My reading mojo had been missing for the last six months, but it seems finally to have returned with a vengeance. This month I finished eight books, the most since last year at this time. (I wonder if that’s just a coincidence or if June has always been a reading high-point for me?)

One Man’s Garden, by Henry Mitchell

From the jacket: “For twenty years, Henry Mitchell has been delighting readers of the Washington Post with his wide-ranging adventures in his small city garden. The best of his columns, collected here, reflect an uncommon zest for gardening, along with mroe good advice than you can find in a dozen how-to books. In fact, as he says, ‘If gardeners spent less time running about doing things they think they are supposed to do and more time contemplating the beauty of the world’s plants, they’d get more out of their gardens and be less of a pest to the civilized world.’”

Why this book? After we got the garden plot, I headed to the library to do some research. I found plenty of books, but most seemed aimed at gardeners with larger plots and budgets and more permanent homes. Since this was a collection of newspaper columns aimed at local gardeners, I thought Mitchell’s collection, if not perfect, would at least have something useful to say to me from that perspective.

My take: This was my on-again, off-again book of essays that I picked up and read a few pages of every little while for a couple of months. I found the book helpful in a few instances (I was able to identify Virginia creeper in my garden and remove it before it took over) and otherwise merely comfortable reading. A nice collection of essays for the gardener in your life.

Pages: 254

Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time, by Rob Sheffield

From the jacket: “What is love? Great minds have been grappling with this question throughout the ages, and in the modern era, they have come up with many different answers. According to Western philosopher Pat Benatar, love is a battlefield. Her paisan Fran Sinatra would add the corollary that love is a tender trap. Love hurts. Love stinks. Love bites, love bleeds, love is the drug. The troubadours of our times agree: They want to know what love is, and they want you to show them. But the answer is simple: Love is a mix tape.”

Why this book? I’ve been meaning to read it for a while, intrigued each time I’ve seen it in the bookstore. This time, I saw it in the library and it came home with me.

My take: It didn’t register in my conscious mind that I pulled this from the new biography section as opposed to the new fiction section until after I read the first chapter. The author’s voice, which reminded me of the music reporter on CBS Sunday Morning — informed yet lost, unsentimental yet nostalgic, hopeful yet melancholy. The book, thematically arranged around mix-tapes for certain people or events (like a school dance) or time frames, looks at how one man overcomes the heartbreak of a relationship suddenly ending. While the memoir describes a very specific life, its use of music as a vehicle breaks the story open and shows us how universal such a tale is. I admit to crying along with the author in several of the chapters and to humming the songs as they appeared in various mixes. Music aficionados will enjoy the mix tape track lists.

Favorite quote: “When we die, we will turn into songs, and we will hear each other and remember each other.”

Pages: 224

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling

From the jacket: “Ever since Harry Potter had come home for the summer, the Dursleys had been so mean and hideous that Harry wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he’s packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature who says that if Harry returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.”

Why this book? The final countdown.

My take: I think this may be my least favorite book in the series. Sure, it features a flying car, the first glimpse of the Burrow, gigantic spiders, a huge killer snake, and an overly-protective, yet dangerous house-elf. But it just seems blander than the rest. I wonder if it’s because Lockhart, the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, is more of a buffoon than any other secondary character in the series.

Pages: 341

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling

From the jacket: “For twelve long years, the dread fortress of Azkaban held an infamous prisoner named Sirius Black. Convicted of killing thirteen people with a single curse, he was said to be the heir apparent to the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Now he has escaped, leaving only two clues as to where he might be headed: Harry Potter’s defeat of You-Know-Who was Black’s downfall as well. And the Azkaban guards heard Black muttering in his sleep, ‘He’s at Hogwarts … he’s at Hogwarts.”

Why this book? Prep work.

My take: Second only to Sorcerer’s Stone in terms of lightness, this book is the only one not to place Voldemort somewhere amidst the action in some form or another. Yet it remains a favorite because it introduces two wonderful and pivotal characters to the story, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, who are key players in the upcoming movie. (Incidentally, last weekend, at the library convention, I met a girl wearing a tshirt that read, “I love Lupin.” I agreed and we spent several merry minutes talking about the upcoming film and finale.)

Pages: 435

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling

From the jacket: “Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about Cho Chang, his crush (and maybe do more than dream). He wants to find out about the mysterious event that’s supposed to take place at Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn’t happened for a hundred years. He wants to be a normal, fourteen-year-old wizard. Unfortunately for Harry Potter, he’s not normal — even by wizarding standards. And in his case, different can be deadly.”

Why this book? Inching ever closer to movie #5 and book #7. I am ready.

My take: Until this book, you could make the argument that this is merely a light series aimed at kids. But when book four ends, you are aware that this series takes seriously the battle between good and evil and that the lines have been drawn. Beware those who choose the wrong side.

Pages: 734

The Accidental Florist, by Jill Churchill

From the jacket: “Jane Jeffry and longtime beau Detective Mel VanDyne finally decide to marry … But during what should have been a blissful interval between the engagement and the bouquet toss, several other occurrences take place. Mel convinces Jane and her best friend, Shelley Nowack, to take a women’s safety class. They learn a lot, but the class is cut short when a dead body is discovered. So between Jane’s wedding planning, her new writing project, and a battle between both mother-in-laws (which Jane encourages), a murderer must be found be found before this bride can walk happily down the aisle.”

Why this book? We were at the SLC Library’s used book shop and this was the only mystery by a writer I hadn’t read. Since that’s one of the caveats of the Summer Mystery Reading Challenge, this is what was left for me.

My take: First, do we think that the people who write the book jacket blurbs actually read the books? (Because rereading this one would indicate the answer is no.) Second, who knew someone who’s won an Agatha Award could write this badly? There were contextual errors. Brand names were sprinkled throughout the book liberally as if someone had told the author she needed to be more specific (or as if she’d been paid for product placement). The author listed herself as one of her main character’s favorite authors. And the mystery? So peripheral and superfluous to the story as to be easily forgotten that you’re reading a genre novel. The only good thing about the book? It was done by the time I got off the plane home.

Pages: 209

Keeping the Moon, by Sarah Dessen

From the jacket: “While her mother, aerobics queen Kiki Sparks, spends the summer touring Europe, fifteen-year-old Colie is stuck in sleepy Colby, North Carolina, with her aunt Mira. At first, she’s sure it’s going to the the worst summer of her life — but she finds herself changing her mind. For one thing, Mira’s a sweet, laid-back eccentric; for another, no one in Colby knows that, back home, Colie is seen as a loser — formerly fat, and ‘easy.’ And then, by fate or by accident, Colie lands a waitressing job where she meets Morgan and Isabel … two wisecracking — and wise — twentysomething[s].”

Why this book? Debby recommended this book to me twice, and it finally came into my library from the hold I placed on it back in March. I was feeling a bit off the night it arrived, and I thought that it might be comforting.

My take: Devoured in one sitting. A wonderful story of friendship and of be(com)ing comfortable with yourself and with others. A gentle coming of age book and one I will keep my eyes open for at the local bookstores to buy for myself and as a gift. Destined to be reread.

Pages: 228

Vineyard Stalker, by Philip R. Craig

From the jacket: “J.W. Jackson, the ex-Boston cop turned fisherman, cook, and jack-of-all-trades, delves deep into the mysterious depths of his beloved Vineyard in author Philip Craig’s most compelling caper yet. With his wife, Zee, and two kids visiting relatives in ‘America,’ J.W. is alone and quickly tiring of his temporary bachelor status. A request from Carole Cohen comes as a blessed diversion. Carole wants J.W. to find the person who’s stalking her brother, Roland. … And when a body turns up near Roland’s land, what seemed like a property dispute takes a detour — with J.W. in the midst of the action once again.”

Why this book?Mum recommended this series when I solicited suggestions for the Summer Mystery Reading Challenge, and this title happened to be featured in the new mystery books at my local library.

My take: As Mum predicted, I liked both the author and the main character. J.W. is grizzled, but affable, and he seems like a typical New Englander (and a typical year-round resident of a beach town) in his crotchety behavior. After reading the Churchill book, I had despaired a bit of the genre, so I’m glad this book restored my faith in mystery writers as able writers who appreciate plot and rely on suspense instead of self-promotion and bland writing. Both the main character and I explored some wrong turns in our analysis of the crime and its perpetrator, and although the ultimate criminal was someone I had considered, I was not confident enough to cross others off the list before the end of the novel. And what more can you ask for in a mystery novel? Recommended for anyone who enjoys a good cozy — particularly those whose hearts lie in New England.

Pages: 239

Total pages read in June: 2664