With the new waist-height pile acquired from Hay at the weekend, I thought I'd be a little more organised about my reading for the next couple of weeks. I have a lot of books I've been meaning to read for ages (who doesn't?) and that means I can't get onto the new stuff as quickly as I'd like to. Also, despite it being the summer holidays at the moment, I seem to be in a bit of a reading slump - I'm not getting through stuff at my usual pace. So, to try to combat both these problems, here are 10 books I'm going to try to finish before the end of July.

1. Brightly Burning by Mercedes Lackey. I'm about halfway through this already, and it's... just lacking something. It's a bit slower than her other books and I've not quite managed to throw myself into the story. Looking forward to finishing this one. Finished on the 9th. Even when the action 'hotted up' (sorry), it was never that engaging, and the end felt very very rushed. One for the charity shop. OUT.

2. Timeless by Gail Carriger. Again, I've had this one started for months, and it's not as good as its predecessors. Need to make a push through this one, as I'm hoping it'll pick up. Finished on the 16th. Not quite as witty as the first couple, which I loved, but fun, with some good twists. I very much enjoyed the character of Prudence, which was impressive considering she only knew about six words! KEEP.

3. Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. I've had this on the shelf since it had that spike of popularity - probably about time I got to it! Ended up not reading this. I got fifty pages in, didn't care about the characters or the plot, and decided not to bother. I'm not a fan of novels with parallel time story lines, or really of quests for artefacts; I think I've just read one too many... OUT.

4. The Old Man and Me - Elaine Dundy. This is one of my mum's, from a Virago set. I think I'll enjoy it, but I've just been putting it off for ages... Read on the 9th. A very strange book - it was nicely pacey, but really, I don't understand all the 'funniest book ever' comments. I found the heroine cold and and the whole book felt very hostile both towards Americans and the English. Given back to my mum. OUT.

5. Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton. This one's been on the TBR shelf for as long as I can remember. Pretty much what I was expecting, although I only have vague memories of the film, a fun pseudo-science romp, with extra dinosaurs. I was surprised at how outdated the computer system was, especially when it's such a large focus - I loved the bewilderment at the touch-screen! Passed on to my brother, possibly to my boyfriend afterwards. OUT.

6. Cleopatra: A Life - Stacy Schiff. I got a good 2/3 of the way through this, loved it, and then for some reason put it down and never picked it up again. Finished on the 14th. I remember why I put it down, although I did really really enjoy it when I picked it back up again - it had gotten to the bit which was relevant to my course, and I'd gone to check something in a more academic book, and never came back to this one. A very enjoyable, readable history of a fascinating woman. On to expand my pop-history shelf. KEEP.

7. Romanitas - Sophia McDougall. I mentioned this in a post ages ago as something in my TBR pile, and it still hasn't been read. Odd, 'cause from the concept of it, I should love it! Finished on the 11th. It was the concept, in the end, that ruined this for me. There was so little Roman detail! The author seemed to rely upon one or two vague parallels - still having vigiles instead of police, etc - but otherwise, ignored all the wide possibilities of a Rome that never fell. This was a story that could have taken place almost anywhere - in a historical America, on a sci-fi world, in a fantasy medieval Europe - it didn't have any romanitas about it at all. Very disappointing. Charity shop. OUT.

8. The Motorcycle Diaries - Ernesto 'Che' Guevara. I bought the whole set of these while doing my Spanish A-level, and while I dipped into them for reference, I've never sat down and read them all through. Finished on the 12th. Very interesting, although much much thinner and less textured than I was expecting - obviously it's all diary entries, but it doesn't seem that it was edited or bulked out afterwards... Also, my copy seriously needed reacquainting with the comma! Still, a fascinating read; I'm looking forward to getting to the next two. KEEP.

9. How to Climb Mont Blanc in a Skirt - Mick Conefrey. A history of female explorers and adventurers. Brilliantly entertaining, but hard to read all in one go, as it's lots of little facts and anecdotes. Finished on the 31st, after suddenly realising I hadn't come back to this challenge! Very entertaining, if a little shallow. I loved the lists of luggage some of the ladies took with them! KEEP.

10. The Hero of Ages - Brandon Sanderson. The third book in the Mistborn trilogy - the first book was great; the second book was slower but had the most excruciating twist and cliffhanger in the last twenty pages, so I really need to get on and finish the story. Read on the 15th. Well, that's what I call a proper fantasy. I'm not a fan of the catastrophic global war theme in fantasy, generally, and I did get bored in the second book, with the endless negotiations and battles, and to a certain extent in the middle of this book, too, I was less than engrossed, but that was, overall, amazing. The intricacies of the plot and the world-building, the tiny drip-feed of information about the subtleties of the magic system, one or two excellent characters - including one of the best bad guys I've ever read - made this just fantastic. I'm slightly stunned by the ending. KEEP.

I'm not really planning to read these in any particular order, but I'll be happy if I can get them all read before August. My reward? The Wise Man's Fear.