July TBR & The Great Summer Re-Readathon of 2015

I am unrealistically, egregiously ambitious when it comes to my July TBR, especially considering two of the books are very large and will be quite time-consuming. But I want to must read them all. For those of you who don't have the vision of an eagle or superhero and since I was trying to be all artsy (read: generally pleasing to the eye) in the picture, here's what's on my reading list for this month:

YA Review Copies
The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George
Of Dreams and Rust by Sarah Fine
A Million Miles Away by Lara Avery
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick
The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle
The Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman
Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

Children's Books for Review
Good Night, Firefly by Gabriel Alborozo
Little Birds Bad Word by Jacob Grant
Wild Feelings by David Milgrim

And that's just the review copies I plan to read. But I should mention that I may opt out of any that I decide reviews are too poor for. I tend to lose interest when I see so many of my friends not enjoying a book. *shrugs* What are ya gonna do?

That might actually be favorable for my other reading goal this summer, which is to read more for pleasure. (Not that reading ARCs isn't enjoyable, but reading for review often involves stress, at least for me, so I'm trying to tamp that down a bit.) In keeping with that theme, I plan to re-read or at least re-listen (or re-read by way of audio) to some old favorites. Give those old books a chance to shine once again, if you will.

I know that there are probably a few re-reading challenges around, but that's not what this is. I don't do challenges. Not anymore, anyway. I mean, I do the Goodreads "see how many books you can make it through in a year" challenge, but I'd read and read and read without that, so I don't really count it. And that's not what this is anyway. This is solely for fun. =)

The first series I plan to re-read is The Rephaim by Paula Weston as I wait desperately for the final book to appear on my doorstep. I did this last year before Shimmer released, but I just love this series so much, and it never hurts to have a refresher.

The Elementals series by Brigid Kemmerer was just released on audio over the last couple of months, and since I only read the first three books, I'd really like to start over and finish out the series with a bang. The bang being that we finally got Michael's book, and being the oldest Merrick brother, his story is sure to be the hottest. *rawr* Especially from what I remember of him in his prequel story and from his brothers' books. ;0)

Which brings me to my next re-listen: The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. I probably re-listen to these audiobooks at least twice a year. (Which could probably also be said for The Scorpio Races. I have a real affection for Maggie's work.) I didn't think I'd like Will Patton as narrator when I first listened all those years ago, but he's really grown on me, especially his voices for Ronan and Persephone. What seemed weird at first became the way I heard them in my head, as well, reading the later books. These audiobooks are perfection, and while I wait and pray that The Raven King's release isn't pushed back again, they'll be the best of company.

My sister is currently reading Crown of Midnight, at my insistent prompting, of course, and as she ask questions and wants to discuss, I find myself really, really wanting to experience the series with her. She doesn't read nearly as much as I do, so I should be able to keep pace with her on audio if I wait a bit. I'm hoping we'll both be ready for Queen of Shadows in September. I mean, I know I will be, but I want her to be there right along with me. She's not sure if she wants to read The Assassin's Blade, isn't sure if she really needs to read about Celaena's life before the events of Throne of Glass, but I'm hoping she changes her mind. I mean, SAM. And the suffering and the longing and just all of it. When I start my re-listen of the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, I will definitely be starting with the prequel novel first. And, of course, after this I'm going to force her to read ACOTAR. It's only right. :D

I'm sure there will be some other reads and re-reads thrown in for good measure. I always like to deviate from a schedule, even if I'm the one who set it. Something about bucking the system, I guess? =) I mean, I already know I'll be re-reading What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick this month as part of the promotion for The Boy Most Likely To. And my hold on the Crimson Bound audio at the library should be coming in soon, as should the hold for His Golden Materials. I caught The Golden Compass on TV one day and though it wasn't the best adaptation, it made me really want to experience the series again. Even that tear-soaked final book. And after reading Illuminae, I just had to grab Jay Kristoff's other series, so now I'm listening to The Lotus Wars on audiobook. It's narrated by Jennifer Ikeda and it's pretty fantastic.

So, yeah, a pretty busy reading month ahead of me, lol. I'm getting a little short of breath just reading back through this. But I listen to audio pretty quickly, so I'm not worried on that front. And Katie and I will knock those children's books out in one go.

I'm kind of sad because April and I usually compile a list of summer books to challenge ourselves to read each month the kids are out of school, but she's on a break from the blog right now. It's probably for the best considering all of the books I already need to read, but I miss her all the same. :(

Anyway, what are your reading plans this month? Doing any re-reading? ;-)

Labels: 2015, favorites, re-listens, re-reads, summer, TBR pile