What I'm Reading Now: June Edition

I know it's technically July, but since it's just now July, I'm going to go ahead and call this the June post. So what have I been reading lately? Check it out:

On my Nook: A long time ago I picked up these collections of classic children's stories and one of the collections was by Grace S. Richmond. Technically I feel like these are the precursors to young adult fiction, at least The Twenty-Fourth of June, which I'm reading now. The main characters are out of childhood, but not really adults yet. It started a little bit saccharine, but there's some sort of charm in books written in the late 1800s/early 1900s that I enjoy. Definitely isn't ringing with me as much as other authors of that period that I like, but enough to want to keep reading. I just read the two short stories included in the collection and they have a vaguely Louisa May Alcott vibe to them.

On my phone: I finished Darker Days and moved on to A Darker Past by Jus Accardo. I ended up really loving the first one and am thoroughly intrigued by this sequel so far. Jessie and her mother survived the trials of the seven deadly sins wreaking havoc, but the consequences of many of their choices are coming back to haunt them. A solid YA paranormal series I can recommend so far.

In print - fiction: After Alice by Gregory Maguire - this is one of the ARCs I picked up at BEA. I have very mixed feelings about Maguire's works and this book is falling between I like it and I don't. Definitely some things I'm enjoying, but he waxes on politically and philosophically too much at times and it doesn't sit right with the rest of the content of the book for my taste. I'm thinking I might do a mini review on this when it gets closer to the release date with more complete thoughts about it.

In print - non-fiction: A.A. Milne by Ann Thwaite - I am loving this. Milne's life is really very fascinating and, though the type is tiny and the book thick, Thwaite's writing style is engaging and very readable. Anyone curious about the man who actually hated being equated with his Pooh creation should definitely check this out.

On audio in my car: The Maze Runner by James Dashner - I read this years ago. Ever since the movie came out (which I really liked), I've been wanting to read it again and get through the whole series this time. I'm not enjoying it as much as I remember liking it the first time around, but it's still good. I'm also finding it odd that this is one book that I think I like better as a movie.

On TV: I'm almost done with my grand Buffy and Angel rewatch and have started watching X-Files again. I've never seen it all the way through and my Dad and I were watching it together before I moved, so it took me a while to get back to it without watching it with him. With the continuation coming up I wanted to get back into it. I just watched "Bad Blood" which is the 12th episode of season 5. I noticed that this was one of the "must watch" episodes in Entertainment Weekly so was excited that I had just hit that point in my watch list. It's on that list for a reason. Absolutely hilarious and the perfect play between the personalities of Scully and Mulder as they each recount their version of events as they investigate what seem to be a spate of vampiric murders.

How about you? Reading anything good?