2014 has been a great book year for me! I exceeded my goal of 100 books, finishing out the year with either 106 or 107 books read (I'm still reading one so I may or may not finish it before midnight tonight). I fully expect my rate to be higher next year, as I have to read 60+ books for school by April alone. I'm really happy because the quality of books that I've read this year has been great, too! I've encountered my share of duds, but overall, this has been a really great book year for me. 

So I am actually VERY happy with the reading that I've done in June! It's been a crazy busy month, with moving and the wedding, but I've somehow managed to read 10 books, including 2 books that I hadn't actively planned to read and every single book on my June TBR list except for Where Angels Fear to Tread, and that's just because it's not in at my new library yet. And, even better, most of these books were really awesome! Great reading month. 

I think that my favorite book this month would have to be We are the Goldens, with Treasure Island very close behind. If you haven't read We are the Goldens yet and you're a fan of YA literature, I highly recommend checking that out - it's very well-written and it was just published last month. I'd recommend Treasure Island to just about anyone. It's a great adventure story and a wonderful introduction to classic literature if you're new to it. The book that I struggled with the most this month was definitely The Art of Arranging Flowers, not because the book itself was bad, but because I received a really awful galley copy. I'm going to be revisiting the book in July once it comes to my library. 

What were your favorite books this month? Have you read any of the books I read in June? 

For a 16-year-old boy out in the world alone for the first time, every day's an education in the hard work and boredom of migrant labor; every day teaches him something more about friendship, or hunger, or profanity, or lust--always lust. He learns how a poker game, or hitching a ride, can turn deadly. 

He discovers the secret sadness and generosity to be found on a lonely farm in the middle of nowhere. Then he joins up with a carnival and becomes a grunt, running a ride and shilling for the geek show. He's living the hard carny life and beginning to see the world through carny eyes. He's tough. Cynical. By the end of the summer he's pretty sure he knows it all. Until he meets Ruby. (source)

This book is definitely not what I expected. I've only ever read one Gary Paulsen novel (Hatchet) and after reading that, I was never interested in reading more by him. But this was on my US of YA Challenge reading list so I decided to read it, though reluctantly. It's better than I expected... but I'm still not super happy with it. It's just not my thing. But it's short and the font is huge so it shouldn't take too long for me to finish it and move on to something new. 

So, here's the deal. I would love to read at least 10 books this month. Like, you have no idea how much I would like to. I would feel so, so accomplished if that could happen. But I read a grand total of 4 books in April (okay, if we're feeling generous, we could say 5 since I finished Tess of the d'Urbervilles today, but technically, that makes it a May read!), and I'm going to have even less time this month, since I'm now less than 50 days away from my wedding (and on that note - prayers and happy thoughts for my fiance as he searches for an accounting job in the Pittsburgh area would be greatly appreciated!). So, yes, I have ambitious reading goals for this month, but I'm trying to accept that it's likely that I may not accomplish them.