You guys…I had to laugh at myself this month. As I sat down to write this post, I thought to myself…well, I only read like 3 books this whole month, so this post will be very short. And then I looked at my Goodreads tracking and lo and behold, I actually read TEN books this month. What? I have two problems with this…First, May was SUCH a wildly busy month, when in the world did I do any reading? And second, I don’t remember reading most of these books. Can you see that reading is my coping mechanism, and it’s not always healthy? Haha.
Also..I did start 3 of these books in April, and just happened to finish them within the first few days of May. So, I really only read 7 books DURING the month…and at least 3 of those were read AFTER we finished school for the month.
Here are my monthly StoryGraph stats:
And here are my book reviews for the month:
The Gales of November
My Review: I first heard about this book on a podcast from a bookseller who said that they just couldn’t keep this book on the shelf! I immediately got in line for it at my library and waited patiently for several months before my turn came. This is the story of an unsinkable ship that (you guessed it) sunk. This book offered tons of fascinating information about the Great Lakes and the whole shipping industry there. I found it very interesting and fascinating! This was a long read, though, and I found myself feeling kind of bogged down with alllllll the information and people involved. When my library hold was running out, I will admit that I skim-read the last few chapters because it was such a slow read for me. This would make a great gift for the man in your life who likes to read, but you aren’t sure what would be interesting enough for him!
Lady Tremaine
My Review: Once again, thank you to the book podcast that recommended this one! This is a retelling of the Cinderella story, told from the perspective of the “wicked” stepmother. Only this side of the story reveals that the stepmother and stepsisters actually weren’t wicked after all, they had a completely different perspective and reason for acting like they did! I enjoyed this read and loved the retelling of Cinderella- I love a book that makes me think differently about a well-known story!
Strawberry Girl
My Review: My latest Newberry Medal read was a read aloud with my kids. It took us a LONG time to get through this one, as I think the timing was just off. It would have been a great winter read aloud, when we are all huddled around the fire on those long, dark evenings. Anyways- we ended up tackling it in the Spring, and it took us months to get through it, but we did! We enjoyed this one- the story of a young girl and her family who start up a homestead in Florida. They are constantly fighting with their neighbors, but in the end the story has a redemptive arc. This one honestly reminded me a lot of the Little House on the Prairie books!
My Husband’s Wife
My Review: I mean, I read this book just a few weeks ago, and as of right now…I can’t remember what it was about. Haha. This is one of those “thrillers” that has quick popcorn chapters, a sinister character who does something real bad, and a whole other cast of slightly unlikeable characters that make us feel suspicious of them the whole time. Despite my lack of a stellar review for this book, I do enjoy reading these types of books- especially when life is so jam packed that I just can’t process books any “deeper” than this!
Battle of the Bookstores
My Review: Ok, I really enjoyed this book! It is an enemies to lovers rom-com where two bookstore owners are pitted against each other and only the best bookstore will survive. I found these characters likable and relatable, and I appreciated the slow burn romance. The only reason I didn’t give this one 5 stars is because I prefer my books to have almost zero spice, and this one did have some open door romance that I would have preferred to not be included in the book.
Run for the Hills
My Review: This was a literary fiction novel that packed a punch, even though it was short. In this story, a sibling group find out that their father had more than one family. He would spend a decade with his family, and then move on and literally start over again. These four siblings go on a cross country trip to confront their father, but they learn all about themselves (and each other!) along the way. I enjoyed this book, although it wasn’t a life-changing read for me.
The Night We Met
My Review: Oh no- I strongly DISLIKED this book! I didn’t hate it, but I finished the book just feeling so annoyed and disappointed. I typically LOVE an Abby Jiminez book and was excited to read this one! She writes rom-coms with substance, and usually keeps the spice level G or PG, so I’m a big fan! But this book was a miss for me. In this one, a young lady needs a ride home after a fireworks show. She picked dude A because dude B looked grumpy. Well, now she is dating Dude A, but it turns out that she is far more compatible and has tons of chemistry with Dude B. Only, she can’t be with Dude B because Dude A and B are best friends and that wouldn’t make sense. I felt like I wasn’t gunning for any of the characters, and hated how the story ended with girl and Dude B deciding that they didn’t need any friends so they could be together in love. Anyways- it was well written and I will certainly keep reading more from this author, but this one was a miss for me.
Enormous Wings
My Review: Now this is a book that I hated. I wish I had done a little bit more reading/research before I read this one, because I most certainly would not have picked it up had I known it was one big billboard for legalizing abortion. Now, listen. I actually love a good book that makes me think. I love when a novel presents a social or political opinion that I typically don’t agree with, but that novel just makes me pause and think (The Hate U Give, for example). But this novel….it led me on a journey down a dark alley and then decided to whack me over the head with a pro-choice message that didn’t make me think at all…it made me feel betrayed for reading the book. You see…the premise really drew me in here. A 78 year old woman discovers that she is pregnant…naturally (this isn’t sci-fi). Her children and grandchildren and ex-husband and new boyfriend all have different ways of processing this wild phenomenon, and all the decisions that must be made. I was really tracking with the book all the way through this point. I even appreciated the discussion around abortion. But then the book took a turn when a secondary character also finds out she is unexpectedly pregnant and is aided in receiving an abortion. Then, after all this happens, the baby is born (to this old lady) and is named Bob despite the fact that it is a girl. I mean….as if the on page abortion didn’t make me hate this book, the name Bob for a girl was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer
My Review: This book took me almost the entire month to get through, but that is because it was so dense with GREAT information on prayer. I think that this is a book that will require a re-read because there was so much good information in here that I want to go over it again. This is a “guide” on prayer and it approaches all the different types and strategies of prayer, as well as addressing some of the big questions that we typically have about prayer. I highly recommend this one to anyone who prays or wants to pray!
This Book Made Me Think of You
My Review: I was so hesitant to pick this one up, because I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to the hype (and that beautiful cover!). But, alas….it was worth the hype. I LOVED this sweet book. This is the story of a young widow whose husband left her a book per month at a local bookstore. Through these books, she learns to walk through her grief and find new life again. This was so sweet, and I loved how the book was divided into each month, AND there is a booklist included for each month! My only caveat is that I would not recommend this to a friend who is a widow, as it’s too sweet/happily ever after/easy to feel real. This young widow gets a huge sum of money and quits her job and basically just travels and heals, which seems wildly unrealistic to me. And, the grief was kind of a background feature in the story which I also found to be unrealistic. But if you can suspend your disbelief there, this book was a total delight!
And that is what I (apparently haha) read in May! What are you reading lately? Have you read any of these? What did you think?