What I Read in May

I read an obscene amount of books this month. 21!!!! I don't think I've ever read that many in my life. I'm attributing that to a change in weather, and some great audiobooks. I seriously wouldn't get through as many books if it weren't for audio.

In May, I read the final three of the Women's Prize Shortlist (The Book of Form and Emptiness, The Island of Missing Trees, and The Bread the Devil Knead). I've FINALLY achieved my goal of reading the whole shortlist for the Women's Prize. Stay tuned for my wrap-up on this year's finalists!

Blew me out of the water; loved! (5 stars)

Book Lovers by Emily Henry: A great rom-com! I laughed out loud, smiled like a nerd while reading it, and loved how the book focused on Nora and Charlie but also her relationship with her sister and mom.

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow: A beautiful multi-generational story of a family of women from Memphis. I loved it, and Read With Jenna always has the best book club picks!

Son of Elsewhere by Elamin Abdelmahmoud: An absolutely beautiful memoir. We are so lucky to have Elamin in Canadian media. I laughed, my heart swelled and tabbed the crap out of this one (the writing is stunning).

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt: Whenever I think of heartwarming I'm going to think of this book. The story of an unlikely friendship between an old lady and an octopus, and how their lives connect at an important point in both their lives. The audio narration for this book is fantastic!

We Were Dreamers by SImu Liu: Another really beautiful memoir. I'm always wary with celeb memoirs because it's like, did you really write this? And it felt like Simu did. The audio was fantastic getting to hear the emotion in his voice and I loved (and was surprised) that a portion of the book focused on his parents, and how they grew up and eventually immigrated to Canada. I highly recommend this one!

I liked it! (4 stars)

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki: This one started off as a 5 star read for me then drifted down to a 3.5, but I still really liked it! It just dragged a bit in the middle. It follows young boy Benny who starts to hear voices from inanimate objects after his father dies - which is only amplified when his mom develops a hoarding problem. There are lots of great, quirky characters and a great pinch of magical realism.

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak: Loved this family saga focused on a young girl figuring out her family's past, including her parents' forbidden love story. I learned a lot about Greece and Turkey, and loved the romantic and familial love stories told.

Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott: A series of essays tackling the big topics in the everyday. Sometimes it's nice to read about someone whose neurosis matches (and sometimes exceeds) mine.

This Golden State by Marit Weisenberg: A super fast-paced mystery that follows 17-year-old Poppy whose family has been on the run for her whole life and she has no idea why. It's not until she submits a DNA test that secrets are revealed. This one is unputdownable when you start it and will remind you of a high profile event from a while ago!

Spring by Ali Smith: The third in Smith's seasonal quartet is much more intentional than her first two, following a refugee on the run and the immigration officer who's supposed to bring her back.

It was good (3 stars)

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka: One of those books I enjoyed the more I sat and thought about it. The writing was beautiful, and the author did some really thoughtful linkages that honestly went way over my head (I finally clued in after I read some reviews)!

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas: I think I should have read this book earlier in the series than I did. It's a collection of 'prequel' novellas to the Throne of Glass series. I was a bit bored and checked out for most of it, but really liked the last story. Also liked seeing how Celaena met a lot of the characters!

Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda: What I liked about this literary vampire story is it wasn't about our main character turning into a vamp, but she's been one her whole life and this is just how she deals. Vampires have a hard time finding their place in the world too!

Six Days in Rome by Francesca Giacco: The ultimate sad girl book. If you like Ottessa Moshfegh or Sally Rooney, you may dig this one. I loved how it felt like I was walking the streets of Rome throughout the pages. Thank you HBG Canada for my copy!

The Employees by Olga Ravn: An interesting dystopian workplace novella told throughout employee interviews and memos. I felt like I was plopped into the middle of a movie and had to figure some things out for myself.

Half Blown Rose by Leesa Cross-Smith: I had some FEELINGS about this book. Click here to read my review on Instagram. Thank you HBG Canada for my copy!

The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini: This book was DARK. There were a few funny moments (mostly Alethea's commentary), and I finally felt a bit hopeful at the end, but man, it is a sad book. Alethea is a 39-year-old Trinidadian woman working in the Port of Spain and in an abusive relationship. The narrative took a bit of getting used to because it's written in Trinidadian Creole, but I've never read a book by a Caribbean author before, so thought this was interesting!

Chorus by Rebecca Kauffman: A short and punchy family saga jumping from past to present following the Shaw siblings and milestone moments in their lives (one including the events surrounding the mysterious death of their mother). There were a lot of characters in this one and I sometimes struggle with keeping track of them all on audio. I may have liked this one more if I read a physical copy. Thank you Libro.fm for this advanced listening copy!

Unimpressed (2 stars)

Dark August by Katie Tallo: A slower-paced thriller of a young woman who looks into her mom's mysterious death. Points because it takes place in the Ottawa area, but I like my thrillers fast-paced!

The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner: I love a summer read by Weiner, but this one wasn't for me. Started off really intriguing, but every chapter seemed to follow the same formula and I just wasn't loving it. I ended up not being too surprised by the ending, and only liked one character. Thanks Simon & Schuster Canada/Netgalley for my copy!

Watch Out For Her by Samantha M. Bailey: A forgettable thriller; I wish I would write a review but I genuinely can't remember what happened. It did feel like there was a different editor for the first half of the book, the writing felt cringe. Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada for my copy!