How have you all managed this month with the heatwave?
40+ degrees isn’t new for us here in Spain but that doesn’t mean it has been fun navigating the heat! Truth be told, our aircon units are trash and need replaced, and the lower (much cooler) level of our house is completely unusable due to the renovation work happening.
So we’ve been absolutely cooking upstairs with a temperamental aircon that likes to trip the switches and turn off the electricity every so often. Thankfully we have a pool and we have been in it almost every day! Although I have taken to just putting my feet in the water and sitting on the side with my book.
June reading
Despite setting myself some lofty goals this month and not being even slightly close to achieving them, I’ve still had a great time reading! I have taken 3 books off my TBR and the other book I read was an ALC.
Here are my thoughts:
1. The Third Policeman — Flann O’Brien
This book is weird, surreal, and fully committed to its own strangeness. I picked this up for Henry Eliot’s Substack book club and would highly recommend reading it with a group if you get the chance. It’s the kind of book that leaves you constantly questioning what’s going on, and I found myself completely absorbed in its increasingly bizarre world. Equal parts funny, chilling, and utterly absurd.
2. Butter — Asako Yuzuki
I loved some of the food descriptions in this book but I wasn’t entirely sure what the novel wanted to say by the end. There were lots of interesting ideas around food, femininity, beauty standards, and desire, but it felt a little meandering at times. I really wanted it to stamp its foot down and make a point! The ending, unfortunately, didn’t leave much of an impression on me either.
3. The Way of Kings, Part One — Brandon Sanderson
A book that’s been on my TBR since 2018 or 2019 and it is FINALLY read. And (of course), I loved it! Sanderson hasn’t let me down yet with anything I’ve read, and this was no exception.
Even though it’s only the first half of an enormous novel, I was immediately invested in the characters and the world. The scope is huge, but Sanderson somehow makes each character and story arc memorable. I’m very glad I finally stopped being intimidated by its page count.
4. The Little Book of Exoplanets — Joshua N. Winn (gifted ALC*)
I’ve been having issues with insomnia since being postpartum, and this audiobook has been my company at 4 a.m. all month long. The writing is so accessible given the complexity of the topic, and I loved how much I learned in such a short amount of time. In the mornings, I kept telling my husband all the fascinating facts I’d picked up overnight during our dog walks.
*As always, a huge thank you to Libro.fm for providing me with an ALC for this wonderful book.
I have also now read Book VI of The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky as part of Henry Eliot’s year-long slow read of the “most magnificent novel ever written”, (according to Freud). I am having such a good time reading this book. Some parts are more challenging than others, but sticking to the set pace has given me lots of time to process and take in some of the detail, although a reread will definitely be in order at some point. Going into this book, I could never have expected that it would be so compelling and funny! There are darker moments- I found book V particularly difficult- but I never have any issue getting through each month’s section. Henry’s Substack videos are brilliant for breaking down what we’ve read, and pointing out some ideas and themes we might have missed. I can’t think of a better way of reading the book!
Last week I posted about the Summer 2026 TBR Challenge I set myself. I was so surprised and delighted to see quite a few people join in over on Storygraph! I’ve been very ambitious with my reading plans considering I am also wrangling an energetic toddler these days, but there are so many books I am excited to get to.
If you’re feeling inspired to tackle your TBR please do join us! It starts today, 1st July 2026.
1. Header image can be found here
Read While It Rains 