325 Reading Challenge June Update and July TBR

Previous reading challenge post: May Update

Another month, another small pile of books read or dnf’ed. In June I’ve read five books from the #325ReadingChallenge reading list. But only four of them were on the June TBR. Meh. I take that as a win!

Here’s the recap of what I planned to read in June 2025:

1. The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (fiction)

2. Abroad In Japan by Chris Broad (non-fiction)

3. Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison (fiction)

4. How To Be Right In A World Gone Wrong by James O’Brien (non-fiction)

5. Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories From Social Justice, edited by Adrienne Maree Brown and Walidah Imarisha (fiction)

325 Challenge Books Read In June

The 325 Reading Challenge books I read in June were:

As I had predicted, I read The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires first. Grady Hendrix has that horror writer page-turner swagger and his formula of “horror staple” plus “trauma/drama” has proven to be a winning one.

Learning more about what happened before there was a camera or YouTube career was always going to be interesting to someone who had watched part of that journey. Abroad In Japan was read whilst hearing the voice of the author in my head. It’s also worth a read by anyone considering moving to a country where you don’t speak the language.

I wondered what type of Black Sheep the main protagonist could be when her mother is a Horror Star. Then you add “cult” and it starts to make sense, with the picture becoming crystal clear quite early in the proceedings. My first Rachel Harrison, and I plan to read more.

Who doesn’t want to know How To Be Right In A World Gone Wrong? And this book is exactly that. I found it a fascinating read and came away with some new tools. Thanks, James O’Brien!

So, I didn’t read the collection of short stories in Octavia’s Brood. I want to read Science Fiction Stories From Social Justice, but I wasn’t in the mood for short stories while I had access to the book.

Instead, I picked up Some Prefer Nettles. This is my second novel by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki and it won’t be my last.

All in all, pretty happy with my June reading and progress with reading the #325ReadingChallenge list.

June Book Reviews

All reviews are on The StoryGraph.

1. Review: The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (fiction)

2. Review: Abroad In Japan by Chris Broad (non-fiction)

3. Review: Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison (fiction)

4. Review: How To Be Right In A World Gone Wrong by James O’Brien (non-fiction)

5. Review: Some Prefer Nettles by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

July TBR (To Be Read)

My 325 Reading Challenge list of books for July include four authors I haven’t read before. Can you guess which author I have read?

Here’s my reading list for July:

1. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham (fiction)

2. Create Dangerously by Albert Camus (non-fiction)

3. The Book Makers by Adam Smyth (non-fiction)

4. Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of Isis by Azadeh Moaveni (non-fiction)

5. The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi (fiction)

I’ll have any and all of the unread books from my 325 Reading Challenge TBR as a backup should I DNF (Did Not Finish and won’t continue for whatever reason) one of these five books.

I’m looking to add a few more non-fiction books to the official reading challenge list to replace those I have dnf’ed (did not finish) earlier in the challenge. As all readers do, I have a large (massive, huge) to be read pile of books I want to read, some of which I own, others are at the library. Too many are not in my greedy reader hands yet, but I’m working on it. Which books I choose to add will depend on their availability.

What did you read and love in June? What are you reading in July?

Happy reading!

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Mary Wyrd Creative Virtual Assistant

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