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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‘When you think about it, everyone’s life’s a prison – of days, sort of. The trick is to get comfortable in it, I reckon. Find your freedom inside whatever your prison is.’
A Far-flung Life by ML Stedman (2026)
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‘It wasn’t only a little she-cat I bought. It was the nobility of all cats, their infinite disinterestedness, their knowledge of how to live, their affinities with the highest type of humans.’
Gigi and The Cat by Colette (1933/1944)
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“The Unicorn Purifies Water”, part of The Unicorn Tapestries c.1495–1505 (public domain)
Anne said, “Common sense is an unkind master.”
The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden (2026)
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Just as a novel must contain ideas, so must a painting. A novel devoid of thought was mere entertainment and a painting bereft of ideas no better than caricature.
She Walks at Night by Seishi Yokomizo (1948)
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The loss of the mother and sisters became internalized as a kind of empty space or wound that required filling with near-endless lands, people, and tall tales. The stories must go on forever and crowd out dark gaps. Charlotte wrote of herself, but this could be from Emily, too: “I’m just going to write because I cannot help it.”
This Dark Night by Deborah Lutz (2026)
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Favourite book read in June:
A Far-flung Life
Places visited in my June reading:
Australia, France, Japan, England, Brittany
Authors read for the first time in June:
Colette, Deborah Lutz
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Reading notes: June wasn’t a great reading month for me, for various reasons, and I’m already behind with 20 Books of Summer. I didn’t manage to read my Classics Club Spin book (The Persian Boy by Mary Renault) by the spin deadline either, although I’m more than halfway through and will finish it soon. The good thing is, I enjoyed everything I read, which is more important than the number of books, I think!
This month, Emma of Words and Peace is hosting Paris in July, a celebration of all things French! I have a review ready to post for that and hope to have time to read another suitable book as well. After missing the Read Christie challenge monthly read in June, I’m planning to join in again this month and read The Rose and the Yew Tree. Otherwise, I’ll be concentrating on my 20 Books of Summer list.
How was June for you? Do you have any plans for your July reading?
She Reads Novels 
I had a good month in June, finishing more books than I have lately. I think that’s because I wasn’t distracted by my garden since it was too hot to do anything ’emergency’ watering of ailing plants. I’m ahead with ARCs – I’ve read all July publishing books and about to start on August ones – and I’m nearly up to date with reviews. It can’t last…
I’m envious – I can’t remember the last time I was ahead with my ARCs! Still, at least I’m never going to run out of things to read…
Enjoying your books is far more important than how many you read in my opinion. I read quite a lot in June partly because I was on holiday for part of the month and also because it was too hot to do anything else!
I’m glad June was a good reading month for you. The heatwave seemed to have the opposite effect on me and I found I was reading less than usual!
Definitely the most important, thing is to enjoy our reading and it’s great when that happens. I’ve read some great books recently but am very behind with my writing as usual!
Yes, enjoying our reading is more important than the number of books! And the good thing is, as I’ve been reading less recently, I’ve completely caught up with my reviews which doesn’t happen very often.
that’s great!
Hopefully July will be a better reading month – look forward to see what you read for Paris!!
Thank you – I’m optimistic that July will be a better month!
Quality above quantity it is!
Definitely!
The cat quote wins this month! Hope things pick up for you in July.
Yes, I liked that one – it shows a good understanding of the nature of cats! I’m hoping I’ll have less distractions from reading in July.
I’m behind with my 20 books of summer plans too (picking a lengthy fantasy title at the start of the challenge probably wasn’t the greatest plan 😂) but like you I enjoyed everything that I read. You’ve shared some lovely quotes again and I can definitely see the resemblance between that picture from the Unicorn Tapestries and some of the special edition features I’ve seen in different versions of the book. I hope you have a wonderful July and good luck catching up on your summer reading plans
Sorry to hear June wasn’t a great reading month for you, but totally agree that enjoying your reading is the most important. With the heat here in the UK, I only managed to finish four books, because they were easy and/or short reads! 😅