July Reads (2020 Edition)
Oh July, you were so everything about this year. In addition, it was hot, humid, and perfect for staying home with a book. So, I did. While I managed to finish a few other titles, I’m now deep in my Velgarth series reread. I enjoy finding new focus points each time I return to this world. This year I’m enjoying seeing how characters experiences shape future behaviour.
July Reading List
- The Silver Gryphon (Valdemar: Mage Wars #3) by Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon
- The Speaker (The Reader Trilogy #2) by Traci Chee
- Magic’s Pawn (Valdemar: The Last Herald-Mage #1) by Mercedes Lackey
- Writing Is Designing: Words and the User Experience by Michael J. Metts, Andy Welfle
- Magic’s Promise (Valdemar: The Last Herald-Mage #2) by Mercedes Lackey
- Magic’s Price (Valdemar: The Last Herald-Mage #3) by Mercedes Lackey
- The Women’s War (The Women’s War #1) by Jenna Glass
- Ada Lace, on the Case (Ada Lace Adventures #1) by Emily Calandrelli
- Caffeinated: How Our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts, and Hooks Us ★ by Murray Carpenter
- Spy, Spy Again (Valdemar: Family Spies #3) by Mercedes Lackey
- Foundation (Valdemar: Collegium Chronicles, #1) by Mercedes Lackey
- Intrigues (Valdemar: Collegium Chronicles, #2) by Mercedes Lackey
- Changes (Valdemar: Collegium Chronicles, #3) by Mercedes Lackey
- Redoubt (Valdemar: Collegium Chronicles, #4) by Mercedes Lackey
- Bastion (Valdemar: Collegium Chronicles, #5) by Mercedes Lackey
- Closer to Home (The Herald Spy, #1) by Mercedes Lackey
- Closer to the Heart (The Herald Spy, #2) by Mercedes Lackey
- Closer to the Chest (The Herald Spy, #3) by Mercedes Lackey
- The Hills Have Spies (Valdemar: Family Spies #1) by Mercedes Lackey
- Eye Spy (Valdemar: Family Spies, #2) by Mercedes Lackey
- Brightly Burning (Valdemar, #8) by Mercedes Lackey
- The Oathbound (Vows and Honor, #1) by Mercedes Lackey
- Oathbreakers (Vows and Honor, #2) by Mercedes Lackey
- Oathblood (Vows and Honor, #3) by Mercedes Lackey
- Chaos Reigning (Consortium Rebellion #3) by Jessie Mihalik
A ★ indicates I received the title through Netgalley, the FTC wants you to know.
Recommendations
NetGalley Review
Caffeinated: How Our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts, and Hooks Us by Murray Carpenter
This one took me a really long time to read and I’m not sure if a cup of tea would have helped me make it through. There are lots of disparate shots of fascinating information but doesn’t really shape into a cohesive picture as to how caffeine affects us. Read my complete review at NetGalley »
Additional Recommendations
When I’m finished with this reread (we’ll see if I include all the anthologies or not) I’ll try to finally write up my thoughts on Mercedes Lackey’s Velgarth world. I have lots of thoughts. Some people love to re-watch favourite TV shows, I love rereading.
Writing Is Designing: Words and the User Experience by Michael J. Metts, Andy Welfle
I was surprised at how practical and interesting this title was, I often have low expectations of this sort of book. While it’s geared toward agencies and large teams, I felt it was one of those rare books that are easy to apply to solo work. I picked it up to help broaden my reading and knowledge on accessibility.
Ada Lace, on the Case (Ada Lace Adventures #1) by Emily Calandrelli
Very cute, it’s the sort of book I wish I had at middle-grade reading age.
Chaos Reigning (Consortium Rebellion #3) by Jessie Mihalik
A friend introduced me to this author last year and I greatly enjoyed this trilogy. I’m fascinated by large families and rivalries. Chaos Reigning is a fun conclusion, and while the romance was a bit over the top obvious, it fit the main characters and was an enjoyable.
Next reads
I’m determined to raise my NetGalley reader review rating. It’s stuck at 46% due to the number of books I’ve requested that I haven’t yet reviewed. How did this happen? In the beginning of working with NetGally, I assumed I’d rarely be approved, so I requested books as if it was the LT ER program which to me is more of a lottery I’d be given perhaps 1 out of every 10 books I wished for.
Hah hah hah. For a while, almost every book I requested was approved! That means that as things stand right now, I need to review a minimum of 14 books to raise it four more percentage points to 50%! I have to read and review an additional 126 to get to that magical 80 that they want reviewers to have!
It’s a difficult challenge as I see many books I want to read now and if I add any more then I’ll have to review additional books to get it to 80%! I’m digging through my list and making some progress. There are about 5 books on my active “to be read” list and my plan is that when I reach 50%, I’m allowing myself one new book to request. We’ll see how I do.