Wrap Up | May 2018

Another month as passed and I read a ton of books. I have no idea how I found the time to read 15 books. I think the reason I read so much it because of my Read 5 Buy 1 challenge I have been doing.  With such a high book count this month I am able to buy 3 books. Woohoo! So far it has been a win for me, I am spending less money on books and reading some great ones I might not have gotten to. Now, some of them I LOVED and others were just okay, but overall I am happy with the books I read this month.

Irena’s Children by Tilar J. Mazzeo

This was a heart breaking non-fiction. It told the story of a social worker that aided many jewish children during WWII. She was able to take them out of the ghettos and get them into homes and teach them how to pass as christians so they would be able to survive in Nazi Germany. The toils and close calls that this woman went through, I just could not believe. She was so brave, intelligent, and compassionate. I highly recommend this book.

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

I was looking forward to this book coming out in May, but what got me to pick it up this month was the fact that it was the first book of the Barns and Nobel book club. I will admit I was a bit bored with it, I think I would have liked it more if I did not read so much about feminism or books with feminist themes. I have read this story before and done better. It is bad? No. Is it the best? No. If you are interested I would suggest getting it from the library.

Circe by Madeline Miller

You may not know this about me but I LOVE myths about Gods and Goddess. I grew up reading and learning about both greek and roman myths so when Book of the Month had this as a pick I knew I needed to have it. I ended up reading this in a single day and I loved it. It was great hearing about Circe, I have never read a story from her point of view. The writing was great, the story was great, the subject was great. Did I mention that this was great?

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

So I have been hearing about this classic horror story a lot over the years, but I finally ended up picking it up this month and reading it. When I got it I realized it was so small. I was surprised, how could such a small novel be so scary? Well, now I know why Stephen King and his son both rave about it. This is one of my top horror novels of all time. The writing is was magnificent, the characters were interesting, the methods used to pull the reader in were mesmerizing. I very much suggest reading this if you like horror, even just a little bit.

My Lady’s Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris

This was a funny book my friend got me for my birthday, it was funny and since there are multiple ways to read it I may pick it up again in the future. Who knows?

Storm of the Century by Stephen King

When I was younger I used to travel to see family where this movie was filmed. I figured it was time to read the screen play and then watch the movie. I have to admit it was fun to watch the movie because I actually recognized a lot of the places in the movie. It also made it even more creepy since it made it so real.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

This was such a cute story! I don’t know why I waited so long to read this, but I am so glad that I finally did. I loved Dimple as a character, she was smart, dedicated, and just all around wonderful. I did realize I was so invested until the ending, I cried a bit. I normally don’t usually actually cry when I read books, so I was surprised.

Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King

This was a really good novel. I could not even figure out who wrote what characters or chapters. Their writing blended together so well. They story itself was just mind blowing. Leave it to Stephen King and Owen King to open your eyes and really make you think about the world with a horror novel. The scariest things are sometime the most real.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

I love Agatha Christie, her mysteries are “classic”, “typical” mysteries that I actually enjoy. Normally I get bored of others, but her I can read through very quickly, in fact I read this in a single day. It was very interesting and I loved  the theme to it. It was eerie and creepy. It also left me guessing until the end.

Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick

I read this along withAmy from Tomes with Tea, Regina from Bookish in Bed and  Jenna from J.K. I’m Exploring! . Overall I felt that the story was average. I loved some parts of it, but others were just okay. I really cannot pinpoint any particular problem with this book, but nothing stood out. If you have read this I would really like to hear your thoughts on it.

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

Earlier I read The Witches by Stacy Schiff and I loved that book so much. So I went out and picked up another book by her. Now I did look at the ratings of this book so I kinda knew what I was getting into. It was rated lower than The Witches, but not by much. I have to say I agree with the rating it has on goodreads. It is not bad, but it is nothing like The Witches. While I picked up this book to learn about Cleopatra, I ended up learning more about the people around her I feel like. She does open up with saying how there is not much on her, but I don’t know. I was left not totally satisfied. I still 1000% suggest The Witches by her. Still one of my top non-fiction reads.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

I don’t know why, but I had the urge to read a book that I read in high school. I think for two reasons. The first being, I didn’t really remember the story. The second being that I remember really liking it and I was curious to see if I still did. As it turns out I do still enjoy this novel.

The End of Watch by Stephen King

This is the final installment of the Bill Hodges trilogy. I will say the first half of the book moved a little too slowly for me, but the second half took turns I had not expected. Also, while the ending nearly killed me. It would not have been a Stephen King book with any other. Over all I really enjoyed this series. If horror is not something you enjoy but you like thrillers I highly suggest it.

The Red Pony by John Steinbeck

This was not really a classic I enjoyed that much. I felt it was boring and I was not interested in the slightest. Thankfully it was only 100 pages and I stuck it out.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

I ended up absoultly loving this book, if you have not seen my full review on it you can find it here: REVIEW | The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware I go into detail on my thoughts about this book.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

You can see details about both of these books here: Currently Reading | April 2018.

What was the best book you read this month?

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