{"id":61,"date":"2020-07-01T10:59:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T10:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/\/?p=61"},"modified":"2020-07-01T10:59:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T10:59:00","slug":"june-reads-mindscape-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=61","title":{"rendered":"June Reads! (Mindscape Reviews!)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hi Readers! Just like that, June has already ended! And, as usual, I thought I will do a roundup of the THIRTEEN BOOKS<\/span><\/b>I read this month! Most of them were e-books, so I couldn\u2019t click a satisfactory picture of 13 books stacked on top of the other. Anyway, now I have read 46 books from my 52 books target<\/span><\/b> <\/span>in just half the year. So, obviously, I am going to increase my target, but more on that later. Check out the books I read in June!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

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~~THE NIGHTINGALE by KRISTIN HANNAH~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Genre: Historical Fiction<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Pages: 440<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

My Rating: 4\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is a historical fiction novel set in the WWII<\/span><\/b> <\/span>telling us the story of two sisters ‘ Vianne & Isabelle. There are two story lines. First one is during the war, which is 95 % of the book, set from 1939 to 1945. The other is in 1995, 50 years after the second world war, where we see an old woman who has survived the war. Is it Vianne? Is it Isabelle? You will only know at the end. Both the story lines are written so amazingly well. There are many people whose lives we see getting affected because of the war. We see how every person reacts in a different way; some to survive, some to fight back, some to right their wrongs, some following orders & some to just live another day. Every person in this novel, no matter what part they decided to play, have shown that bravery can be a hundred different things<\/span><\/b>. There is not only one correct way, there are hundred correct ways.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Check out the full book review here<\/a>!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

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~~AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE by TAYARI JONES~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Genre: Contemporary Fiction<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Pages: 308<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

My Rating: 2.5\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I had waited a long time to read this highly recommended novel, but it all lead to disappointment. Barack Obama recommended it, so I obviously thought it would be really something. An American Marriage is nothing but a sad little love triangle<\/span><\/b>. I thought it would be the story of how a black man got wrongfully convicted, how his life changed because of it, how it impacted his marriage & maybe even the racial discrimination rooted in our world. But, it was nothing of the sort. While the writing was interesting, it couldn\u2019t bring out the dull plot.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

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~~GILEAD by MARILYNNE ROBINSON~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Genre: Historical Fiction<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Pages: 247<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

My Rating: 1\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The story is narrated by a minister John Ames where he writes letters for his young son for him to read when John Ames will have died. It sounds good, I know, but wait. In these letters, he talks about his stories, his father\u2019s stories, his grandfather\u2019s stories & so on. We also get a lot of content on God, faith, preaching & all of that. And yet, it fails miserably. Nothing from this is in-depth. It is just at the surface leaving the reader to never truly understand the familial bonds or the faith in God. The content of all these stories put together amounts to everything insignificant in our daily lives. These letters are nothing but random straggling musings<\/span><\/b> of a dying minister with a pinch of advice and more of mundaneness connecting no dots along the way<\/b><\/span>as the story progresses.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Gilead is the first novel which is of Historical Fiction genre, set during wartime & is a Pulitzer Prize winner<\/span><\/b>, which I did not like.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Check out the full book review here<\/a>!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

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~~THE DUTCH HOUSE by ANN PATCHETT~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Genre: Historical Fiction<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Pages: 337<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

My Rating: 2\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Reading this novel felt like reading a very dull first draft from an amateur debut novelist. We have a deluded robot of a narrator, reprehensible characters which we cannot get in the mindset of, dull story line & predictable end<\/span><\/b>; all of which make a complete disappointment to the historical fiction genre<\/span><\/b>. When I read it halfway, I knew it would not get better, because it was just so plain & dull to read. I think the author tried to make an impression with the Bildungsroman attempt of writing, but it has failed for me. Now that I read the book, here I am thinking, what was the point of it?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Check out the full book review here<\/a>!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

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~~THE CODE OF THE WOOSTERS by P.G. WODEHOUSE~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Genre: Classic Humour<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Pages: 272<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

My Rating: 4\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

This was my first Wodehouse read in the Jeeves series & it SOLD<\/span><\/b> <\/span>for me! The humour in this story is just so real & simply hilarious. The plot looks so effortless, but the setting of that plot must have taken way too much efforts. I loved the British English writing<\/span><\/b> <\/span>as well. It took me some time to understand some phrases, but after that it is all fun fun fun!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

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~~MY MAN JEEVES by P.G. WODEHOUSE~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Genre: Classic Humour<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Pages: 256<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

My Rating: 3.5\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

When you start reading Wodehouse, it is almost impossible to not keep reading his books & there are so many of them!! I wanted to read \u2018My Man Jeeves\u2019 because it checks out the category of \u2018A Book 100 years older than me\u2019<\/span><\/b>. This book is a collection of 8 short stories<\/span><\/b>, in which Jeeves appears in less than half. Nevertheless, it is all still very funny! Below are my ratings for each of the short story.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

“Leave It to Jeeves” 4\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

“Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest” 3\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

“Jeeves and the Hard-boiled Egg” 2\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

“Absent Treatment” 3\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

“Helping Freddie” 2\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

“Rallying Round Old George” 2\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

“Doing Clarence a Bit of Good” 3\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

“The Aunt and the Sluggard” 4\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

~~CHAOS WALKING TRILOGY by PATRICK NESS~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Genre: Fantasy \/ Dystopian<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Knife of Never Letting G0:o 3\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Ask and The Answer: 4\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Monsters of Men: 4\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I had to read a trilogy for my \u20182020 Reading Challenge\u2019<\/span><\/b> <\/span>and I am so glad I picked the Chaos Walking trilogy! I am planning on writing a full review on this, so I will just do a quick brief here.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Chaos Walking trilogy is based in a New World where everyone can hear men\u2019s thoughts out loud, which is termed as Noise<\/span><\/b>. It\u2019s a world with an alien species ‘ Spackle. Our main characters are Todd Hewitt & Viola Eade<\/span><\/b>. I have rated the entire series at 4\/5!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

~~CHAOS WALKING SHORT STORIES by PATRICK NESS~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Genre: Fantasy \/ Dystopian<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The New World: 4\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A Wide, Wide Sea: 3\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Snowscape: 3.5\/5<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

These three are short stories of around 40 to 50 pages each are an obvious must read if you have already read the main trilogy.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

~~HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Because I was entirely caught up in the Chaos Walking world, I paused on my Harry Potter re-reading. I finished this one just before picking up Chaos Walking. Now, I have only the last book to read which is sure to be done in July!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

So, that is that! Thirteen books read in June! I will be back for a Chaos Walking Review & to show off my July Book Haul!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Until next time,<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a><\/div>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi Readers! Just like that, June has already ended! And, as usual, I thought I will do a roundup of the THIRTEEN BOOKSI read this month! Most of them were e-books, so I couldn\u2019t click a satisfactory picture of 13 books stacked on top of the other. Anyway, now I have read 46 books from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review","category-books","category-mindscape-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":203,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=203","url_meta":{"origin":61,"position":0},"title":"Mindscape Reviews!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"September 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Post Coming Up 6th September!","rel":"","context":"In "Mindscape Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Mindscape Reviews","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-0u501AJDE3I\/WapPj4PwmaI\/AAAAAAAAdiM\/qGNuqoEQ7woMdIFYaloMLYHFw4PUqDCoACLcBGAs\/s640\/mindscapereviews.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-0u501AJDE3I\/WapPj4PwmaI\/AAAAAAAAdiM\/qGNuqoEQ7woMdIFYaloMLYHFw4PUqDCoACLcBGAs\/s640\/mindscapereviews.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-0u501AJDE3I\/WapPj4PwmaI\/AAAAAAAAdiM\/qGNuqoEQ7woMdIFYaloMLYHFw4PUqDCoACLcBGAs\/s640\/mindscapereviews.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=94","url_meta":{"origin":61,"position":1},"title":"Top 12 Posts of 2019!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"December 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers,This is one of the 2019 Year Roundup Posts, specific to Mindscape in Words. A lot of things depend on a post getting more page views than other. When I did an analysis, I was shocked to know which the top posts were. So, here are MiW\u2019s Top 12\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "personal"","block_context":{"text":"personal","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-9LSbBXcgB0o\/XgLwnbn5zWI\/AAAAAAAAiXo\/r3wDapNf7BA699xMKzh41QUJ2iJANEjpACLcBGAsYHQ\/s640\/IMG_20191027_204242-02.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":191,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=191","url_meta":{"origin":61,"position":2},"title":"Behind the Scenes : Redesign!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"September 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello lovelies!! Here's the much awaited post about the story behind my blog redesign! On 2nd September this year, Mindscape in Words completed 3 years! This time, I decided to make a few changes in the blog. Before I proceed to the redesign aspect & telling you about the complete\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rest.."","block_context":{"text":"Rest..","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-Wef6Zmkw3MU\/WceZWl9zJaI\/AAAAAAAAd3k\/VZkcBUUcEekyHlLiEX-AsPa9KqUUebFyACLcBGAs\/s320\/img3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":189,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=189","url_meta":{"origin":61,"position":3},"title":"September Roundup!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"September 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello Readers! I'm so happy with my first month of blogging post redefining goals!15 Posts in 1 Month!I think that's my personal best. I have posted a Daily Commute post on every Monday & a Diary Logs post on every Friday! And as for Mindscape Reviews, I haven't posted quite\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rest.."","block_context":{"text":"Rest..","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-wHnVaOnmjxE\/WcfYzK0l5xI\/AAAAAAAAd4k\/JxQ7r4QYRSEIs6okGCS9yUUO09kdQ-9vgCLcBGAs\/s640\/coverimage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":116,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=116","url_meta":{"origin":61,"position":4},"title":"My Lovely Wife. (Mindscape Reviews!)","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"July 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! I know you must wonder. 2 posts in 2 days! Since I am home since almost a week, I read books. I finished reading this book \u2018My Lovely Wife\u2019 by Samantha Downing in mere 2 days. As always, I saw this recommendation in many reading lists, which finally\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-9N_8DctQHVc\/WbUg2T5dRgI\/AAAAAAAAdv4\/OVo1W2_Bh0ABsKklu2ggHBTgdTIUoBRwACPcBGAYYCw\/s320\/mindscapereviews.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":201,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=201","url_meta":{"origin":61,"position":5},"title":"3rd Blogoversary + Announcements!!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"September 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello Readers!!Day after day, month after month and another year has passed. And here we are! It is Mindscape in Words' 3rd Blogoversary!! I am beyond excited for this one for so many reasons. Lately, I had really less time to write & blog. I completed my masters and got\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Daily Commute"","block_context":{"text":"Daily Commute","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=15"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-mDE-S2Kwpbo\/WapjTszq6aI\/AAAAAAAAdj4\/bSAV0ClBwjIow7smRdNJr3mbln_UH_4EQCLcBGAs\/s400\/firstpic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}