It’s May, and I’m enjoying the spring, though I’ve been impatient with the cold weather and I’m anxious to begin planting my garden. April was a mostly-good month, with a visit from my sister-in-law and niece and nephew. The Women’s Prize shortlist was announced, but the only book on it I’ve read is Ruth Ozeki’s The Book of Form and Emptiness (which I loved). Have you read anything on the list?
Here’s what I read in April:
- The Unquiet Dead by Stacie Murphy
- Quiet by Susan Cain (audio)
- The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
- Broken Harbor by Tana French (audio)
- Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
- The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (audio)
- Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
- Wayward by Dana Spiotta
- By the Book by Jasmine Guillory
My favorite reads:
I loved Young Mungo and The Unquiet Dead. I’ve also recommended Quiet to a lot of people.
I really enjoyed Wayward, which is a story about a middle-aged woman who decides one day to leave her husband when she buys a small, fixer-upper Craftsman bungalow in Syracuse. This story about a mother-daughter relationship made both mother and daughter surprisingly relatable and sympathetic.
And a thumbs up to The Love Hypothesis. It was romantic and sexy, and I really enjoyed the setting of academia and medical research. Hazelwood threw difficult challenges at her two characters, which made this love story particularly satisfying.
Disappointing reads:
I was disappointed by The Candy House, partly because I loved Goon Squad so much. Maybe it’s my age, and that I’m reading it with a different perspective, but this one didn’t move me and I couldn’t relate to most of the characters.
I have mixed feelings about By the Book. I love Guillory, but the romance felt a little flat in this one. It all felt a little too easy, the characters too perfect. But I did like that this story was set in the publishing world, and I loved the tongue in cheek references to the Disney animated Beauty and the Beast. My review to come.
This month on the blog:
I posted about Ten Authors I Haven’t Read Yet and about how I’m Bad at Book Clubs. I loved hearing all the stories about book clubs that didn’t work for them, so thanks for sharing!
Books for challenges:
- TBR Pile/Backlist Reader: Quiet
- Nonfiction: Quiet
- Historical: The Unquiet Dead
What I’m reading now:
I’m nearly done with Rules of Civility by Amor Towle, which is fantastic. I’m listening to Clanlands by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish, a book that combines Scottish history, travel, and behind-the-scenes reminiscences about Outlander. It’s a lot of fun, especially the audio.
What’s coming up:
In May I have ARCs of Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner and Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro (I’m gradually working through my pile of ARCs). I’m excited to join in the fun at Wyrd and Wonder in May, celebrating all things fantastic, and I’m already thinking about developing my 20 Books of Summer list.
Added to my TBR:
I added Ghost Forest, a book about grief in a Chinese-American family, recommended by Stargazer at For Book Lovers and Random People for those who liked Crying in H Mart. I also added What My Bones Know, a memoir about trauma, recommended by Lory at Enter the Enchanted Castle.
Things that made me happy this month:
Mr. CG and I will be embarking on a 2 week trip to France in June, and I’m also excited to plan some visits to family in Arizona and Wisconsin. On TV, I loved Abbott Elementary and enjoyed Minx and Dollface more than I was expecting to. I’m a little obsessed with Julia Child right now, and clearly I’m not the only one! Max and Jasper officially turned one year old this month (their birthday of May 1 is an estimate). I keep telling them now they have to behave like grown-up cats, but that hasn’t had much effect.
That’s my April. Hope you all had a good reading month and are enjoying spring!
