Books Read in June

Wow, I can't believe it's July already - June went by in a flash, though it was an odd month here. School ended, but my youngest son had knee surgery and my oldest started a summer class in college. We normally spend June on a long, relaxing camping road trip together, so this June was very different! My youngest is now walking without crutches and going to PT, and my oldest has his final exam tomorrow, so now our REAL summer can begin!

In the meantime, I read a LOT last month and started my Big Book Summer Challenge. Here's what I read in June:

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, a teen/YA novel, my first Big Book of the summer, and just as good the 2nd time! (Germany)
• Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall, a novel set in Civil War times (Florida)
• The Silver Six by A.J. Lieberman and Darren Rawlins, a middle-grade graphic novel (Massachusetts)

• The Infinity Ring #1: A Mutiny in Time by James Dashner, middle-grade fiction (Pennsylvania)
• The Infinity Ring #2: Divide and Conquer by Carrie Ryan, middle-grade fiction (France)
• The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, novel (San Francisco, CA) 

• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, fictional audio book (Germany)
• Arcadia by Lauren Groff, novel (New York)
• Lucky for Good by Susan Patron, middle-grade fiction (California)

Nine books in all! That's definitely a one-month record for me. It helped that several were quick middle-grade novels. This was a big book group month for me - I read The Book Thief, Blue Asylum, The Language of Flowers, and Arcadia all for book groups (and yes, my husband has already informed me I have an addiction!). The Book Thief is a long-time favorite of mine - I first read it several years ago - but of the books I read for the first time, I think The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is my favorite this month - it was just so unique and emotionally powerful.

Update on 2013 Reading Challenges:
I added only 1 new state (Florida) to my Where Are You Reading 2013 Challenge, but I also added 2 new countries (as usual, the titles are piling up for California and New York). Of these 9 books, only 1 (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas) came from my TBR pile - yikes, I better quit taking more books out of the library! - so my 2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge is up to 9 books now. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was also my 5th audio book for the 2013 Audio Book Challenge.

What was your favorite book read in June?