June 2025 - TBR

Intro

Absence makes the heart grow fonder they say - I am not sure if this is true; however, it made me appreciate more the freedom (and structure) that reflecting on my monthly goals gave me.

And now that I feel that I have a better rhythm at work, I find the mental capacity to focus on this too. Thankfully, I don’t think I have been going astray too hard, I was trying to make sure that I kept finishing series that I started or, at the very least, make sure that I make progress where it counts.

Books

The yearly project

The one-chapter-a-day-Malazan (a series by Steven Erikson) is still going strong - and I am now engaged in book seven, Reaper’s Gale. Most likely, I will also be able to start (but not finish) the following book: Toll the Hounds.

The reasons why I love this series so much are many and some not so simple to articulate. However, I can boil it down to a few:

(i) I love how vast this world is, from humans and their political (and military games) to gods and their quest for power and domination. And some characters bleed between the roles of humans and gods, the ascendants.

(ii) I love how vast this world is, and getting to know as many people as possible, from the Moranth to the Letherii. So much diversity, so many interesting smaller and bigger things to learn!

(iii) I love how I want to know the people, the characters that we encounter and get to know them.

So what are my open series?

Temeraire by Naomi Novik - slowly but steadily making progress. And I feel that I need to prioritize this series so I can get to the end of it, with Blood of Tyrants and League of Dragons!

And continuing with my adventure with dragons and Robin Hobb, we have the last two books in the Rain Wild Chronicles, with City of Dragons and Blood of Dragons.

And we keep more dragons - at least in the title and I cannot wait to see if also in its content! - with the Cemeteries of Amalo, by Katherine Addison, and The Tomb of Dragons more specifically!

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman - probably the most neglected series of the year at this point. I still only have The Amber Spyglass to read; and I would like to prioritize the reading of this series and I will try to start it early in the month. One of the reasons that I struggle to get onto it - and it’s a relatively meh excuse - is that I have the physical book and I need to travel for work quite a bit. And I do not want to risk damaging the book while traveling as I like the edition. Said so, this is not a strong enough excuse - and I can also read while I am at home and make progress. Hence, it would be ideal to start early so I can make sure I get to the end of the book by the end of June!

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - it’s something new and unexpected I am exploring! And I am curious to see where that gets me; I have been avoiding this series for a long time, as I am not a fan of romance stories. However, this is a story that should be much more than romance, and from what I read so far - yes, I started the series in May - it’s living up to my expectations. There is so much color in what is going on, there are many different things happening, and we are experiencing a new and confusing world the same way that Claire is! So the goal for June is to finish Outlander, book one in the series. And, if this is something that catches my attention - and so far it does - continue with the series!

Discworld by Terry Pratchett: I have not made any progress in the last months… and there is absolutely no reason for me not to. However, I am resisting picking up the next book in the series. So I want to check myself to get why this is happening!

What else?

In the last few days in May, I have been itching to read books that are written by women.

I have my WiF (Women in Fantasy) project; this is a need that goes beyond fantasy, it includes historical fiction. There is a unique sensitivity to it; women inevitably have a different perspective to storytelling. And it is not a softer perspective, it’ s a different sensitivity, an ability to look at things from a different point of view. And potentially prioritize different aspects.

So I feel strongly about the list below; this provides me a few alternatives for that need. And this adds to the list above, which includes Robin Hobb, Naomi Novik and Diana Gabaldon!

Sharon Kay Penman - with the Welsh Princes series, pretty thick books each.

Rebecca Roanhorse with Between Earth and Sky

Antonia Hodgson - I am curious about this new series, kicking off with The Raven Scholar. The cover is stunning and I am looking forward to more epic fantasy by women!

Nghi Vo, with The City in Glass

And this is just a preliminary list of what I could find in my virtual and physical bookshelves that I want to keep exploring!

Non-reading fantasy related entertainment

Two shows come to mind: Murderbot diaries (and it is my Friday show; even if the episodes are short, I enjoy every single moment of them and I want to make sure I watch the show every single time!); and Ironheart!

March plans for Fantasy Explorations and Solseit

Fantasy explorations

We have fallen behind; and while my natural reaction is to be mad at myself for letting this fall behind, the reality is that I need to prioritize other activities. So I want to ease into this habit once again and make sure I can get something produced during the month! I would love for it to be the reading journey through The book that wouldn’t burn - it will take me full circle; it’s a wish list.

I just want to be able to publish something!

Solseit posts

Same here! I want to make sure I return to form; and I have two posts that I want to focus on: the first is that I want to post the June plans - which is this post, so if you are seeing it, we have ticked one of the options! - and I want to work on my WiF (Women in Fantasy) project!

In summary

So much going on! So much fun and so much pleasure, trying to push myself while being gentle. A very difficult balance to strike!

What are your plans for this month?