Wow, May was a great reading month for me! I got ahead on reading for a couple of my book clubs, finished a few books I'd been reading for a long time (one for years!), and gained a new absolute all-time favorite (Project Hail Mary) plus a new series that I'm very excited to continue and helps a bit with Bridgerton withdrawal (Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies). How were your reading months?
- Through the Eyes of Poets: Ellicott City at 250--Enjoyed the local connections and poets especially, not as sure about choices to include tangentially related poets, even with explanations--some work but some seemed a little far-fetched.
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir--Officially one of my favorite books of all time--just a delight--I know it's very popular and idk if it's for everyone, but it's for everyone who loved those survival books as a kid, loves space and aliens, and for me, as a teacher, I felt an additional special connection to the main character. If any of that checks your boxes--I highly, highly recommend it.
- The Vienna Writers' Circle by J.C. Maetis (Book club read)--I really didn't want to read this--it was fine if you want a thriller set during the Holocaust in Vienna, which I didn't.
- The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman (Another book club read)--Loved this so much--kind of a ladies' detective agency set in a Regency-era England (possibly a slightly alternate version like Bridgerton) written in a comedy-of-manners tone. The "cases" address some darker content like oppression of women and children--but the tone and the romance throughline keep it relatively light. The protagonists are unmarried twin sisters of the nobility in their early 40s, so they offer a different vantage point than usual which I think adds a lot.
- An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn--Like so many, I am anxiously awaiting Bridgerton Season 3, Part 2, so I read this to tide me over. For fast-paced, easy-to-read Regency romance, it does the job, but I don't love the misogyny, classism, and possessive behavior from the male lead. Show Benedict is so much better--can't wait for him to have a gay love story.
- Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand (Yet another book club read)--Surprisingly interesting family generational story set on Nantucket in the eponymous year.
- The Book of Lost Spells by Robert Macfarlane and illustrated by Jackie Morris--Beautiful nature drawings and poems for adults or older kids--I read this slowly, a little bit each night. Would recommend if this sounds appealing.
- The Elder Edda by unknown, translated by Andy Orchard---I've been reading these epic poems on and off for about six years and finally finished! I can definitely see the connections to Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion; it's so fascinating how these millenia-old myths reflect feelings and ideas (jealousy, vengeance, love) that seem perfectly modern. The writing itself is also so expressive--I know I read a translation, but the translation reflects the use of figurative and repetitive language and rhetoric: "sword-tree" for "warrior," for example.
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