June reading hopefuls

 I've not been reading much (for me, anyway) in 2025. I set a goal of sixty books for the year, which averages out at about five per month. So far, I've been averaging one to three books each month, which is still great, but I've been feeling in a bit of a slump. A good book is the best cure for a reading slump, and The Master and Margarita is the one that's drawn me back to books. I'll probably write a separate post for it, but it was a fantastic five star read that I already plan to read again (but I should probably read a few of my other books first). 

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

I'm getting really into American literature at the moment, and I wanted to read some more short stories, so a few days ago I started Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's one of those stories that is referenced in so much media - often in relation to the Audrey Hepburn film - but I found it really hard to find a copy. It isn't for sale on the Kobo store, at least not that I can see, but eventually I found a version online so I'm reading it on my PC in between studying and job applications. I love an unreliable narrator and the 1940s setting, and I'll probably watch the film afterwards. 

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I have read The Great Gatsby a couple of times, and I loved Fitzgerald's writing. I watched the 2013 film adaptation recently and realised I hadn't read any of his other stories. The Beautiful and Damned is one of his other well-known works, so I'm hoping to start it this month. 

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

I'll admit that I probably won't finish this one in June. I often take a long time to read individual books, because I tend to have multiple on the go at once. It's just what works for me. I'm a couple of chapters in and enjoying the writing so far, so I'm hoping that this month I will have read at least half of it. I read Of Mice and Men in secondary school for my GCSE in English literature, which was quite a few years ago now so it's probably due a re-read too! 

Heartless by Sara Shepard

I'm currently re-reading the Pretty Little Liars book series. If you've watched the TV series, but not read the books, I would recommend them. I think in a lot of ways, they are better than the TV version and the storyline gets very different after the first arc of books. There are eighteen books (!!) in the series, including two companion novels, so it always takes me a while to get through them as I like to interweave them with other books as I go. I don't read a lot of Young Adult (YA) anymore. I just feel like I've mostly grown out of it myself, but this series is so dear to my heart and I've been a fan since the show started in 2010. Heartless is book number seven in the series, so I'm almost at the halfway point! 

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

I got this on sale on the Kobo store ages ago, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I went on a cozy Japanese fiction binge last summer, and really loved so many of the books I read. This one isn't very long so I think I can start and finish it in June.