May 2024 Wrap-Up ⌨️

Happy Friday, bibliophiles!

Finally summer! Finally, more time to read…and most of what I’ve read this month has been good, I’d say.

Let’s begin, shall we?

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

Save for the first week of the month, May has been the first month where I’ve been able to relax somewhat! Finals were over and I’d moved out of my dorm before I knew it. Straight A’s and finally being free of my STEM requirements isn’t too shabby, I’d say! I’m so proud of what I’ve accomplished this year—and I’m so glad that I can have some downtime. And I’ve made good use of it so far—May has been my best month in terms of amount of books read (although the quality of…some of said books is another story), and I’ve definitely benefitted from the time spent reading! I’ve also been trying to focus more on art this summer, and consciously taking a slice out of each day to draw has been an adventure so far. I had a solid week where I had three or four blog posts all on the back burner simultaneously, so I unintentionally made a loose schedule for blogging every day as well, so I’m getting some writing in while I recover from writing two short stories and a 20,000 word novella all in one semester. I’ve also been pruning my Goodreads TBR…I’ve managed to cut it down from around 770 to around 720, so I’d say that’s been a success?

Other than that, I’ve just been cleaning things out of the dorm and bringing them back to my house, sleeping, watching Abbott Elementary (THEY FINALLY DID IT!!! THEY FINALLY LET THEM KISS!!!), Taskmaster, and Hacks (we love Jean Smart in this house), and relishing in the warm weather and the beginning of summer. I feel like every time I’m in the car with my family, I just pass the hills and feel the need to comment on how much I love that shade of green that summertime brings. But it’s so beautiful. Every single time. It never gets old. Thank you, shades of summer green.

READING AND BLOGGING:

I read 19 books this month! I’ve been oscillating between both ends of the spectrum this month, for sure—I read one of the worst books I’ve read this year, but also two of the very best. Somehow, it’s pretty evenly split as far as ratings go when I’ve lined them all up that way, but it’s been up and down all month, but on a track towards betterment midway through. I focused on AAPI books for May, and I found some fantastic books as a result from both familiar and new-to-me authors!

1 – 1.75 stars:

• Dear Wendy – Ann Zhao (⭐️.5)

2 – 2.75 stars:

• The Space Between Here & Now – Sarah Suk (⭐️⭐️)
• Damned If You Do – Alex Brown (⭐️⭐️)
• The Mimicking of Known Successes (Mossa & Pleiti, #1) – Malka Ann Older (⭐️⭐️.5)
• The Emperor and the Endless Palace – Justinian Huang (⭐️⭐️.75)

3 – 3.75 stars:

• Fathomfolk (Drowned World, #1) – Eliza Chan (⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)
• Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment, #2) – Rebecca Ross (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
• While You Were Dreaming – Alisha Rai (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
• The Last Bloodcarver (The Last Bloodcarver duology, #1) – Vanessa Le (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
• Empire of Sand (The Books of Ambha, #1) – Tasha Suri (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
• Off With Their Heads – Zoe Hana Mikuta (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)
• Camp Zero – Michelle Min Sterling (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)

4 – 4.75 stars:

• Sound the Gong (Kingdom of Three, #2) – Joan He (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
• Road to Ruin (Magebike Courier, #1) – Hana Lee (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
• Cursed Bunny – Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
• The Goodbye Cat – Hiro Akigawa, translated by Philip Gabriel (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
• This Book Won’t Burn – Samira Ahmed (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)

5 stars:

• Squire – Sara Alfageeh and Nadia Shammas (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
• The Travelling Cat Chronicles – Hiro Arikawa, translated by Philip Gabriel (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH – Squire – 5 stars

POSTS I’M PROUD OF:

• I had fun reviewing Off With Their Heads, Dear Wendy, Squire, and The Traveling Cat Chronicles!
• Music rambling! Here are my Sunday Songs for 5/12, 5/19, and 5/26.
• I made another list of recommendations for AAPI Heritage Month!
• I reviewed St. Vincent’s (excellent) new album, All Born Screaming!

POSTS FROM OTHER WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT I ENJOYED:

• Lee @ Bibliophile Tings wrote a great review of So Let Them Burn!
• Yolanda @ Past Midnight had a great Top Ten Tuesday on books she’s excited about, but hasn’t read yet!
• aimee @ aimee can read catalogues the beginning of her summer reading challenges journey!

SONGS/ALBUMS I’VE BEEN ENJOYING:

Today’s song:

That’s it for this month in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!