The June book list

Warning: Very long.

Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery: An old friend, met again and loved again.

Poison Study by Maria Snyder: Overall good story, but MAJOR content advisory. I can’t recommend this one, in all honesty, but I’ll read the next one in the series because I don’t think the content will be as bad.

Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik: Second book in the Temeraire series. Excellent, as usual. Laurence and Temeraire are in China.

The Game by Diana Wynne Jones: Okay, but nowhere near as good as Jones usually is. I think this one suffered from being in novella form—it felt like it needed to be a short story or a full-length novel.

The Other Wind by Ursula LeGuin: The first Earthsea novel in lo, these many years. Lovely. Filled me with a deep satisfaction.

Where the Lilies Bloom by Vera and Bill Cleaver: Another old friend revisited.

A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson: The nicest thing about this book was that the author had obviously done her research where Russia was concerned. Overall, it was pretty much a generic clean romance. I might read it again, but it didn’t blow me out of the water.

The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs: Not a fan. Strange story. Too Gothick for my tastes.

Lord Peter by Dorothy Sayers: All the Lord Peter short stories. I love Lord Peter.

Believing is Seeing by Diana Wynne Jones: Short stories by the ever-wonderful DWJ. YAY!

The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke: Short stories by the author of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Also YAY!

The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer: Not my favorite Heyer. The hero annoyed me.

Frederica by Georgette Heyer: One of my favorite Heyer books. It’s the supporting cast that really makes this one for me. I like Frederica and Alverstoke as well, but it’s Jessamy and Felix and Charles Taylor that take it to a new level.

Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie: Short stories by Agatha Christie.

A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson: I didn’t enjoy this as much as the other two I read by the same author. It all seemed a little improbable and the characters veered a bit farther into the romance book category than I can reasonably stand.

A Song For Summer by Eva Ibbotson: This was definitely the best of the three I read by Eva Ibbotson. Slight content advisory at the end, which bothered me, but the rest of the book was good enough that I ignored that part.

Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer: Not my favorite Heyer, but it was all right.

The Spellcoats by Diana Wynne Jones: Complex, lovely, and enthralling.

Tales from Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin: Short stories about Earthsea. I enjoyed the glimpse into the different periods of Earthsea history. And I loved the introduction. Even if you haven’t read a word of the Earthsea books, check this book out and read the introduction.

Black Powder War by Naomi Novik: Third Temeraire book. This one seemed a bit tedious to me in places, but still a worthy addition to the series. The excerpt from the fourth book in the back worried me. With reason, as I’m currently finding out.

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie: Also known as the Boomerang Clue. For some reason one of my favorite Christie’s. No particular reason, it just is.

The Crown of Dalemark by Diana Wynne Jones: Love, love, love. Seriously. I loved this book. Read it. Read the series. Diana Wynne Jones is amazing.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman: Hilarious goodness. I love the movie too, but the book has its own charms.

The Young Unicorns by Madeline L’Engle: Except for House like a Lotus, there is not a L’Engle I have read I don’t like. Young Unicorns is no exception.

Magic for Marigold by L.M. Montgomery: Another old friend revisited.

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman: I kept hearing about this Neil Gaiman guy so I thought I’d better see why everyone was so wild about him. Now I get it.

The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer: I can’t make up my mind whether I like this one or not. I guess I do, but the heroine is so wimpy! I prefer the heroines along the lines of Frederica or Mary Challoner or Drusilla Morville.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggins: Yet another old friend revisited.

The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie: Typical short stories.

Eight Days of Luke by Diana Wynne Jones: Enjoyable, fun, but not the best.

Aunt Maria by Diana Wynne Jones: I liked this one a lot. It’s more along the Chrestomanci lines than the Dalemark lines, but I like both.

A Blunt Instrument by Georgette Heyer: Nice mystery from Heyer.

Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer: One of my favorite Heyer’s. Mary Challoner is great.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones: I have to say, I read this and went, Anime? What? It seems so British. Oh, I loved it. In the same way that Temeraire is Patrick O’Brian WITH DRAGONS, this was Georgette Heyer and Miss Marple WITH MAGIC. Yay.

Wild Robert by Diana Wynne Jones: I liked this one, but it was too short.

Avalon High by Meg Cabot: So, not generally a fan of Meg Cabot, but this one sounded more along my lines than her usual type. I liked it. In a guilty sort of way. I don’t know why the guilty part, because it was well done and she obviously knows what she’s talking about. And she quotes P.G. Wodehouse.

The Doctor’s Sweetheart by L.M. Montgomery: Short stories. As usual with Montgomery’s short stories, some I loved, some I couldn’t stand.

False Colours by Georgette Heyer: (I read a lot of Heyer during June, didn’t I?) Only all right. I’m not sure why I’m not more excited about it, but I’m not.

Bath Tangle by Georgette Heyer: Ditto.

Gifts by Ursula LeGuin: Loved it! This is the first LeGuin that’s not Earthsea that I’ve finished. I approve.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle: For some reason, I always think I’m going to like this one more than I do. It’s really the later books in the series I love, although this one certainly has its moments.