Half Yearly Reading Update!!

It's difficult to believe that half the year is already over with at this point in time! It seems like time flies by so swiftly these days... And the older I grow, the faster the time seems to slip by.

I've had a good year of reading so far. I've read a total of 38 reads so far in 2023.

My top three favorite books for 2023 so far are as follows:

Dear America is a memoir that surpassed my expectation!

It's an excellent read and the focus is on the author's life as an

undocumented citizen here in America. I highly recommend this book to learn more about immigration here in the United States.

Again, another nonfiction book has made it to my top three best reads for 2023. Vaccinated by Paul A Offit M.D. is part biography of Maurice Hilleman and part history of vaccines and the communicable diseases they were created to help save lives. The science behind vaccines and the various researchers who created these vaccines makes for fascinating reading. The ups and downs of trying to create vaccines to saves lives was also fascinating to read about in Vaccinated as things didn't always go smoothly.

The History of the Bible: Explore 2,000 Years of Biblical Interpretation and Cultural Impact by David Zachariah Flanagin was my first read of 2023 and an unexpected choice/read for me as I am not a member of any particular religion, nor do I attend any religious services, or have a deep knowledge or understanding of any one particular religion. With that said, I found that this book was fascinating in how the bible has shaped western society.

I find it interesting that my top three reads for the first half of 2023 are ALL nonfiction! Memoir, science, and religion all make for thought provoking reads.

My top three least favorite reads for 2023 are as follows:

Funny Bunnies by Ann Omasta - I've read a couple of other things written by Ann Omasta in prior years with mixed feelings. I think that Funny Bunnies may be my last read by her. Funny Bunnies is narrated well enough, but the storyline was not that exciting, nor engaging enough to captivate me. In fact, the storyline was rather boring and too simplistic. The dialogue and interactions between characters was dull as well.

Cari Mora by Thomas Harris - I have read four previous novels written by Thomas Harris, Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising. All four novels I enjoyed reading tremendously. Cari Mora was not in the same league as the author's previous novels.

The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin - There are a lot of twists and turns in The Fortune Hunter. But I found this novel not to my liking. Many of the characters and plot twists seemed shallow or contrived. I think I'll pass on reading anything more written by Daisy Goodwin.

Other Bookish Endeavors in 2023:

I've attended one virtual book event this year in June, 

Alta Journal - California Book Club - Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu, which I enjoyed quite a bit.

I enjoyed visiting independent bookstore, D. G. Wills Books in La Jolla, California, ever so briefly in May 2023. I look forward to returning there some day for a longer visit.

I have visited nineteen new to me Little Free Libraries in 2023.

I have made blog posts for each of the new to me

Little Free Libraries I've visited this year.

So what have been some of your reading highlights for the first half of 2023?