My Month Is Booked: June 2025

Welcome to the My Month is Booked linkup! :] I guess I managed to make it to 10 books this month!

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Tress of the Emerald Sea, by Brandon Sanderson – Inspired by The Princess Bride + set in Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere universe, this is apparently book #28 in said universe, but is a standalone novel! This centers around a girl named Tress who lives on an island surrounded by an emerald-green ocean of spores where a single drop of water can mean instant death. When her friend Charlie is taken by his father onto a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, she decides to escape the island in search of him.

This was such a pleasant + whimsical read. :] I’m new to Sanderson’s books but absolutely loved this one + will likely/hopefully be reading all the rest! (I say it like this mainly because he’s apparently written 70+ books?!)

Falling for Felldown Farm, by D.S. Ritter – I got this one from kickstarter! It was advertised as a low-stakes fantasy romance, so obviously I couldn’t resist. about a woman named Irisa THorne who moves from her city life to her grandfather’s rundown farm in Thistlebrook Valley.

I definitely do get SDV vibes, really liked the main character (Irisa) + Delia, and thought it was a cute/cozy read overall. I would’ve enjoyed this book a whole lot more though if the love interest had more (any?) redeeming qualities. “Woe is me/I need someone to fix my life and look after me”-types are maddeningly unattractive to me (although he did start to shape up at the end). It looks like there’s going to be a sequel that centers around Delia though, so I’ll probably end up picking it up!

Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan – It’s 1985 in a small Irish town — Bill Furlong is a coal merchant in his busiest season (the weeks leading up to Christmas). Early one morning, he makes a discovery that forces him to confront both his past and complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.

This is a short novel, perfect to curl up with in the winter, and sheds light on an unfortunate part of history that still is not well known, despite somehow surviving/occuring until 1996.

Vera’s Guide to Snooping on a Dead Man, by Jesse Q. Sutanto – Vera Wong is back again, this time after finding a distressed young woman standing outside the police station, who she obviously promises to help. After some snooping as only Vera would do, he discovers a file on the death of an enigmatic influencer who just so happens to be the friend the young woman is looking for.

Given how much I loved the last Vera Wong book, I obviously was not going to sleep on the sequel + this definitely didn’t disappoint. I adore Vera’s antics (although I can definitely see how in real life, it could be very trying — nevertheless, I’m on the firm belief that everyone needs a Vera in their life). This one is darker content than the last, but still fits the cozy mystery category. I hope Vera continues to have adventures so I can continue following them! :P

The Childfree Guide to Life and Money,  by Jay Zigmont – I’ve been all aboard the child-free train for as long as I can remember, so I liked that this was specifically geared toward SINK (single-income-no-kids)/DINK (dual-income-no-kids) life + tips that would be helpful to consider!

There are a lot of expectations/assumptions that are made/kinda just baked into your life without realizing it, so this helped to take a step back to consider what it is your actual financial/life goals are. He did talk about his financial planning business in here, but it didn’t bother me much. It is a more U.S.-centric book though so readers outside the U.S. likely won’t glean as much from this.

Do Nothing, by Celeste Headlee – Much of this book delved into the history of labor and how that has led to the type of work culture we have today (particularly in the U.S.). While I do whole-heartedly agree with the heart of the message in this (“reclaim your time + reclaim your humanity” + make time for relaxation/lesiure time, it did get a little repetitive, and the small portion of the book where it was a “how to” would likely only be helpful for a specific subset of people (e.g. workaholics in a non-medical office environment).

Take My Hand, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez – A novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible wrong done to her patients, and the aftermath that follows. Told in split-time perspectives (1970s, 2016), it’s based on true events (with some mild liberties taken).

This was my book club’s pick + we had several specialties in attendance (Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, OB/GYN, and ER) that made me especially enjoy the discussion we had. The author does a really good job illustrating the wrongs that were perpetuated during that time (+ that are unfortunately still occurring now). Although I feel like the ending kinda fizzled out (was hoping for more of a “resolution” of sorts), it was hard to put down and I finished it under 2 days.

Poor, by Katriona O’Sullivan – Moving + inspiring — this follows the life of Katriona O’Sullivan, who grew up in abject poverty and became pregnant + homeless at the age of 15. Her memoir is honest + heartbreaking, but still remains hopeful, and despite it all, she is now an award-winning academic with a PhD in Psychology!

The Good Sister, by Sally Hepworth – A great psychological thriller, although the “action,” so to speak, happens later on in the book. Fern Castle lives a very carefully structured life — she avoids crowds, bright lights, loud noises, and eats dinner with her fraternal twin sister Rose 3 nights a week. Rose has done a lot for Fern, so when she finds out Rose can’t get pregnant, Fern decides to have a baby for Rose. She just needs to find someone to be the father.

I don’t want to give anything away, but I enjoyed the storyline + the character development a great deal! It’s told in a dual perspective from Fern’s point of view along with flashbacks of the twins’ childhood through the Rose’s dairy.

Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time, Natalie Hodges – I discovered this due to it being a Libby’s book club read where they had unlimited copies for ~2 weeks in May. Uncommon Measure explores a Korean-American’s insights on improvisation, performance anxiety, her relationship with her mother + her teachers/mentors.

As an Asian-American who was a music performance major (piano rather than violin), there was a lot that I could really relate to + it brought back so many memories from when I was holed up in a practice room trying to perfect my pieces. There are a lot shared that I think would be better understood by musicians/performers, but I do think anyone could glean something useful from this book.

• What are you reading right now? I’m in the middle of several books..
  • Still going through Wicked right now (not sure why it’s taking me so very long, but I definitely enjoyed the musical more, haha..)
  • The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes
  • The Scent of Hours, by Barbara O’Neal
• What’s your favorite read for this month?