I had a good reading experience last month and am hoping to keep up that momentum for June. I’m making more Booktube videos, and have other projects going on like gardening and interior house painting.
My Word of the Month
Progress
My Haiku of the Month
A day is so short
and projects are numerous
so work on just one.
Bible Verse of the Month
Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. – Colossians 3:23 “
My daily reading diary is at the bottom of this page, after the book list.
I have another blog with a daily to-do list, gratitudes and a reading list: Linda’s Life
☆ – I own the book and am ready to read.
★★ – I’m reading it.
✓ – I finished reading it. Yay!
What I’m reading during June 2020
Hold-over books from last month:
I absolutely must clear these from my reading list soon! I should not leave books half-read. Ever. Must get this done!! Time to start new things!
Goals to wrap up my reading of these books.
✓ 1. Ramona – I’m on page 169 out of 382 but completely stalled because my local book club hasn’t been meeting during the coronavirus lockdown, so the motivation to keep up with the group isn’t there. I need to read 213 more pages. If I read 7 to 10 pages a day during the month of June, I should finish it before the end of the month. Be it so resolved. – Finished reading Ramona on June 14. Here’s my Goodreads review.
2. Living Beyond Yourself – I have two more chapters to finish. Each chapter has five sections. I can do this in two weeks.
DNF – 3. Wild Women, Wild Voices – I want to do one chapter per week, so I won’t finish it this month. I’m on page 41 in chapter 4, and want to read through chapter 7 this month… that’s page 120. (There are 13 chapters in the book.) Decided to DNF this book for now because there are too many exercises for my preference and time commitment, and there are new-agey type passages that I don’t appreciate in a writing book. I left the new age philosophy a long time ago, and don’t want to read about it. I wanted to read about writing, not crystals, etc.. I might go back to the book later, if I feel up to it. Right now I don’t.
4. The Creative License… love this art book but want to finish it up NOW.. currently on page 80, heading for page 197. I need to read at least 4 pages daily in June.
5. Finding Divine Inspiration – I won’t finish by the end of the month but want to do one chapter per week. There are 13 chapters and I’m currently in chapter 4.
★★ YA Fiction: I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
I’ll be participating in a readalong for this novel during June. It is an epistolary novel. Sounds amazing. Here’s one of the readalong announcement videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RELtT4r0DuA
✓ Science Fiction: Midworld, by Alan Dean Foster
I’m reading this for the 2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge, prompt #10: A book recommended by your favorite blog, vlog, podcast, or online book club. I’m going with a book that a man on Booktube keeps recommending… so, thanks to Todd the Librarian, I’ll finally get to learn what Midworld is all about.
✓ Fiction: The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, by Grady Hendrix
I’m reading this for the 2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge, prompt #4: A book about a book club… and apparently, vampires are involved! Looking forward to this!
★★ Nonfiction: Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail, by Ben Montgomery
I’m reading this for the 2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge, prompt #9: A book with a map … I’ve had this book more than a year… keep wanting to read it but haven’t yet. Maybe this time?
★★ Fiction: It’s All In the Story: California… an anthology of short stories set in California, edited by D.P. Lyle
I’m reading this for the 2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge, prompt #11: An anthology. I decided to read more about California, so this book meets my needs for the reading challenge and my state. Here’s some writing advice from the man who edited this anthology.
★★ Science Fiction: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
I’m reading this for the 2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge, prompt #23: A book that won an award in 2019. It won: the 2018 Nebula Award for Best Novel, the 2019 Locus Award for Best Novel, and the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Novel. It was also a finalist 2019 Campbell Memorial Award.
My Bible study books for 2020
A one-year Bible: Pray For America
Two devotionals: Jesus Always, by Sarah Young
Praying Through the Bible for Your Kids, by Nancy Guthrie
June Bible Study:
✓ finish – Joshua, John
★★ Read – Judges, 1/2 Samuel, 1 Kings, Acts, 2 Corinthians
✓ Read 5 Psalms daily
✓ Read 1 chapter of Proverbs daily
My June 2020 Reading Diary
June 1 – Looking forward to a great month of reading.
June 2 – Good reading day. My goal is to read 5 Psalms and a chapter of Proverbs daily, plus something in the Old Testament and something in the New Testament. Happy to say I did that today – something I don’t always do lately. I hope this month will make reading the Bible more of a daily habit that it should be. Also read the first 2 chapters in Midworld and am currently in the third, and read more in some of the carry-over books: Living Beyond Yourself, Wild Women Wild Voices, and Ramona. Also read one story in the anthology: The House at Pooh Corner, by Julie Wells.
June 3 – Midworld, chapter 3! Ramona… now on page 233 of 381 pages. Only 148 more pages! I read chapter 17 while lying on my hammock in the shade in my front yard. Can’t remember when I’ve ever felt anything so peaceful. Spent much of the day in the yard mowing, weeding and pruning roses and other plants.
June 5 – Here’s my latest book organization video.
June 6 – Still reading both Midworld and Ramona. Bible reading is going well this month.
June 7 – Reading Midworld, and finished chapter eight. I should be getting through this novel faster, now that I’m accustomed to the world and the plot and characters. Bible reading went well this morning. [Later] I finished chapter ten in Midworld. Only three more chapters. It is exciting.
June 8 – Bible readings at dawn. Midworld . . . chapter 13 – it is the last chapter. [Later] Finished! Midworld was originally published in the 1970’s and the audiobook was published in 2019. Well worth the journey.
June 9 – Started reading The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.
June 12 – Time flies – what have I been doing the last few days? I know yesterday, there was some rose pruning and lawn mowing. Well, today I got back to Ramona and read the rest of chapter 19. I’m closing in on the end – a little over 100 more pages. Also read five pages in Creative License and a section of Living Beyond Yourself. I guess, a lot of my energy the last few days went to watching news videos because I’ve been very disturbed about the anarchist attack and occupation of downtown Seattle. I know if I lived in that area, I’d be so upset. Glad I’m living in a remote place. So far, that’s working well for me.
June 13 – I finally got heart-involved with the story of Ramona. Sure took long enough. Today, finished chapters 20 and 21. Also keeping up with 5 Psalms daily and one chapter of Proverbs daily. So far, so good. June is jumping!
June 14 – Started the day with 5 Psalms (140-144) and chapter 14 of Proverbs. My intention is to start reading I Capture the Castle and then to read the readathon comments for the first three chapters. [Later] I read the first three chapters and enjoyed them very much! I’m so glad I’m reading this book. Created an Instagram post about Ramona and read two more chapters… only three more to finish the novel.
June 16 – Tuesday! Am I ready for it? (I really wasn’t.)
June 17 – Wednesday! I spent the afternoon on my hammock reading I Capture the Castle, which I’m enjoying a lot. I released my June midmonth reading update video today.
I’m
June 18 – Thursday . . . I’m making a book blanket!
June 19 – Friday . . . mowing, rose pruning… I’m staying busy. Made a video today – and spent the afternoon reading on my hammock in the shade. Happy day. Today’s video is about Kindles.
June 20 – Saturday . . . I had errands to do in town today. Also enjoyed some hammock time reading The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires . . . I’m about half-way through now and it is getting vampirey. I filmed this video yesterday and it was published this morning.
June 21 – Sunday – church… then more Bible reading… Psalms, Proverbs, and the book of Judges. Also read a few more chapters in The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, filmed three videos, and I’m still reading I Capture the Castle even though the official readathon ended yesterday.
June 22 – I’ve done a lot of reading in The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and I Capture the Castle . . . also the Bible. I’m starting to wash the walls in the master bedroom of this mobile home… getting ready to paint it.
June 23 – Making progress still in both novels. There was a mountain lion sighting in my neighborhood. That’s taken a lot of my mental energy today.
June 24 – I finished The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and wrote a review on Goodreads. I started reading The Calculating Stars, which won the Hugo Award for science fiction last year. Still making progress on I Capture the Castle.
June 28 – I’ve been gone a few days! What was I doing? Well… still reading – but not as much as I want to. I’m having a plumbing problem – hope it will get fixed tomorrow so I can wash clothes again. I had a lovely Sunday.
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