The Month of June in Books

June was a slightly lesser reading month than May. Five books in total for the month although I am nearly finished a sixth as of this writing. Three fiction books from my new and usual cast of authors and two from a couple of money gurus.

Continuing the Fool's Guild story I have managed to read:

The Widow of Jerusalem

This is the tale of Scarlet the dwarf.
Based in Tyre during the Third Crusade, this is also the story of the Queen of Jerusalem and her husband Conrad of Montferrat, as seen by the Fool's Guild.

The story is told by Theophilos to his wife, Claudia, as they make their way from the deserted Fool's Guild to the new and hidden (due to the persecution of Pope Innocent III) location in the Black Forest.

An Antic Disposition

Based on Hamlet, we are taken on a journey through Danish civil war and family life for Amleth, Orvendil and the court jester Yorick. Much of the story is based on the legend of Hamlet, but with the author's own additions and twists.

The story is told by Father Gerald, head of the Fool's Guild. At the time of of the story he is the Chief Fool of Denmark. This gives considerable flesh to the bones of the main character of this series, Theophilos.

This brings me up to date with this series, with only the latest book in the series to read and the very first book to find. I am still enjoying these, but did struggle somewhat with making my way through An Antic Disposition. It was the main cause of not making it through more books this month.

Then came a nice, light end to the month with another favourite author - Kerry Greenwood.

Trick or Treat

This is the latest edition of the Corinna Chapman series. Basically this is a story about revenge, greed and fraud. Lovely topics, eh? This also has history woven through it in the form of the theft of jewellery and prized possessions from World War II.

Another relaxing reading experience to finish the month off with.

On the non-fiction front I was doing a bit of skills updating with two titles about money. The first is by Anita Bell and the second by Martin Hawes and Joan Baker.

Your Kid's Money

This little book is full of gems of ideas about how to help your kids understand money. Personally I was interested in ideas for how to look after the gifts that Miss O has already received from family, as well as the money that her father and I have been putting aside for her. It was also good to have this book prod me about how she was to eventually take ownership of her own money. I know that this is a number of years away, but I hadn't really given that process any thought at all. I had assumed that at some point it would "become hers". Hmm.

Coach Yourself to Wealth: Live the Life You Want

If you could see the size of our mortgage post-renovations, you would understand why I was updating my ideas with this book.

Every now and then I like to check in and see if there is anything different I can learn about handling our finances. Tax laws change, new financial products are created, and mortgages get into the ugly zone. Great for Kiwis instead of all those American based books, but still good for anyone wanting to understand the general skills and attitudes needed to get to your own version of "wealth". A much lighter read than "Your Money or Your Life."

That was the month of June in books. I'll catch you back here again at the end of July.