My May Reading Wrap-Up

May was a fantastic reading month. I read four books from the Women’s Prize longlist. I also read two backlist books from new favorites, Mimi Matthews and Kate Clayborn.  

Here’s what I read in May:

• Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes (audio)
• In the Lives of Puppets by T. J. Klune
• The Arsonists’ City by Hala Alyan
• The Work of Art by Mimi Matthews
• Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks (audio)
• Beginner’s Luck by Kate Clayborn (audio)
• Unpacking for Greece by Sally Jane Smith
• The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff (audio)
• Trespasses by Louise Kennedy (audio)

My favorite reads:

My favorite was The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff, a book I only picked up because it was nominated for the Women’s Prize. It’s hilarious, moving, and recounts the history (and mythology) of a fascinating woman in India.

I also really loved The Arsonist’s City, a book I finally read on the recommendation of Modern Mrs. Darcy that was on my TBR Pile Challenge List this year. It’s a story about a couple from Syria and Lebanon, the family they have together, and the friend they both lost. This decades-long family saga centers around their family home in Beirut, even though no one in the family lives there.

I struggled with Trespasses at first, but by the end I couldn’t put it down, and it really resonated with me. For a while I found it depressing, but it really told me a lot about the Troubles and I loved the characters.

In the next few days I’ll be reviewing Sally Jane Smith’s Unpacking for Greece, which was published June 1.It’s a great travel story as well as a memoir about Smith’s efforts to get past her fear of travel after a terrible accident.

Disappointing reads:

Surprisingly, I didn’t love TJ Klune’s newest book, In the Lives of Puppets, but that’s mainly because I loved his last two so much. This one was clever but lacked the heart of the other two.

On the blog:

I reviewed In the Lives of Puppets and wrote about the books I recommend most often, and my 20 Books of Summer. I also wrote about the books I read on this year’s Women’s Prize longlist.

Books for challenges:

• TBR Pile/Backlist Reader: The Arsonist’s City, Beginner’s Luck, The Work of Art
• Nonfiction: Unpacking for Greece
• Reading Around the World: The Arsonist’s City (Lebanon), Unpacking for Greece (Greece), The Bandit Queens (India), Fire Rush (Jamaica), Trespasses (Northern Ireland)

What I’m reading now:

I’m reading two ARCs. One is Aloha Vietnam by Elizabeth Nguyen, about a Vietnamese-American teen in Hawaii who is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. This one is already published. The other is And Then He Sang a Lullaby, about a gay college student in Nigeria, it will be published June 6.

What’s coming up:

I’ll be reading the books on my 20 Books of Summer TBR list.

Added to my TBR:

The Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide came out, which gave me a lot more books for my TBR list. I also picked up ARCs from a few authors I really like, Angie Kim and Paulette Jiles. 

Things that made me happy this month:

I’m happily playing the new Zelda game, which will take me a good long time as I’m a very slow player and can only play a little at a time. 

I’m enjoying the great weather – I love summer! My summer garden is planted and I traded my old bike in for one that fits me better. And we’ve got trips to Wisconsin, California, and Europe later this summer. 

That’s my May wrap-up. Hope you’re enjoying summer and reading something good.