Devourer of Books

My reading was down slightly from last month, 20 books in May as opposed to 23 in April, but I’m still rocking and rolling as far as my goal for the year goes.  That brings my projected number of books for the from 185 at the end of April to 198 at the end of May.  As of right now I can still be on track for my goal of 150 if I don’t finish a single book until the last third of July.  That’s really good, since my baby could be coming any day now (he’s due June 12th) and I have no idea how much reading I’ll get done once he arrives.  Of my 20 books read, 2 were audiobooks, for a little over 1 day’s worth of audio.

All but five of the books I read this month were also reviewed this month.  I reviewed an additional 8 books, 6 of which I read earlier this year, one of which my husband read and I interviewed him for the review (Work Hard. Be Nice.), and one of which I decided not to finish at this time, for reasons unrelated to the quality of the book.  After my list of what I read this month, you’ll find a list of the other reviews I posted, as well as some other posts from this month that might be of interest:

What I Read:

Fiction
The Brightest Moon of the Century by Christopher Meeks
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (audio)
Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy
Serendipity by Louise Shaffer
The Lost Hours by Karen White – review pending
Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Laura Lipton
Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji
Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne Du Maurier
In the Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – review pending

Young Adult Fiction
Extras by Scott Westerfeld
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
Bad Girls Don’t Die by Katie Alender
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen – review pending
Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr – review pending

Historical Fiction
Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliot
The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire by C.M. Mayo
Palace Circle by Rebecca Dean
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
Far Bright Star by Robert Olmstead

Memoir
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (audio)

Pick of the Month:

I LOVED “Twilight of Avalon,” a historical fiction (with a little fantasy) retelling of the Tristan and Isolde legend.  Instead of being a romantic, idealized story, Elliott tried to root the story firmly into the realities of 6th century Britain.  The book was so well written I didn’t even realize I was turning the pages.  Even more exciting?  “Twilight of Avalon” is the first book in a trilogy, and you can already get a sneak peek of the next book!

What I Reviewed:

Fiction
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer
The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer

Young Adult Fiction
Specials by Scott Westerfeld
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Nonfiction
Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein
Work Hard. Be Nice. by Jay Mathews

Memoir/Travel
Roads to Quoz by William Least-Heat Moon

Other Posts of Interest:

The Biggest Thing in Publishing Since Gutenberg?
Not Going to BEA This Weekend? Feel Left Out? We Say, “No BEA? Books Anyway!”
My Massive “No BEA? Books Anyway!” Haul
Fabulous Authors and Others! - The list of who will be writing guests post when I’m out with the baby and when

Related posts:

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