Avoiding the Mid-Summer Reading Slump.

Annnnd the first week of August is over. I swear we are going to blink and it will be Christmas Day. This year has blown by so fast. I say that every year around this time but really…that’s the way the world works.

This past week I haven’t finished anything. So my reading has started out slumpy for this month. But I am determined to change that. Every August/September I feel like a broken record. These are the months I really start to get slumpy, right before the Holidays. And then during the Holidays I usually want to read all the things but am too busy to do so.

So how do we beat the end of summer slumps? Things I like to do is book shop. It sounds funny but the idea of reading something new can really pull you out of a reading slump. Browsing books in a shop and finding something that you are excited to read can help.

Re-arrange your shelves. Sometimes it’s easier to forget books that you want to read on your TBR. It can also feel good to get rid of some books that are no longer interesting and make more space for new books. Fall clean and get ready for those cozy reads coming out.

Another thing I like to try to do is read something fun, light, comedic, and short. This can be a re-read of sorts or something new. Usually it works best if it something new because then it makes me want to read more books I have never read before, which is all of my TBR.

If that doesn’t feel right then a comfort read may be the right path. Something that you like to read over and over again. For me, this is usually The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

What if none of this works? Then maybe you need a book break completely. I can get this way where I hyper-focus on Animal Crossing or a new craft project, or maybe a new TV show where I would rather be doing anything but reading. If you are burnt out then don’t force it. Take a reading vacation and do something else with your free time. You will read it again. But if you force it then sometimes you make things worse and end up hating books that you might actually enjoy.

Let me know what you like to do during a reading slump. I am always open to trying something new to pull me out of them.

The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg

This was my first book by Bill Konigsberg that I have read. I read this book last summer and still think about it today. It is a cute rom-com read that is fluffy and heartwarming. I want to read more books by this author.

The Music of What Happens follows Max who is running a food truck over the summer. Max is confident, a jock, and popular. He meets Jordan who is looking to earn some extra money to help his family out. Jordan starts to help Max run the food truck. The two become fast friends. Jordan finds out that his family is in need of more money than just a little extra so Max tries to help him earn the money with their food truck by making different dishes and drinks to gain popularity around town.

I would say this book is for fans of Love Simon by Becky Albertalli, or even What if It’s Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli. It has a smaller feel to these two authors and this book is defiantly more under-hyped.

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.

What if it’s Us and Here’s to Us By Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli

These two books are extremely hyped. It took me a long time to finally pick them up. It wasn’t until the second book was released this year that I decided to rapid fire read these.

Jumping into it: What if it’s Us is a cute rom-com that is purposely easily predictable. It starts out when Arthur bumps into Ben at the post office. Ben is struggling to get is an ex-s box of stuff sent when a flash mob comes into the post office. Arthur thinks that this is it, it happens this way in the movie where he meets his perfect soulmate during a flash mob at a post office. But when he turns around Ben is gone. At the start of this book is Arthur trying to find Ben from this point. I struggled with this book because I personally did not like Arthur. He is overly dramatic and comes off as annoying. But this is truly who Arthur is, a broadway fanatic who loves all things drama. I could not relate to Arthur and I think that was why this book was hard for me to like it. It was a fast-paced fluffy read that would be a great book to add to a read-a-thon pile.

Here’s to Us is what happens to Ben and Arthur a few years later. I did like this one a lot more. Usually these types of “extra books” are added to a stand-alone flop because they feel forced. And maybe because I did not like What if it’s Us that well, I found Here’s to Us a better book out of the two. I am curious to know what others thought of the second book.

I personally hate it when a stand alone book get’s a second novel. I think What if it’s us did not need a second book. I gave both these books 4 out of 5 stars.

Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei

I decided to subscribe to rainbow Crate each month. Icebreaker was the first book from Rainbow Crate that I have decided to read. This follows Mickey James who is a college freshman, and a hockey player who is promised to become a NHL legend like his father and grandfather before him. The only problem is Jaysen Caulfield, one of Mickey’s reveals now turned team mate.

I enjoyed this read. I thought it brought forth a lot of issues that we don’t usually see in books such as mental health. The author really based this book around Mickey’s mental health and his battle with depression. This is a enemy to lovers romance based around hockey. I loved the writing style and the story.

The only issue I had with this book was I felt like it was missing something. I am a drama seeker. I need a book to have a big drama spot. And yes there is drama in this but not as much as I personally liked. I just needed something big to happen and felt like I was waiting for something that never happened.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 star.

“Seventeen-year-old Mickey James III is a college freshman, a brother to five sisters, and a hockey legacy. With a father and a grandfather who have gone down in NHL history, Mickey is almost guaranteed the league’s top draft spot. 

The only person standing in his way is Jaysen Caulfield, a contender for the #1 spot and Mickey’s infuriating (and infuriatingly attractive) teammate. When rivalry turns to something more, Mickey will have to decide what he really wants, and what he’s willing to risk for it.

This is a story about falling in love, finding your team (on and off the ice), and choosing your own path.”

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

I re-read this book in preparation for a book signing with Casey McQuiston at a local indie store last month. However, I was unable to attend the signing last minute. I still really enjoyed this book. For me it is a nice comfort read. It is funny, light and addicting. I believe the hype is real on this book. I still gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.

“First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations. The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. 

As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?”

Kiss and Tell by Adib Khorram

I saw this book floating around TikTok and knew I needed to read it. I really enjoy books about bands and that is what Kiss and Tell is about. We follow the boy band Kiss and Tell as they travel on their first major tour. Hunter, the frontman is the only boy in the group who is openly gay and going through a messy breakup. As they travel Hunter starts to catch feelings for their opening bands lead singer. On top of that Hunter has preasure from his label to dress and act a certain way so they can publicizes that hunter is gay.

I really enjoyed this read. Growing up as a 90’s baby I lived off of Brittany Spears and boy bands. I really loved the journey Hunter went through. I also loved that this book is more than a novel. You get interviews, magazine write ups, twitter feeds and conversations from fans. It made the book feel even more real.

I listened to this as a audiobook and highlight recommend it as a audiobook. The audiobook has a full cast which I think makes it so much better because you get the personality’s coming through even more of these characters.

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.

“Kiss & Tell is a total rush! Perfectly sweet and swoon worthy. I loved every page! – Julie Murphy, New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’

A smart, sexy YA novel about a boy band star, his first breakup, his first rebound, and what it means to be queer in the public eye, from award-winning author Adib Khorram

Hunter never expected to be a boy band star, but, well, here he is. He and his band Kiss & Tell are on their first major tour of North America, playing arenas all over the United States and Canada (and getting covered by the gossipy press all over North America as well). Hunter is the only gay member of the band, and he just had a very painful breakup with his first boyfriend–leaked sexts, public heartbreak, and all–and now everyone expects him to play the perfect queer role model for teens.

But Hunter isn’t really sure what being the perfect queer kid even means. Does it mean dressing up in whatever The Label tells him to wear for photo shoots and pretending never to have sex? (Unfortunately, yes.) Does it mean finding community among the queer kids at the meet-and-greets after K&T’s shows? (Fortunately, yes.) Does it include a new relationship with Kaivan, the drummer for the band opening for K&T on tour? (He hopes so.) But when The Label finds out about Hunter and Kaivan, it spells trouble–for their relationship, for the perfect gay boy Hunter plays for the cameras, and, most importantly, for Hunter himself”

The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller

I read this book in 2018 when it was first starting to get traction. I am not the biggest fan of greek mythology but I really enjoyed this book. It started to get popular again on TikTok last year so I reread it. And it did not disappoint.

This is the story of Achilles and his relationship with Patroclus. It plays with the idea of them being more than friends even though that is not how the mythology goes. Like I said I do not follow mythology that much so to me these names and ranks really don’t mean a lot to me. But even with that I found a lot of joy in this book. Both times I read it I gave the book 5 out of 5 stars.

“Achilles, “the best of all the Greeks,” son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods’ wrath.

They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.”