It is officially the first day of July, so I thought I’d check in with my Summer Reading Challenge. I’ll be sharing how much progress I’ve made with my challenge and then asking some Summer Reading Questions. Feel free to play along on your own blog.

In June I read:

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker (June Book Club) – Finished June 12, 2013 – This is going to be one of those books that stays with me for a long time. The overall concept of this story is both fantastical and disturbingly plausible – the way any good dystopian kind of story should be. I think the author did a great job of fleshing out her story, providing a main character that was both realistic and likeable with plenty of side stories that had less to do with the world potentially ending and more to do with coming of age. This was a book that really sucked me in while I was reading it – I really liked it.

Click to read my Full Review

I am halfway through The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart. Despite being written for kids, this book is massive – like Harry Potter #7 big so it’s been taking me awhile to finish, plus I keep staying up late with hubby watching Bruce Willis movies and learning to crochet. Priorities, you know?

Plans for July:

• This month my book club is reading The Paris Wife by Paula McLain – I have been itching to read this book for ages so I’m pretty excited about it.
• I’ve been wanting to read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald since seeing the film version a couple months ago. Hoping to get to that this month.
• I’m also dying to read The Selection by Kiera Cass
• In my nightstand post, I also considered trying to get to Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster this month, but the odds of me reading four books this month after reading just 1 1/2 books last month… they don’t really seem to be in my favor. Three would be excellent – still, if miracles happen, that would probably be my next choice.

For fun, let’s do some Summer Reading Questions:

1. What kind of books do you like reading in the summer? Sultry romances, fluffy beach reads, big nonfiction books, classics, best sellers?

I’m not sure I really have a specific type for the summer as I like to keep a good mix of genres in my reading, but I probably gravitate more towards lighter books during the summer, especially if I’m lucky enough to be reading on vacation somewhere – I’m not sure I’d be able to focus enough on a meatier book between frolicking on the beach and watching fireworks while eating sea food at a little place on the water…

2. Where would be your ideal summer reading spot?

On a river cruise in Europe? Or sitting in a comfy chair on the screened in porch that we don’t have while the kids play in the fenced in backyard that we don’t have and I have a glass of lemonade next to me (don’t have that either – boo) and the kids are perfectly well behaved and don’t make me get up once. This is supposed to be a fantasy, right?

3. Where do you actually do most of your reading in the summer?

Same place I read most of the year – in bed for 30 minutes to an hour or so before falling asleep. Hence why it takes me so long to finish books!

4. Do you tend to read more or less in the summer months compared to the rest of the year?

I think as a kid, I’d have been reading more because I wouldn’t have school to focus on but now that MY kids don’t have school, I am definitely reading less. I’m much more tired at the end of a summer day it seems or I stay up later with hubby because, “Hey! No school tomorrow!” and then end up reading less.

5. What book would you most like to read this month, whether it’s on your Reading List or not?

That’s a tough one. On my list – probably The Selection by Kiera Cass based off cover appeal alone. From books not on my list are mostly books that haven’t come out yet.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth doesn’t come out until October, but that doesn’t stop me from impatiently wishing I could read it already.

The Last Word by Lisa Lutz comes out next week and I know I’ll be itching to get a copy of that one ASAP – I am such a huge fan of the Spellman Files series and the last book left me kind of stomping my feet and whining a lot when it was over.

I’ve also been wanting to read more about the first ladies and also the mothers of the presidents. Especially since watching Lincoln and Hyde Park on Hudson and finding the female characters almost more interesting than the presidents. There are quite a few books out there that would fit the bill so it’s really a question of where to start and should I read more of the books I already own first. The eternal question for me, really…

You can answer these questions in the comments section or on your own blog.

Either way, I’d love to read your answers & hear how your summer reading is going!

It’s not to late to link up to my summer reading challenge!

Put together a list of books you’d like to read this summer and link up here.