June 2019 Wrap Up

Hey friends! June was a hella-busy month and I didn’t read as many books as I would have liked.

I read 7️⃣ Books in June.

⬇️ 4 from May.

However, for blog news and author events… it was a stellar month!

❗️I attended a fabulous BookSparks event at the Dream Hotel in Hollywood. We were treated to Taylor Jenkins Reid and Abdi Nazemian being interviewed by the hilarious and talented Busy Phillips! Courtney and her team went all out, with champagne and pastries and fruit and a book-filled swag bag and other BookSparks goodies. I got to meet new friends and see old ones too. It was a ridiculously awesome day!

❗️I also drove down to San Diego to hear Elizabeth Gilbert speak about City of Girls and she was an incredible speaker. I was impressed beyond belief at her views on life and respect and boundaries. She was unapologetic and fierce and inspirational.

❗️Lastly, the team at Adventures By The Book put together a great night in Irvine with Kaira Rouda, Wendy Heard and Eldonna Edwards. Such an interesting and night with three very different yet equally talented authors.

Exceptional Reads in June

📣The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

📣Another Side of Paradise by Sally Koslow

📣The Chef’s Secret by Crystal King

Book Reviews

I posted 7️⃣ Book Reviews (Links go to my reviews)

The Scribbled Victims | Scenes from The Heartland | The Medallion | Another Side of Paradise | Dear Wife | The Chef’s Secret | The Evil That Was Done

I had 2️⃣ DNF books this month. Ugh 😑 Both were Netgalley and one is by a very well loved author. I hate when that happens! It makes me wonder if it’s just me?

Most Viewed In June

🥇I’m thrilled to say that my interview with Carlsbad author Alexa Kingaard was the most viewed in June!

🥈Second place goes to a new weekly feature I’m trying. Every Monday, I select a handful of Goodreads giveaways ending that week and feature them all in one post. I’m calling it #thegoodreadsgames – May the Bookish Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!

TOTAL 🆕 POSTS 2️⃣1️⃣

⬆️4️⃣ from May

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Blogging News

– 244 Blog followers through WordPress

– 1,983 Instagram (Bookstagram) followers

– 3,574 Twitter followers

– 77% Netgalley Feedback Ratio

🆕 Since beginning the blog, I always wanted a way to support authors (especially ones that live in Southern California). To that end, I’m so excited to share a brand new feature that I’m affectionately calling #SundaySessions. Every Single author I’ve asked has agreed to do an interview post and it’s been so cool to read their answers! Click HERE to see who I’ve added so far.

🚫 So… I’ve gotten bored with the Monday, What Are You Reading? posts, so I’m putting that one on indefinite hold. Sometimes something just runs its course!

July Events

In July I’ll be attending events with Emily Liebert, Nicola Harrison, Cristina Alger, Abbi Waxman, Deb Spera and more!

Click over to the events page to see what else is coming up. I just added events with Louise Penny, Jasmine Guillory, Sonali Dev, Kerry Lonsdale and more!

July Books TBR

Layover by David Bell

Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger

We Came Here to Forget by Andrea Dunlop

Pretty Revenge by Emily Liebert

Never Look Back by Alison Gaylin

Only Ever You by Rebecca Drake

The Two Lila Bennetts by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

How to Hack a Heartbreak by Kristin Rockaway

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

Upcoming Blog Tours

No Ocean Too Wide by Carrie Turansky – pub 6/25

The Undertakers Assistant by Amanda Skenadore – pub 7/30

Layover by David Bell – pub 7/2

The McAvoy Sisters by Molly Fader – pub 7/16

The Summer of Sunshine and Margot by Susan Mallery – pub 6/11

I am so grateful to the wonderful PR professionals who have shared the above listed books for my review. Thanks for keeping me full of book-mail this month. It’s a huge compliment to know I’ve been trusted to help promote new books and authors.

Thank you 🙏 authors, publishers and friends!

ICYMI Links

▫️BookRiot talks about THE SUBTLE MAGIC OF READING ON AN AIRPLANE here

▫️Electric Lit reminds us that Librarians Are Secretly the Funnest People Alive – If you think all they do is shush you, you’re in for a treat here.

▫️Vanity Fair has a piece that is everything: We Used to Be Friends: An Oral History of Veronica Mars

All the main characters reminisce about the series, 15 years after its debut—and shortly before it returns for a highly anticipated Hulu revival. WELCOME, MARSHMALLOWS!

▫️ PRH has a new list: 24 Bestsellers Published in the 1980s – Grab your leg warmers, do the moonwalk, and dig into one of these totally tubular reads! Here.

Summer Plans

The kids are home and the boy is doing online summer school. I’ve been working a lot and can’t wait for our Palm Springs trip later this month. Lots of great movies and TV to be excited about too! Stranger Things and Spider-Man to name a few. Plus I need to catch up with Big Little Lies 2…

And that’s it! Thanks for checking out my month. What are you excited about in July? What was your favorite June read? Tell me in the comments!

Love, Jaymi

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