What did you read in May?

[ufcasey]

Ratings, recommendations etc.

[Vespasia]

I did a fair amount of traveling in May and I had a break from school so I read a bit more than usual. 

Still Waters by Viveca Sten  - 3 stars. I think this was a Kindle freebie. It was fine but a bit dull and I have no desire to read any other books in the series.

Obscura by Joe Hart - 4 stars. Really fun sci-fi book. 

Circe by Madeline Miller - 5 stars. This was fantastic!

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane - 3 stars. I really expected more from this book.  I thought the writing was fairly good but the plot was annoying. 

Named of the Dragon by Susanna Kearsley - 4 stars. I think I read almost the whole thing in one sitting on a train. Light and enjoyable, much like all of her other books.

[rainbowchip]

Artemis (reread) 4*

All Our Wrong Todays 4*
This was a really interesting book. Very unique. Its hard to talk about without spoilers.

Ten Big Ones 3* these books are consistent. I'm not sure why I keep reading them.

An American Marriage 3* I didn't know what to expect with this book and it wasn't super exciting. I think the writing was good and so what the plot but it just wasn't my style of book. I like when there is something big that happens and this was more of a day to day sort of thing (though an abnormal day to day circumstance).

Dearist Ivie 4* This was good and quick. Definitely a BDB book.

I'm at 24/52 for the year. Goodreads says I'm 3 book ahead.

[bex]

The Women in the Castle **** - I ended up really like this one. It was a different perspective on World War II and Germany.

Fire and Fury - Inside the Trump White House *** I was late to the game with this one so I knew all the good stuff. Also the writing was awful, ha.

Glass Sword** - bad sequel to an okay start to a YA series (follow up to Red Queen.)

A River In Darkness **** very good. He's not a professional writer which definitely shows, but it was an interesting story, with a sadder and more depressing ending than I had anticipated. It was interesting how hard it was for him to get Japan, South Korea and China to help him escape.

The Lying Game ** - fast read, but the reveal was lame, the ending lacked closure and was weird, and they also kept talking about how they were all such good friends and then you realized they had only known each other for a handful of months. Like I know childhood/teenage friends can keep their hold on you for life in some ways, but I just never understood WHY they were so close to begin with. It was just a weird premise and a weird book.

Ten Women ***** Loved this one. It's just a story about 9 women who all see the same psychiatrist, and each chapter is the story of each woman (the 10th woman is the psychiatrist.) It's a Chilean novel that I got for free on World Book Day from Amazon (same with River in Darkness) and it was excellent.

The Search - see my Friday post. It was fine. It was nora Roberts. Nothing exciting or different.

[kelliebeans104]

I read and listened to 6 books in May.

Read:
Artemis by Andy Weir **
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer ****
Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling *****
The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin ****

Listened To:
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee ***
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh ***

Out of these I would highly recommend The Female Persuasion.  I loved it. 

[frog]

Lots of stars given out in May. I’m stingy with them, so that’s a good sign.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn ****
The Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera ***
Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel ****
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah Maas **
In the Distance by Hernan Diaz *****
Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel. *****
In the Distant Land of My Fathers by Bo Caldwell ****
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai ****
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan *****
Church of Marvels by Leslie Parry ***
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire ****
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire *****
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire ****
The Diplomat’s Wife by Pam Jenoff ****
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. *****
A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielsen ****
Sycamore by Bryan Chancellor ****
Uprooted by Naomi Novik *****

[ufcasey]

1 star
Artemis by Andy Weir

2 stars
Scourged (#9 in series) by Kevin Hearne
When the Duke Was Wicked by Lorraine Heath
The Wizard in the Woods (#2 in series) by R. Lee Smith

3 stars
Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas

4 stars
Walk of Shame by Lauren Layne - contemporary romance, much more enjoyable than expected
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Grey Sister (#2 in series) by Mark Lawrence
Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale - even if you don't like historical romance novels, you might like this one! It's very different from the usual storylines/characters

4.5 stars
The Brutal Telling (#5 in series) by Louise Penny - read this mystery series! So good

[wesleycrusher]

1. The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying by Riggs, Nina ****
2. Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of the World's Most Mysterious Continent by Walker, Gabrielle ***
3. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Bauby, Jean-Dominique ***
4. Still Me (Me Before You, #3) by Moyes, Jojo ****
5. What to Do When I'm Gone: A Mother's Wisdom to Her Daughter by Hopkins, Suzy (graphic novel) ****
6. Out Of This Furnace by Bell, Thomas ****
7. An American Marriage by Jones, Tayari ***
8. Families Like Mine: Children of Gay Parents Tell It Like It Is by Garner, Abigail (I wish they would update this! Also I know some of the people they interviewed!) ***
9. Flowers from the Storm by Kinsale, Laura *** ufcasey , funny we both read this
10-13.Texas Glory, She Tempts the Duke, Sweet Lullaby, and Texas Splendor by Heath, Lorraine (all quite similar romance novels) **
14. Beartown by Backman, Fredrik *****
15. Levittown: Two Extraordinary Families, One Ruthless Tycoon, and the Fight for the American Dream by Kushner, David (timely! this came out a few days after I finished the book www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/05/rohrabacher-fine-with-housing-discrimination-against-gay-people/  Also I grew up in this area)  ****
16. Artemis by Weir, Andy (audiobook) ***
17. The Art of Running in Heels by Gibson, Rachel **
18. King Leopold's Ghost by Hochschild, Adam ****
19. The Queen of Hearts by Martin, Kimmery ***
20. The Kevin Show: An Olympic Athlete’s Battle with Mental Illness by Pilon, Mary ***
21. We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Coates, Ta-Nehisi ****

[minzy]

The "Me, Me, Me" Epidemic - A Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Capable, Grateful Kids in an Over-Entitled World by Amy McCready - 4 stars
Artemis by Andy Weir - 3.5 stars
Text Me When You Get Home - The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship by Kayleen Schaefer - 3 stars
The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani - 3 stars
Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang - 4.5 stars
The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah - 5 stars

[rootbeerfloat]

Beartown, Frederik Bachman - 4*
The Impossible Fortress, Jason Rekulak - 2*
All the Crooked Saints, Maggie Stiefvater - 3.5*
Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi - 4*

[travella]

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner 3*
The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn 2*
Warcross by Marie Lu 3*
Touch by Courtney Maum 2*

19/40. It was a pretty lousy month.

[tacokick]

31!! I was on a roll in May. Two were very short and one YA.

The Map of Us Jules Preston ***

The Electric Woman Tessa Fountaine *

Deadly Charm: The Story of a Deaf Serial Killer Marie Vernon and McCay Vernon ** (mostly because it was local)

The Other Side of Everything Lauren Doyle Owens ***

Seven Days of Us Francesca Hornak **1/2

Half-Truths and Other Semi-Miracles Anne Tyler **

Asymmetry Lisa Halliday ***

Her Other Life Stacey Wallace *

Other People’s Houses Abbi Waxman ***

Everything Is Horrible and Wonderful: A Tragicomic Memoir of Genius, Heroin, Love, and Loss Stephanie Wittels Wachs ***

Tapestry of Fortunes Elizabeth Berg **

Hunger Roxane Gay **1/2

The Perfect Mother Aimee Molloy ***

When the White House Was Ours Porter Shreve **1/2

The Elizas Sara Shepard *

My Year with Eleanor: A Memoir Noelle Hancock ***

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays Alexander Chee ***

That Kind Of Mother Rumaan Alam *1/2

The Second Sister Claire Kendal **

The Temporary Bride: A Memoir of Love and Food in Iran Jennifer Klinec **

Chasing Hillary Amy Chozick ***

Let Me Lie Clare Macintosh *

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower Brittany Cooper ***

Trust Me Zosia Wand 0

Second House From the Corner Sadeqa Johnson **1/2

Season to Taste: How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way Molly Birnbaum ***

One of Us is Lying Karen M. McManus ****

Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way Jon Krakauer ***

The Sinner Petra Hammesfahr **(rare case of liking the show better than the book!)

Not That I Could Tell Jessica Strawser ***

So Close to Being the Sh*t, Y’all Don’t Even Know Retta ***

Pops: Fatherhood in Pieces Michael Chabon **

[mrspez07]

I wanted to distract myself from some stressful personal stuff this month, so I burned through some light reads as well as some well-told darker stuff.

4* Now that you mention it by Kristin Higgins.
Her lighter reads are just what I need sometimes.
3* Every Breath You Take by Mary Higgins Clark.
5* The Great Alone (audio) by Kristin Hannah
5* Before we were Yours by Lisa Wingate

[abs]

Average month for me with 4 books.

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain: 3.5*
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas: 1*
Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain: 4*
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones: 3*

[sassy1ja]

One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus ***
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover ***
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin ***
The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani **
Sometimes I Lie ****
Exit West ***
Pachinko ***

[brandy0331]

Jun 1, 2018 12:12:29 GMT -5 frog said:

Lots of stars given out in May. I’m stingy with them, so that’s a good sign.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn ****
The Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera ***
Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel ****
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah Maas **
In the Distance by Hernan Diaz *****
Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel. *****
In the Distant Land of My Fathers by Bo Caldwell ****
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai ****
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan *****
Church of Marvels by Leslie Parry ***
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire ****
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire *****
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire ****
The Diplomat’s Wife by Pam Jenoff ****
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. *****
A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielsen ****
Sycamore by Bryan Chancellor ****
Uprooted by Naomi Novik *****

Did you enjoy Every Heart a Doorway? I almost picked it up a while ago but hesitated.

[frog]

Jun 6, 2018 15:32:36 GMT -5 brandy0331 said:

Jun 1, 2018 12:12:29 GMT -5 frog said:

Lots of stars given out in May. I’m stingy with them, so that’s a good sign.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn ****
The Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera ***
Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel ****
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah Maas **
In the Distance by Hernan Diaz *****
Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel. *****
In the Distant Land of My Fathers by Bo Caldwell ****
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai ****
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan *****
Church of Marvels by Leslie Parry ***
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire ****
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire *****
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire ****
The Diplomat’s Wife by Pam Jenoff ****
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. *****
A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielsen ****
Sycamore by Bryan Chancellor ****
Uprooted by Naomi Novik *****

Did you enjoy Every Heart a Doorway? I almost picked it up a while ago but hesitated.

I did like it. I LOVED the 2nd one though.