May 2023 Reading Review & Summer Reading Plans

Good morning, Monday! This weekend was cloudy, cool, and rainy – perfect for staying inside and doing cozy things. I chose to revive my sourdough starter and get a loaf of bread started last night (I’m trying this method, we’ll see how it goes) and I baked a pan of brownies yesterday morning (non-sourdough batter, but does anyone have a good recipe for sourdough brownies?). It was nice to not worry about heating up the house and I’m looking forward to the scent of baking sourdough this morning!

Today I’m reviewing the books that I read in May and my summer reading plans. I struggled to find my reading mojo last month but these monthly posts always remind me that I read more than I think I do, which is a relief!

Books Read in May 2023:

Pod | Ivy & Bean Take the Case | The Castle in the Mist | Tales of Burning Love | Yellowface | Fire Rush | Samantha Saves the Day | The Transit of Venus | Under the Whispering Door | Tar Baby | Happy Birthday Samantha | Ivy & Bean No News is Good News | The Dog of the North | Captain Underpants 7 | Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

May Highlights:

Favorite book of May:
Yellowface! I had a major internal debate about buying this, but I’m so glad I have my own copy because this is one to revisit. Yellowface was so fun and thought-provoking. I loved this inside look at the publishing world and the life of a writer. Kuang played with race, privilege, cancel culture, the effects of social media, and so much more in this slim contemporary novel. I couldn’t put it down!

Honorable Mentions:
Tar Baby – I am really enjoying my year of Toni Morrison and Tar Baby was an incredible look at white privilege. I am looking forward to my next Toni Morrison – Love.

The Transit of Venus – What an amazing little book! This book is full of little clues that will lead you to a mind-blowing ending. It begs to be reread in order to fully unlock the puzzle, which I’ll try to do next year. I’m not ready to tackle it again.

Tales of Burning Love – I finished the Love Medicine series! This book focused on Dot and Jack Mauser – Fleur’s grandson. It answered a lot of questions for me about the series as a whole and it was fun to see some pieces of the puzzle fall into place. Do you think Erdrich will be writing anything else with these characters? I hope she will!

Prize Reading:

Pod – a story told deep within the ocean by dolphins, whales, and pufferfish. This is a story of survival despite the dangers surrounding them – both natural and human-made. I struggled with this one but plenty of others really enjoyed it. I love reading people’s reactions to it! [Women’s Prize shortlist]

Fire Rush – mostly set in the late 70s/early 80s in a Jamaican community in London. Yamaye is a poet deep in the dab club scene living with grief and fear. I enjoyed this book, especially the last third or so when she returned to Jamaica and reconnected with the island of her ancestors. [Women’s Prize shortlist]

The Dog of the North – a wild ride from California to Texas to Australia and back again. Penny’s life is falling apart and this look into her mind is funny and poignant. This wasn’t one of my favorites on the Women’s Prize list this year but it was entertaining! [Women’s Prize longlist]

Readalouds:
Bronwyn and I finished two Ivy and Bean books and two American Girls. We finished the Samantha series in May and have moved on to Kit (who is SO FUN, by the way). We spent a long time reading just American Girl books before bed so it was a nice change when she started picking out Ivy & Beans at the library. Now we go back and forth between the two series and it’s working well.

Bryce and I read a Captain Underpants early in the month but then switched to something new, The Castle in the Mist. It was kind of creepy with a really interesting plot, but was repetitive and awkward to read out loud. We’re back to Captain Underpants!

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Summer Reading Plans:

I have so many plans for the summer and am struggling to find the best way to share them. Normally I would just post a picture of the TBR in my notebook but it’s a mess and I won’t confuse you like that. So I’m sorting these into categories that make sense to me and will help break it up into manageable chunks.

Slow & Steady Books:

• Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak (currently reading)
• When I Was a Child I Read Books by Marilynne Robinson
• The Givenness of Things by Marilynne Robinson
• Taking the Leap by Pema Chödrön

Toni Morrison:

• Love
• A Mercy
• Home

Prize Reading:
I have a few books from this year’s International Booker Prize list that I’d like to read this summer:

• Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov (currently reading)
• Whale by Cheon Myeong-Kwan
• Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel
• The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier

I am waiting for one book on the Women’s Prize longlist to become available via Libby:

• The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

New Releases:

• Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
• The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller
• The Postcard by Anne Berest
• Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
• Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
• The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
• Enchantment by Katherine May

Backlist Titles:

• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
• Fight Night by Miriam Toews
• So Big by Edna Ferber
• Telephone by Percival Everett
• When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
• The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
• The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
• Horse by Geraldine Brooks

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I have no idea how this summer is going to play out and how many of these I’ll get to, but I’m going to do my best to read as many as possible! Tell me – are any of these books on your summer reading list? Which ones have you already read? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!