Favorite summer reads + September TBR

Hello sweets, how is it going? It's been a while since I updated this page and I have no excuse for it. Hopefully, I'll make it up to you with this post.
This summer, I planned all my reads in advance because I needed to get back on track for my Goodreads challenge (I set a goal of 65 books), but I think it wasn't the best idea. Most of the time, to enjoy a book, I need to be in the mood to read that specific story. When you plan your TBR beforehand, you do not always follow that list. Therefore, as I checked off books, I slowly started picking up reads that I did not intend to read in the first place.
I'll admit that I chose some novels only to get back on track, but even I know that's a lame excuse. Was it a waste of time? Kind of, since I would have never picked them up on any other occasion. But it wasn't a complete waste: I learned new words and new ways to describe places, people and feelings.

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 Without further ado, let's get into it. In July I read a total of 6 books. Of these, three were for school, while the others were kindly suggested by #bookstagram. My favorites were The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and Pole Position by Rebecca J. Caffrey. The first book tells the story of Gregor Samsa, who one morning wakes up and finds himself transformed into an enormous insect. From there, Kafka writes how this person becomes an alienated man and how his life changes drastically (and not for the better).
Pole Position is on a completely different level. First of all, it's a hate-love story between a four-time F1 champion and the rookie who joins his Scuderia. They are the complete opposite of each other, yet after being enemies for too much time, they understand how important the presence of the other is. The biggest question remains: will it work out?
Skipping to the August reads, I've surprised myself by reading 11 books. But only one was rated five stars out of five. And that's Kulti by Mariana Zapata. It's not the first book by this author that I read and love, but this one really blew my mind. In this eternal slow-burn, Sal Casillas, a soccer player, has to deal with the man who's been her crush since forever before she "non-broke-up" with him, soccer icon Reiner Kulti. The two are both hot heads, the basic difference between them being that she's a sunshine and he's the grumpy one. These two made my heart burst.

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Let's dive into September. The first two picks are interconnected standalone: A Thousand Boy Kisses and A Thousand Broken Pieces by Tillie Cole. I've already read the first one, but since the second recently came out, I thought it would do me nothing more than good to refresh the plot of the first book. Next on the list is Songs in Ursa Major by Emma Brodie. This summer I decided to re-watch Daisy Jones & The Six, and one thing led to another and now I have more books that according to Penguin Random House are worth a shot if you read the great work by Taylor Jenkins-Reid. Then there are two other re-reads: Book Lovers by Emily Henry, because according to Youtube this is a book for Jess-Rory stans, and Love on The Brain by Ali Hazelwood: after all, I read it in Italian the first time and now I've found the English version. Right after that, to channel my inner Rory Gilmore, I chose to read Atonement by Ian McEwan, because I've seen pictures and aesthetics and playlists on Pinterest and now I just want to cry out my heart for Cecilia and Robbie. As my 7th pick, I chose another book by Mariana Zapata, Dirty Letters. I didn't exactly choose it: I have a Starbucks cup in which I put all the titles of the books I want to read and when I can't make up my mind I just mix the post-its in the cup and let fate decide my next read. The last book featured in my September TBR is The Love Letter by Cathleen Schine. I found this book at a flea market back in June and I finally think it's time for me to give it a chance.

Thank you for staying 'till the end of the post (leave a ☕️ under the Instagram post related to this publication if you've enjoyed it!). Plus, how does a book club sound to you?

See you soon,

Alyeska's House

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