emphasizes on the psychological aspect of its characters. Anyway, a review of this book will (hopefully) be posted later in July.

Review Posts in June
Tales of Blood and Sulphur - J.G. Clay
Tampa - Alissa Nutting
Delirium - Lauren Oliver

Non-Review Posts in June
Top Five Favorite Character Names

June Favorites

Book

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Music

June’s playlist is a bit of random. That’s because I like to listen some music while working on my thesis. Sometimes, when I’m too focused I couldn’t be bothered to pick specific artist or genre to listen to. I just let Spotify does the work. More often, there are songs that kind of stuck in my head. The songs in June’s playlist are the ones that I couldn’t stop listening to.

As you can see, I don’t have many favorites in June. I only watched one movie and it wasn’t my favorite. I did finish an entire series though, so that’s great. It wasn’t my favorite series, but that’s fine. Oh and I also finished watching Castle. I was sad when I was watching the series finale. It sucks that the show’s cancelled but I think it’s for the best. You know, before they drag the stories around just to prolong the show. Anyway, that’s my June. Did you have a good reading month in June? Or watch good movies? Or even discover a new TV show? I would love to know about them.