We’re into another month, and it really does feel like summer right now, with the sun shining the temperatures holding at if not hot-hot, at least quite warm! I feel like I managed to read a fair bit in June, but I’m usually not completely sure until I sit down and go through my challenges, so let’s see how I’ve been doing.
2024 Reading Challenges / Update #1 / Update #2 / Update #3 / Update #4 / Update #5
Goal: 41/70 (+8)
Disney Reading Challenge 2024
11/40 (0) Prompts Completed
Currently Reading
Mike Wazowski – I wasn’t scared. I have allergies – a scary book
It felt like Fear on 4: 13 Chilling BBC Radio 4 Dramas was a perfect fit for this. It’s available via Audible, and I’m really enjoying the variety of stories and performances involved. Absolutely excellent.
Books to Read: The First Days, The Wicked Ones, Princess Broken
Musicals Reading Challenge 2024
11/24 (+4) Prompts Completed
Read
Guys and Dolls – Luck Be a Lady – a book involving gambling or card games
Gambling on the Duke’s Daughter started off strong, but ended up messing and disappointing. A huge shame, as I really liked the couple in the beginning, but both ended up frustrating. Ah well – can’t love them all!
Little Shop of Horrors – Somewhere That’s Green – A book featuring or about plants
This Wicked Fate, on the other hand, was a really great, fun read and an excellent conclusion to a fantastic duology!
Wicked – No One Mourns the Wicked – From a villain or anti-hero’s POV
I really enjoyed I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me, it’s a great YA Horror novel that deserves to be very widely read.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat – One More Angel in Heaven – Jealousy
I finished We Have Always Lived in the Castle – what a book! Shirley Jackson’s gripping, gothic style is really engaging, and there’s an intriguing tale here about a family isolated from their local community.
Books to Read: Shakespeare, Time Lord Victorious: The Knight, the Fool and the Dead, A Street Dog Named Pup
Avengers Challenge!
6/6, 2/5 Bonus (+2) Prompts Completed
Read
Black Widow – Spies, espionage, torture, women breaking barriers, or something with a strong female who is a good fighter
I really, thoroughly enjoyed To Steal a Heart, and it felt very different from a lot of historical romances I’ve read, with the focus in Paris and on two characters who aren’t the type to be found in the ton’s ballrooms.
Winter Soldier – best friends
For this I read another romance – Kissed – and was left feeling rather unimpressed. Generally, the book was messy and rushed. But it did clearing another of this challenge’s bonus prompts!
Currently Reading
Ant-Man – magicians
As soon as I saw magicians in this bonus prompt, I knew it was a perfect opportunity to read A Radical Act of Free Magic, which I have been meaning to pick up for way too long. I’m definitely really enjoying this one, but that’s as expected.
Doctor Strange – anything where the character is a medical professional
For this, I’m reading A Better World, which features Linda, a doctor who moves to a company town when her husband gets a job there. But the town is strange and lonely and has a series of weird rituals – I’m enjoying it, and really keen to see which direction it takes next.
Books to Read: Darkness on the Edge of Town
Barbie Reading Challenge
9/17 (+2) Prompts Completed
Read
Man I Am – Cause that’s the man I am! – Your favourite book boyfriend
Heh – this one is a kind of tongue-in-cheek-but-also-not answer to this prompt, but this prompt jumped to my mind as I was reading it. I loved Jacked Up, about a possessed Jack-in-the-box who can only be released through human sacrifice. It was honestly great.
Silver Platter – Give you the world, if I was your man – A book set in a place where you want love to travel to
For this one, I picked a book set in Hollywood – The Unforgettable Loretta, Darling. The book started off strong but veered off course and ended up being another messy book. But it wasn’t a huge chore to struggle through it.
Books to Read: Ace of Spades, A Hunger Like No Other, Love That Journey for Me
Netflix Movies & TV Shows
13/24 (0) Prompts Completed
I’m pretty sure this challenge will follow me into 2025, and I’m okay with that – I’m going to limit my challenges next year, as I definitely feel like I took on too many, but with the other challenges either almost complete or near the 13-book mark, I’m confident I’ll pick this one up again relatively soon – though I do feel like I’ve been saying that for months!
Books to Read: So You Want to Talk About Race, Daisy Jones & The Six, Hexed
8 books in one month is, I think, pretty good. Didn’t read as much as I thought I would when travelling a bit, but did manage to get a fair bit in! It was also lovely to get away for a few days and spend time with the family. As always, if you have these books on your TBR or have read them and want to share your thoughts, I’d love to hear from you!
Unwrapping Words 