arden's asides

july 2025 reading journey

July was a great month for developing a reading rhythm. I finished four novels (including two audiobooks) and wrapped up a fifth novel right on August first - so, technically, most of that reading was done in one month. I continued on with Mina Leā€™s book club reading Klara and the Sun and it was an even better reading experience than the first time. Iā€™m a little unsure how to feel about Augustā€™s choice, however, so weā€™ll see how far I make it into that one when I have so many options on my current reading list.

1. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, illustrations by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak

This is a very sweet picture book about a shy, uncertain raccoon who is leaving his motherā€™s side for the first time to go to school. She soothes him with a loving gesture that ends up also protecting her in kind. This is going on my list of books that I want to buy for my niece, especially since I think it will make her parents cry when she gets closer to the age where sheā€™ll be venturing out into the world on her own (a bit of a ways off since sheā€™s only a week old!)

2. Marigolds and Murder by A.K. Ikezoe

At first, I was a little unsure how I would get on with this blend of genre fiction (part fantasy, part cozy mystery, part historical), but Ikezoe managed to pull all the threads together in her debut novel. I liked the relationships between the central cast of characters, including Katsumi, a Japanese-American private investigator in Philadelphia who lived through the internment camps with her family. In this re-imagined history, magic was a major source of the conflict in WWII and has led to ongoing prejudiced against not only exalted people (those who possess one of the known types of magic), but also a xenophobia against the different cultures associated with the war and its aftermath. The book ends with promise for additional books in the series (not a cliffhanger per se, just opportunities) and I hope that we get to learn more about how this world has changed compared to our own.

3. A Bunny for All Seasons by Janet Schulman, illustrations by Meilo So

A cute, but very simple story. Not one that particularly grabbed me visually or lyrically.

4. The Opposite Zoo by Il Sung Na

This was a cute little story about a monkey wandering through a zoo and noting the differences between the sheer variety of animals present.

5. Tap Tap Boom Boom* by Elizabeth Bluemle, illustrations by C. Brian Karas

This made me nostalgic for days when my elementary teachers would have us gather around the carpet to read us stories on rainy days and I can imagine this being a staple for that purpose.

6. The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste

Kayla/BooksandLala mentioned that this was one of her favorite recent horror novels and it has been on and off my holds shelf for a while now. It falls into that category of horror that isnā€™t scary, per se, or even graphic, but that is existential, haunting, and psychological - all elements that I like finding in this genre. We learn about the protagonistā€™s traumatic upbringing slowly over time as she participates in a research study about the street she grew up on ā€” which has seemingly disappeared along with everyone, save three women, who lived there. There are a lot of compelling themes here, including what it means to heal and move on when youā€™re alive but feel like a ghost yourself.

7. A Condition Called Love, Volume 16 by Megumi Morino

This book made me sad even though all characters involved made the best decisions for themselves in the moment with the knowledge that they have. The growing pains of the series!

8. Sweet Valley Twins: The New Girl by Nicole Andelfinger and Knack Whittle

Ugh, these new girl stories in middle grade graphic novels are getting to me lol Everyone involved had sucky attitudes and made bad choices. Not a very fun read.

**9. Warriors: The Prophecy Begins, Vol. 2 by Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter

So much happened in this second volume! We get to watch Fireheart really come into his role as a mentor forming strong bonds with various members of the clan. There was a significant amount of drama, but none of it felt out of left field. Reading this series makes it clearer to me why a whole generation became so obsessed with the characters and world, but Iā€™m glad that Iā€™m experiencing it in this format.

10. Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

Iā€™ve tried listening to Audiobooks in the past to no success. Reading is an activity that I usually want to fully immerse myself in so if I miss a line or two, let alone whole paragraphs and pages, then I get frustrated. Even though Iā€™m usually fine looking away from a TV show or movie for a couple minutes, itā€™s not the same with books. However, I wanted something to listen to on the bus this summer and music wasnā€™t really cutting it so I decided to give audiobooks another try. Big Swiss was a good choice because there are sections that are written out as transcripts of therapy sessions, which meant that I was able to hear someone interpret the different voices. The characters are all deeply complicated, unusual, and obsessive to keep pace with the peculiar circumstances of the plot. There are a few Booktubers I follow who didnā€™t enjoy this book, but I had a good time, save the very last chapter, which left me wanting a bit more.

11. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

A long time ago, I read Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro and I remember feeling a bit let down by the writing; however, I loved every bit of Klara. First of all, Iā€™m a sucker for a story about robot/cyborg/android characters, especially when paired with the theme ā€œwhat makes one human?ā€ Even though dystopians arenā€™t my primary genre, I appreciated that I could actively imagine our own world heading into this direction in one form or another with themes like global warming, eugenics, and loneliness. This was also my favorite experience in the reading group and it made me want to write more proactively about the books I read. Itā€™s been hard to make time for it lately, but when summer semester wraps up, I should have a more consistent schedule for that.

12. [Sato the Rabbit: Morning Light]*(tab:https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/2ac76cfc-6f16-4181-9145-2c1dd8364a85) by Yuki Ainoyo

I think it was Jen Campbell who included one of Ainoyoā€™s books in one of her reading videos, but regardless of who exposed me to this delightful series I added it to my Holds list for the artwork alone. The illustrations are so beautiful and the story is light, whimsical, and fun. Itā€™s another one that I would add to my recommendations for my brother, but I also kind of want copies for myself haha

13.* The Wedding People* by Alison Espach

This was the second audiobook that I read in July. Some of the audio recording is funky - as though done with a completely different, less robust recording setup, but I ended up loving the novel. It was recommended to me by a close friend who thought I might relate to the main character and boy did I haha Some of the parallels to her experience with divorce, infidelity, and loss of self hit very close to home in a painful but cathartic way. But the main story itself was genuinely fun. Iā€™m glad that I gave the book a chance and despite the weird recording issues, I do think the narrator did a good job capturing the different characters.

Active TBR

Thank you for reading! Ź•įµ”į“„įµ”Ź”

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