Books Read in June 2023!

Posted On June 29, 2023

Hi Readers! The month of June was a long one for me from literally any given aspect. Be it work or books or outings. For an endless month, I read quite less. I think it’s the least of any other months this year. I read FOUR BOOKS across 1034 PAGES in June. The good thing is I liked all of them, so I suppose June was a qualitative reading month!

~~YELLOWFACE by R.F. KUANG~~

Yellowface was a book I saw on every other post on Bookstagram & there were only good impressionable reviews. I had wanted to read R.F. Kuang’s work for a while but I never thought it would start with this one. R.F. Kuang has explored several themes in Yellowface, not limiting to the dark side of the publishing industry, race & diversity, social media, online bullying & cancel culture, appropriation of literature, plagiarizing, mental health & more. It’s a book with the perfect combination of a playful plot along with a social commentary. I have rated Yellowface by R.F. Kuang at 3/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~SOUTH OF THE BORDER, WEST OF THE SUN by HARUKI MURAKAMI~~

One more book read for my Year of Murakami! I absolutely loved this book too. From a bird’s eye view, there isn’t much to the story than that. But, from a worm’s eye view, there is a lot to explore. So, in a sense, this story is about nothing & everything. For the most part, it’s a coming-of-age story in its most subtle form. It’s about growing up while leaving our older selves behind. We grow up & leave pieces of ourselves & our dreams in the past. We all have so many ghosts of dreams that were left unfulfilled. And, so many versions of ourselves attached to those dreams. So much so that these haunted past versions of ourselves & our dreams make us feel like something is missing in our lives. That constant feeling of something missing. I have rated South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami at 4/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~THE AUTHENTICITY PROJECT by CLARE POOLEY~~

The Authenticity Project is a book I bought when I was in my ‘let’s read wholesome books’ era, which was 2 years ago. I picked it up this month simply because it called out to me & because no other book was working for me, I let me pick this one. It was a super fun journey reading this. The premise of the book is so wonderful that you get sucked in pretty quickly. All the characters are endearing & after you read their honest confessions, you can’t help but empathize for them. Each of them have their own unique personalities & perception of life. It did have repetitive dialogues & a bit of a predictable story line. But, overall I would recommend it. I have rated The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley at 4/5 stars!

~~HAPPENING by ANNIE ERNAUX~~

I bought this book from my massive Higginbothams book haul. I read it in under 2 hours & was thoroughly impressed. Annie Ernaux was the Nobel Prize Winner for 2022, but at most times, I don’t really enjoy these winning authors’ books. But, this book talks about a woman’s abortion journey in the 60s. It focuses on the unbridled fear that women go through when they want an abortion in a country where abortion is illegal. It is nuanced & covers so many emotions that women face when they are in such a situation. It was a profound read for me & cannot recommend it enough. I have rated Happening by Annie Ernaux at 4/5 stars!

~~JUNE READING STATS~~

~~LIFE LATELY~~

I did a lot of living in June, if that sounds right? After 5 years, I again decide to learn how to drive. Back then, I found it impossible & extremely difficult. This time, I am finding it possible but still extremely difficult. Hopefully, this time around I will stick to it for good!

I also started painting! I needed more hobbies now that I can’t play Badminton or go on my 2-wheeler rides. So, I decided that painting would give me a nice therapeutic way to spend some time being in a mindful & meaningful space. I have done it only once so far, but definitely going to find time only for this.

I also wrote something other than reviews & was really happy with it. You can read it here, it’s a love letter to the fictional world!

I didn’t go on any fun brunches with my friends this month, so all of that will likely happen in July. But, I did get to go to Chennai to meet my colleagues. It was so fulfilling to meet the Team & talk with everyone who I had only interacted with virtually. I also went to Higginbothams, which is the oldest book store in India. Another post on this coming up. Super fun days!

Until next time,