May was a really busy month, with a trip to Northern California and another to nearby Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. Both trips were revitalizing – in California we visited Sonoma and my in-laws, tasted lots of wine, and fantasized about retiring there. In Virginia Beach, we got to tour a Navy carrier, visited friends, and played tourist at Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown. I’m thinking about posting about the trips so let me know if you’d be interested! I’ve been buried at work so it was good to have a few days to get away. And being a “fed” is getting harder and harder these days.
This month, after being blown away by Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, I indulged in a few romance novels. I don’t ready many of them, but this month I read two, one a thumbs-up (Sherry Thomas) and one a thumbs-down (Mary Balogh). I’ve given a fair amount of thought to what I like and dislike in these novels, and I love comparing today’s romance novels to 70’s-80’s novels I grew up with. Another post I’m ruminating about so let me know if you’d be interested.
You can see I’m coming out of my posting slump and I’m full of ideas and more books than I possibly have time to write about.
Here’s what I read in May:
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
- Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova
- Who is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht
- All Systems Red by Martha Wells
- The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas
- Love, Loss, and What We Ate by Padma Lakshmi
- Slightly Married by Mary Balogh
- The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
- Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1 by G. Willow Wilson
- Code Girls by Liza Mundy
My favorite read: I can’t compare any other book to Just Mercy, which is why I kept the rest of my reading pretty light this month.
Most disappointing read (or DNFs): I’m not sure I really understand the appeal of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. It’s supposed to be comic but I found the character a bit sad and sometimes disturbing. I also DNF’d Emma Donoghue’s Frog Music.
Books for challenges:
- TBR Pile and Back to the Classics: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
- Nonfiction: Just Mercy, Love, Loss and What We Ate, and Code Girls
- Read Harder Challenge: Ms. Marvel (a comic written by a person of color), Love, Loss and What We Ate (a celebrity memoir), Luckiest Lady in London (a romance by a person of color)
- SciFi/Fantasy Bingo or Swords and Stars: Labyrinth Lost, All Systems Red, Ms. Marvel
- Reading Around the World: Who is Vera Kelly? (Argentina)
What I’m reading now: The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden and What it Means When A Man Falls From the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah. Both are fantastic.
What’s coming up: You can see my 20 Books of Summer list here!
Added to my TBR: I added books by Sheri Tepper and Louise O’Neill from this “8 Books to read if you love The Handmaids Tale” list by Reader Voracious.
Things that made me happy this month: Seeing Williamsburg all over again with my husband. We went there before we were married, and it was just as nice this time as the first time, in a very geeky historical sort of way. Here’s a pic of a demonstration of 18th century bookbinding.
And it was just right for getting geared up to see Hamilton next month and the next season of Outlander!
It wasn’t a great month for posting, but it was good to take a few steps back and recharge. Hope you’re all having a nice June so far, and happy summer!
