A selection of quotes and pictures to represent June’s reading:

commonplace book
noun
a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.

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Houses have their own personalities. Or, at the very least, a house and its inhabitants cannot escape each other’s mutual influence over their many years in each other’s company.

The Noh Mask Murder by Akimitsu Takagi (1949)

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“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“Neither,” he said. “It’s just different. The trick is to learn to work with the change, rather than around it. If you spend all your time trying to ignore it or avoid it, you’ll never get anything done.”

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye by Briony Cameron (2024)

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‘And some rules of taste are poor, indeed the very obsession with taste is absurd, as if there can be only one flavour or fashion, and all must follow it like sheep in a field being chased by a dog. Variety and unconvention are at the heart of all new art and science, and I fear that we live in an age where people are too inclined to follow fashion.’

A Woman of Opinion by Sean Lusk (2024)

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I loved the odour of lavender. Smells, almost more than noises, seem to bring on the happiness or unhappiness memories. You might not remember what it was about a smell that made you angry at the time, or afraid, but as soon as you come across it again you are angry or fearful.

Thomasina by Paul Gallico (1957)

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‘But I hate surprises.’ She nestled closer to him. ‘I always like to know what’s happening.’

‘Then I pity you, for you have never appreciated the joy of anticipation, or had a good surprise.’

The Burial Plot by Elizabeth Macneal (2024)

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‘Though we can’t travel the world, we can still be curious as to how the earth is shaped. I learnt cartography from a master who had never left the small island of his birth, barely ten miles across. “Everything you need,” he used to say to me, “is here beneath your feet, but it will take two lifetimes to understand it.”

The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks (2024)

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‘Is it true?’ he asks.

Her mouth twists into a sad smile. ‘Truth and lies are closer than you think. Often, what one man believes to be true, another deems outrageously false.’

Babylonia by Costanza Casati (2024)

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“A knowledge of human nature – what a dangerous thing it can be.”

“A useful thing,” corrected Mr Satterthwaite.

“Perhaps. It depends upon the point of view.”

Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie (1934)

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‘Your logic may well be right, but governments are not like that. In this world of men, a government cannot embody justice.’

The Meiji Guillotine Murders by Futaro Yamada (1979)

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‘Life is a journey, just like this,’ Bishop Larsen said, settling onto his seat. He pointed ahead. ‘We all reach a fork in the road, exactly like that one, do you see? One path goes through the wheat fields and all the way to Copenhagen. The other path leads up to the cliff edge, which is a treacherous place to be. Think about which path you would like to be on, your Royal Highness.’

The King’s Witches by Kate Foster (2024)

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Favourite books read this month:

The Noh Mask Murder, Babylonia, A Woman of Opinion and Thomasina

Authors read for the first time this month:

Akimitsu Takagi, Briony Cameron, Paul Gallico, Sarah Brooks, Futaro Yamada, Kate Foster

Places visited in this month’s reading:

Japan, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Scotland, England, Russia, China, Turkey, Denmark, Assyrian Empire

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Reading Notes: June has been devoted to reading books from my 20 Books of Summer list and I’m pleased to report that I’ve now read ten of them and reviewed seven! This gives me a lot of confidence that I actually have a chance of completing the challenge this year, but that will depend on whether I get distracted by other books in July and August. I’m also happy to see that I’ve read about so many different countries this month – and that two of the books I read were translations.

In July, Stu is hosting Spanish/Portuguese Lit Month and Words and Peace is hosting Paris in July. As we’re halfway through the year, it also means it’s time for Six in Six again!

How was your June? What are you planning to read in July?