May Reading Roundup

We’re midway through June, and I’ve finally managed to tell you about all the books I read in May. I’m sorry I got so behind. I was a bit overwhelmed with the first three weeks of bar studying and graduation and everything.

Who am I kidding? I’m still overwhelmed with bar studying.

But I’m caught up with my book reviews now, and it’s time for a quick recap before we move on to the books I’ve read so far in June. (Luckily I haven’t read too many books so far in June so this shouldn’t turn into a spiral of falling behind.)

Collage of the covers of the ten books I read this monthI read ten books in May, and it was a pretty mixed bag both in terms of genre and how I liked them. Five of the books I read were rereads, since this is supposedly the great bar prep rereadathon. One of the books was nonfiction. Three were classic kids books. One was historical fiction, two were fantasy, one was a mystery with some fantasy/sci fi twists (it’s not quite clear which), and two were contemporaries. Here’s what I read with links to my reviews and some quick notes about my thoughts.

First, I finished my annual Harry Potter reread with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling. I love this book so much, and it always breaks my heart a little when I finish the series. I particularly enjoyed this year’s reread, because I took notes and shared all my thoughts with you. My rambly thoughts on Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows are here. careful, there are spoilers.

Next, I read The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson. While this book didn’t quite work for me, it certainly wet my appetite for more World War I books. You can check out my review here.

After that, I reread Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. I read this at the end of last year, but the library finally got the sequel, and I’m on the waiting list for that, so I decided to reread the first book. I enjoyed Akata Witch the first time I read it, but I actually liked it a lot more the second time around.

Next was The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. I loved so much about this book, and I really, really wanted it to be great. Unfortunately I also felt it had some pretty significant flaws. Here’s what I thought about it.

Then I read Us Against You by Fredrik Backman. This is the sequel to Beartown, which I read back in March and adored. Us Against You was a perfectly good book, but measured against Beartown—and I don’t know how to not measure it against Beartown—it was kind of a let down. My review for Beartown is here, and my review for Us Against You is here.

After that, I read Fly Away by Kristin Hannah, the sequel to Firefly Lane, which I read back in March and did not adore. I wanted more from the sequel, but I think it tripped itself up with its circular structure and by trying to be a stand-alone novel. But I’m also pretty sure that Kristin Hannah’s contemporary stuff isn’t my cup of tea. You can find my review for Firefly Lane here and Fly Away here.

Next, I read Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterley. I talked about this just a couple days ago here. I was surprised by how in depth the book went, and I really enjoyed it.

Finally, I recovered from graduation by spending the last day of May in bed and rereading the books my mom read to us when we were little, Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, Stuart Little by E. B. White, and James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. I talk about them all together here, with a shout-out to my mom who is better than any of the audiobook narrators for these books. Charlotte’s Web is a beautiful book and well deserves its status as a classic. Stuart Little is kind of weird, and not necessarily in a good way. And James and the Giant Peach is also kind of weird but also delightful.

And that’s it for the month of May. Have you read any of these books? Do you agree with my opinions? Do you have any other books you think I should read?

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