A Month of Reading: July Wrap Up

The best thing about winter is definitely the abundance of chilly evenings and weekends when it’s far too miserable to do anything but read. Consequently, we spent much of July ensconced in our reading chairs, rising only for coffee/tea/whisky and to write the occasional review. We stumbled across some rather fantabulous new titles and revisited several more. We also went back over our reading lists and came up with a whole bunch of recommendations and caught up with two incredible emerging authors to find out what they’re working on and what they love to read. Finally we spent a bit of time musing on how to make more time for books, what we believe are the essential ingredients for a good story and our top tips for book reviewers. In brief, here’s what you missed:

Reviews

	Night Film by Marisha Pessl A sinister, Gothic thriller. Read the Lectito review.
	Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel A lyrical, post-apocalyptic tale of unspeakable devastation, resilience and hope. Read the Lectito review.
	Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee The manuscript that became To Kill A Mockingbird and the most anticipated release of 2015. Read the Lectito review.
	Risk by Fleur Ferris An unsettling and compelling Australian YA debut that delves deep into questions of guilt and blame that surround sexual predators and their victims. Read the Lectito review.
	The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan Lyrical and enchanting, The Gracekeepers is a fairytale for the twenty-first century. Read the Lectito review.
	The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer A sprawling, bittersweet tale for anyone who has friends, or wondered what having friends might be like. Read the Lectito review.
	The Ghost Network by Catie Disabato A smart, literary thriller from a bright young author to watch. Read the Lectito review.
	The Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna A story of tragedy, hope and unbreakable connections, and winner of the 2015 Miles Franklin Award, this one will break your heart slowly. Read the Lectito review.
	The Young Desire It by Kenneth Mackenzie The story of a young man coming-of-age in a young nation. Both are wild, beautiful and struggling to understand their place in a much older world. Read the Lectito review.
	My Real Children by Jo Walton A heart breaking alternate history in which a young woman’s choice takes her life in two very different directions. Read the Lectito review.
	The End of Alice by A. M. Homes One of the most controversial titles of the nineties, The End of Alice makes Lolita read like Disney. Read the Lectito review.
	Pieces of Sky by Trinity Doyle A refreshing Australian YA debut about accepting loss, putting the pieces back together and reevaluating the things that matter. Read the Lectito review.

Recommendations

	Brave New Worlds: Four Dystopian Reads Take a peek.
	Tripple Threat: Three Homegrown YA Reads Take a peek.
	Courting Criminals: The High Stakes Worlds of Highsmith Take a peek.
	Five Naive Narrators Take a peek.
	Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know: The Girls Take a peek.
	Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know: The Boys Take a peek.
	Mid-Year Wrap Up: Our Favourite Books of 2015… So Far Take a peek.