I’m a few days late, but I’m here to share my monthly book reviews. I’m holding steady at a pace of two books per month. For June, I read two very different books, one of which I enjoyed a lot…the other, not so much. Details below!

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Truthfully, I don’t think I’ve ever sat down and watched an episode of The Daily Show when it actually aired. Instead, Seth and I typically watch clips on YouTube the next day. Nonetheless, the little snippets I do see of Trevor Noah, I like. So, I decided I’d try reading his book. It turns out he’s as entertaining in written form as he is on television–I read the book in about three days and found myself looking forward to sneaking in a few pages while I waited at the dentist. It was an interesting combination of comedy and a lesson in South African politics, evoking both sincere laughs and reading-through-the-tears moments.

5/5 stars.

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

Well, some authors are just unpredictable, I guess. I read Beartown, the prequel to this book about two years ago and didn’t love it, but I gave Backman a second chance when I read A Man Called Ove. As I mentioned in this review, I really loved Ove, such that I had renewed faith in Backman. Us Against You wasn’t a winner for me. It took me forever to get engaged in the story, and I even considered abandoning the book altogether, something I almost never do (I’m no quitter!). I powered through though, and obviously I wasn’t wowed. I think part of the issue is that it had been so long since I read Beartown that I had trouble remember who was who in the story. Plus, I just don’t get the fanaticism around hockey…or really any sport (except Duke basketball, obviously). This book might mean something more to a true athlete, but I just found it kind of boring and without any real interesting plot points, to be honest.

2/5 stars.

What did you read in June?