#SBS June Monthly Wrap-Up

Welcome to our monthly feature where we talk about what we read, adopted into our libraries, and what’s on our minds. After hosting #SignedBookSundays on instagram for 4+ years, we are transitioning to this format as a way to share signed books and talk about bookish (and personal) highlights. Join us the last Sunday or last day of every month (or whatever day today is…we are busy!)!

In Case You Missed It

• Every month is queer pride month here on BookCrushin but this month every single post we wrote featured a queer book. EVERY ONE!
• We ran an epic Pride Month giveaway on instagram and will choose winners shortly!
• It’s been 20 years since we fell in love with the crew of Firefly and it’s never a bad time to go back to the ‘verse. We checked in with MK England, fellow fan and upcoming author of Firefly: What Makes Us Mighty!
• Exploring harmful social norms in the context of a vampire boarding school? This interview with Sasha Laurens is one of our favs ever!
• We also interviewed Damian Alexander about his memoir graphic novel Other Boys!
• Reviews are the bane of our existence so we are thrilled to have reviewed The Coldest Touch, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, Melt With You, and Extraodinary!
• The where to buy signed books page has been updated and I have found as many July YA releases, as I could – of course I keep adding more and more when I find them…check it out!
• We curate a Bookshop page with most of the YA New Releases – please consider supporting us by buying books through our links or shop, or we have a Ko-Fi!

What We Read

Kelly: Only FIVE books this month, how is it that I have 12 books on hold and I barely read half! I hate that my brain can no longer focus on reading as much as I used to…apparently this is the new me. I need to get over it and just champion the reading I did do…even though it still feels bad.

• Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler – 5 stars – This book is a gem, very enjoyable, sports gays for the win!

Christy: I had an ambitious TBR and did get through a few of them!

• Harley Quinn: Reckoning by Rachael Allen – This might be my favorite book in the DC Icons series. Perfectly timed with the state of the world…Harley is the sapphic queen taking down the patriarchy!
• The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes – THIS should be on everyone’s TBR this year. The intersectionalism of religion, sexuality, family, identity…Incredible work. I hope this wins all the awards.
• The Clone Wars by Karen Traviss – I actually read several Star Wars books this month because I was coming off that Celebration vibe. This book is technically no longer canon but it’s a port of the movie so how can it not be worth reading? It was nice to spend some time with Anakin, Ahsoka, and Rotta!

What We Hauled

You too can be obsessed with signed books, look here for where to buy a copy from your favorite author’s local indie or preorder incentives that include bookplates.

Kelly’s Highlights

• The Gifts That Bind Us by Caroline O’Donoghue – Released June 7th – Many thanks to Walker Books for the gifted finished copy!
• Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo & Ren Graham – Releasing July19th – Many thanks to Henry Holt & Company the for the gifted finished copy!
• The Killing Code by Ellie Marney – Releases September 20th – Many thanks to Little Brown for the advance readers copy!
• Shades of Rust & Ruin by A.G. Howard – Releases September 6th – Many thanks to Bloomsbury YA for the advance readers copy!
• Some that I purchased signed, Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer, A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow, and a few I just purchased, Home Field Advantage, Legends & Lattes, Yerba Buena, All Signs Point to Yes!
• So I also went to ALAAC22 and well…I think there is like 100+ ARCs & finished copies now sitting in piles in my personal library, so all my thanks to the publishers, authors, and conference folks!

Christy’s Highlights

• We Weren’t Looking to be Found by Stephanie Kuehn – Out now!
• Happily Ever Island by Crystal Cestari – Out now!
• Never Coming Home by Kate Williams – Out Now! Thank you to RH for sending this thriller that everyone is talking about!
• Hide by Kiersten White – Out now!
• Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith – Releasing July 5th. TY to Chronicle for sending me this upcoming graphic novel!
• Player vs Player: Ultimate Gaming Showdown by MK England – Out now!
• A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey – Thank you to Sierra and Sourcebooks for this book!
• 34 total books came into my house this month……………

What We Hope to Read

Kelly’s TBR

So as things usually go I didn’t read anything from my hopeful TBR below, but I did read all queer books this month…Happy Pride! You can follow my reading on goodreads and/or storygraph where I share what I just read, and some immediate reading reactions – full reviews are almost exclusively on here or instagram.

• Man O’ War by Cory McCarthy
• Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth
• The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian
• Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
• Loveless by Alice Oseman
• She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott & Alyson Derrick

Christy’s TBR

We are full on MOOD READING right now. That’s where I am at.

• The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
• The Perfect Marraige by Jeneva Rose (this is a bookclub pick!)
• Man o’ War by Cory McCarthy
• Hide by Kiersten White

On the Top of Our Minds

Kelly: 

What in the world happened this month? I feel like the first 2 weeks flew by…then we had some weird homophobic medical shit occur, and that took up all my mental space… and now what else happened… Let’s see… I have not yet built the other two bookshelves (per last month’s post) but I did go to ALAAC22 and filled up my entire room with a ton of books! I had such a great time, even though my back, shoulders, and feet all doth protested.

Anyway, the world is exceedingly shitty, but I am still out here trying to carry on. Hope you find some joy in the world even though it feels bleak. Try and fight back in the ways that keep you safe and also productive!

Christy:

Well we had one short lived month of joy and now we are back in despair. The Supreme Court rollbacks of rights coupled with local hate, book bans, and takeover of school districts is fucked.

I take solace in the work I do making a difference in the world. I can’t fix the shitshow that is this government and this country but I CAN make a difference for 150+ low income households I work with. We get to move mountains to help people stay in their homes and get the support they need, and for that, I am grateful.

To avoid falling into a pit of blackness, I’m doing the usual Disney trips (last one until September) and running all the miles. I’m officially in Dopey training season, which means I have 6 months to be ready to run 48.6 miles. For now, I’m focused on completing the Spartan Beast and Super in Seattle, which is murdering my upper body in the best way.