Happy Tuesday, book people! Can you believe it's the first of July already? It's hotter than the dickens here in the Arizona desert. It's 110 degrees outside and, after running errands out in the heat (not my idea), my brain is officially fried. Today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is a freebie and since I do a post for the Bookish Books Reading Challenge on the first day of each month, I'm going to make things easy on myself and combine them. 

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Ten Seven Bookish Books I Read in June and Three I Want to Read in July

I went crazy with bookish books in June. Here are the seven I read in the order I finished them (title links lead to my reviews on Goodreads or here at BBB):

1. The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan (available November 18, 2025)—Macmillan is one of my go-to mystery/thriller authors because her novels are usually engrossing page turners. Her newest is different than her previous books, more cerebral and less edge-of-your-seat exciting. It concerns an ancient piece of fabric that is said to contain a clue to the whereabouts of a rare manuscript that two warring female secret societies would kill (and have killed) to possess. When a grad student receives international attention for her translation of an important folio, she unwittingly lands herself in the middle of the societies' deadly feud. What exactly is she dealing with and how can she protect herself and those she loves from some very dangerous women?

2. Same Page by Elly Swartz—This middle-grade novel centers around a timely topic: book banning. Bess Stein, who has just been elected 6th grade class president, is dismayed when the book vending machine she installs at her school comes under fire for containing "inappropriate" literature. How can she convince the powers that be that banning books is wrong?

3. Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman (available August 26, 2025)—Tory Van Dyne is a book conservator who lives and works at her family's private library. When a knowing British woman appears after hours in the Christie Room claiming to be the Queen of Crime's ghost, Tory reluctantly humors the eccentric stranger. "Mrs. Christie" informs the conservator that she's come to help Tory solve a murder that is about to be committed. Tory dismisses the woman's loony talk—until a murder occurs and the "ghost" offers observations so spot on that Tory can't help believing that "Mrs. Christie" may just be telling the truth about her otherworldly identity. 

4. A Death At Seascape House by Emma Jameson—The first book in a cozy mystery series set on an idyllic British island, complete with white sand beaches (Yes, they really exist in England. Who knew?), this opener introduces us to Jemima Jago. The librarian is sent to St. Morwenna to catalog a private collection of historical documents about Cornish history. Before she can get started, she discovers the dead body of a crotchety old busybody. Thanks to the reputation Jemima earned as a teenager on St. Morwenna, she quickly becomes the prime suspect in the victim's murder. In order to clear her name, she'll have to find the real killer before she's next.

5. The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict—In order to prove their worth to their male colleagues, five female crime writers come together to solve the real-life mystery of a young English nurse who was murdered while on a quick holiday in France. As Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Baroness Emma Orczy, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham put their heads together to track down a killer, they also find friendship, empathy, and support.

6. Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery—Written almost 20 years after Anne of Green Gables, this children's novel is the first in a series starring a newly-orphaned girl who is sent to live with her estranged family in an unfamiliar town. As she tries to get used to her new life, the imaginative child experiences many ups and downs.

7. Murder Past Due by Miranda James—This book is the first installment in a cozy mystery series that revolves around Charlie Harris, a Mississippi librarian, and his Maine coon, Diesel. When an old classmate of Charlie's, now a famous author, is killed, the librarian finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation. Although the detective on the case demands that he leave the sleuthing to the professionals, Charlie can't seem to stop himself from playing Hercules Poirot. Whodunit?

For July, I'm planning to read:

8. Rabbit Rabbit by Dori Hillestad Butler and Sunshine Bacon—I just started this middle-grade book about two 12-year-old cousins who are communicating in secret in order to find out what happened between their mothers to tear their family apart. Bee is a voracious reader, while Alice is such a reluctant one that her parents pay her for each book she reads. Books are one of the things that the girls, who come from very different backgrounds, bond over.

9. The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso (available August 26, 2025)—The time space is a library of books filled with the memories of the dead, one that can be accessed only by special timepieces that were passed down from father-to-son, although they're now mostly possessed by the government. Lisavet Levy is an 11-year-old girl who was hidden in the time space in 1938 by her watchmaker father, who never returned to collect her. When she discovers that government agents are destroying books in the time space, she sets out to save the precious volumes. 

10. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 2 by Beth Brower—It seems like everyone I know IRL loves this series. The first book was a quick, fun read, so I'm up for continuing on. In this second installment, Emma continues to get used to her new life living under the thumb of her insufferable uncle, who has squandered away her inheritance. Although she can't afford to buy even one beloved book to keep her company, Emma finds amusement in the eccentric people around her.

There you go, seven bookish books I read in June and three I hope to read in July. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What's your favorite bookish book? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

It's hard to believe it's June already. Where did May go? It zipped right on by me! I did manage to read five bookish books during May, though. Here they are:

Where Only Storms Grow by Alyssa Colman (available August 19, 2025)—This middle-grade novel is set in the Oklahoma Panhandle in 1935. In the midst of interminable dust storms, failing crops, neighbors leaving en masse for California, and dust sickness felling friends and family, the Stantons are desperately trying to hold onto their farm. Joanna and Howe, 12-year-old twins, are trying to keep their parents' dream alive, but with their father off looking for work in the West, one disaster after another strikes, leaving only worry in its wake. What will happen to the Stantons if the dust doesn't stop blowing?

Howe would rather read and write poetry than farm any day. He's too afraid to tell his hardworking father that he wants to be a writer when he grows up, so he reads Emily Dickinson in secret and pens poems that he hides in the hayloft. When Joanna discovers his notebook of poems, he's forced to confess his secret to his sister. 

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware—I read this thriller when it first came out way back in 2016. Ware is publishing a sequel (The Woman in Suite 11, available July 8, 2025), so I decided to reread this one. It's about Lo Blacklock, a journalist who is invited on the exclusive maiden voyage of a small, luxury cruise ship. One night, she hears a scream coming from next door followed by what sounds like a body hitting the water. When she raises the alarm, she's told no one is staying in the cabin next to hers—in spite of the fact that Lo met the room's occupant the previous day. Although she had been drinking too much and taking anti-depressants, Lo knows what she saw. She's not going crazy. Is she?

Lo is a journalist who writes for a living. She also loves to read. One of her favorites is Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, which plays an important role in the story. (I also read The Woman in Suite 11, but books are barely mentioned, so I'm not counting it as a bookish book.)

Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack—This murder mystery involves a group of mystery writers who are brought together for a promotional book tour in Italy. Connor Smith—a major drama king—insists that someone has been trying to kill him. He enlists the help of Eleanor Dash, his archenemy, who becomes convinced that Connor is actually telling the truth. As the tour participants are plagued by odd, unlucky "accidents," Eleanor realizes that Connor's not the only one in a killer's crosshairs. Someone is trying to eliminate her as well, but who? And why?

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lyon: Vol. 1 by Beth Brower—As indicated by its title, this short historical novel is told through the journal entries of the titular character. Without a farthing to her name, Emma is forced to live under the critical eye of her miserly cousin in the home that is her inheritance and his residence. While she makes desperate attempts to access her allowance, with which she would like to accumulate a nice library of her beloved books, she makes observations about the quirky people around her. 

Emma is a very bookish character. She is constantly woe-is-me-ing over her empty bookshelves. She also refers non-stop to literary works.

The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens—I'm actually not sure whether to include this novel or not because, despite its title, it's really not about books at all. Reading is barely referenced in the story. The heroine does work in a library (although she has no library degree), but she's also a Bosnian refugee and that's what the book is really about. The Quiet Librarian is a gripping read; it's just not very bookish.

I'm not sure what I'm going to read in June exactly, although I did finish a bookish book yesterday, which I'll talk about in next month's post. Here are a few I'm considering:

No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding by Catherine Mack—This is the second book in the fun murder mystery series starring Eleanor Dash that I mentioned above. Eleanor is a bestselling mystery writer who is attending the wedding of her best friend on Catalina Island. When Eleanor receives a note warning that someone is going to die at the event, she braces herself for another impending murder investigation.

Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay—The first in a cozy mystery series, this book stars Lindsey, the director of a public library. When an editor comes to town, Lindsey's best friend, Beth, sees it as an opportunity to sell her children's book. Beth's boyfriend, a famous author, blocks her attempts. When he is found murdered, Beth becomes the prime suspect. It's up to Lindsey to clear her best friend of any wrongdoing. 

Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman (available August 25, 2025)—This murder mystery doesn't come out for a couple months, but I have an eARC. The story sounds like lots of fun! It stars a book conservator and the ghost of a woman claiming to be Agatha Christie who team up to catch a killer.