june 2026 reads
June felt like a very fulfilling reading month even though I didn't actually read that much. I'm not sure if that's because the book I just finished—notably not in June—was just that good or if some other mysterious psychological phenomenon is going on, but I'll take it. Either way, I think I read an interesting collection of different things throughout the month. Hope you enjoy!
Novels, Collections, & Nonfiction
お探し物は図書室まで by 青山美智子 (Michiko Aoyama)
Published in English as What You Are Looking For Is in the Library, translated by Alison Watts. This is another one of those interconnected short story situations that are trying to help you without being too in your face about it. I always like to read these when my mind is busy and when I need a reminder that everything does suck. A solid choice for those aims.
Platform Decay by Martha Wells
It's Murderbot, what else can I say? I love how Murderbot is still trying to figure out who it is and its place in the world as a free SecUnit. I feel like this one had extra tragedy that some of the others haven't, but I respect how it was handled and it definitely leaves things open to more adventures with Murderbot and ART (and Three!).
The Radiant Dark
I have some complicated feelings about this one. Read the longer review if you want to get into things a bit more, but it's a solid book. Just hit a little too close to home for me in some ways. Now that I'm a few weeks out, I'm not sure it's going to stick around in my mind.
Manga & Other Comics
本なら売るほど V3 by 児島青 (Ao Kojima)
We find out more about how our dear bookstore owner ended up owning a bookstore where he does in the first place and also get to see some past characters. Lots of fun about books and human relationships as usual.
司書正 V1 by 丸山薫 (Kaoru Maruyama)
There was a sample pamphlet for this with 本なら売るほど and it was recommended by Miyuki Miyabe, so I decided to get the first few volumes. It's a Chinese-style fantasy setting where a young girl from a minority group has to take care of the the kingdom's shishosei, a human being that can state all the kingdom's history as written on scrolls verbatim. It's all very mysterious and magicky and hard to explain. Interested to see where it goes.
And that's it! It wasn't much (because I spent quite a bit of time reading fanfiction again this month), but it's an interesting selection of different things. I'm excited to see what July will bring and if this trend will continue.
Anyway, as always, happy reading!
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