Books Read in July

Everyone else is probably posting their August month-in-review today, and this is my July summary! I am still way behind on reviews, though this is actually an improvement over the past two months...baby steps...

I finished 7 books in the 7th month and enjoyed them all. Here's what I read in July:

• Exo by Fonda Lee (NE), teen/YA audiobook
• The Risen by Ron Rash (NC), adult audiobook
• Exposed by Lisa Scottoline (PA), adult novel reviewed for Shelf Awareness (will link here when it is published)

• I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (Pakistan), memoir
• Almost Autumn by Marianne Kaurin (Norway), teen/YA audiobook
• A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold, middle-grade audiobook

• Mighty Jack and the Goblin King by Ben Hatke, middle-grade graphic novel

That's a total of seven books, with three read on paper and four audiobooks. That probably sounds like I didn't read much (with my eyes!) in July, but I also started one of my Big Book Summer books that I finished in August. I read a nice mix of middle-grade, teen/YA, and adult books and even had one nonfiction (memoir) and one graphic novel in the bunch. My books were set in some very diverse places, too. My favorite book read in July was I Am Malala, a very compelling and fascinating true story.

Progress on 2017 Reading Challenges:
This is my favorite part of my monthly summary - updating my Reading Challenges! Only 1 of my 7 books were from my own shelves for my Read Your Own Damn Books Challenge - bringing my 7-month total up to only 13. That's dismal, and the books just keep piling up! For the Monthly Motif Reading Challenge, July was Believe the Unbelievable with a focus on fantasy, so Mighty Jack and the Goblin King fits. No more classics for the 2017 Back to the Classics Challenge, but I started one in July that I finished in August. I slotted three of my books into categories for my Well-Rounded Challenge, but the categories are almost filled up now. For my Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge, I added Pakistan and Norway. For my 2017 Literary Escapes Challenge, I added three more states: Nebraska, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month! This was one of my best Bingo months ever with 22 squares filled in!



















Books on the Bingo Card:

Exo - Death & destruction, alien, spy, cop/fireman/military, team/squad/friends
The Risen - Drinking
Exposed - Yellow on the cover, free book
I Am Malala - Library book, foreign country, award winning, travel
Almost Autumn - Season, audiobook
A Boy Called Bat - Animal/pet, lol/humor
Mighty Jack and the Goblin King - Paperback book, in a series, fairy tale, WTF, shelf love (TBR)
Free Space

What was your favorite book read in July?