May was challenging on several levels- personally as well as here online in the book community. Yet it’s been one of the most successful reading months, and before you say it- yes, I said the same thing last month!. The truth is, it really has, as you’ll see from the below wrap up. It’s not so much that I’ve had more time to read, which I really haven’t, but I think because I neglected this site. As a result I just read and read and read and… you know how it goes. So without further ado, here’s my May wrap-up.
What I’ve been up to in May 2019
Well, as I said – I read a lot; I mean a lot for me. You’ll see shortly below. I’ve also been super into podcasts. I’ve been completely obsessed with Crimejunkies’, listening to it pretty much any available moment. In fact it’s currently playing in the background as I’m writing this post. If you haven’t listened to it and like a bit of true crime go check it out over at crimejunkiepodcast.com/blog/. You will not regret it!
I finished 7 books
Hey, this is my first physical ARC copy that I received. I was instantly drawn to the synopsis (shock horror, I actually paid attention to it!). Fixed Odds was a good read and although it didn’t tick all the boxes for me I loved McIntyre’s sense of humor that shines through the narrative very brightly. Check out the full review, and keep an eye out for my stop on the blog tour in July!
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – Stuart Turton
I approached with caution. The super hype surrounding this book was what put me off of it for a long time. Let me tell you, sometimes the hype is worth it, sometimes it isn’t. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle falls in the first category. Totally loved the book – time travel, body hopper, murder mystery whodunnit that keeps you guessing until the very end and will surprise you even if you think you have it all figured out. Trust me, you haven’t! Check out the full review and come talk to me about this book. I might have to re-read this soon!
Hidden Bodies – Caroline Kepnes
Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe…. JOE! Unpopular opinion, I guess, but I love Joe. I missed him after watching and reading “You”, and was pleased to be reunited with him. As usual, Joe gets himself into a bit of a mess and we get to read the near misses, not so near misses and generally get to jump on the roller-coaster ride that is Joe’s life in sunny LA.
Recommended by a colleague, and such a great read! It was twisty, dark and totally pulled the rug from under my feet. It’s a breath of fresh air, super suspenseful and easily a read-in-one-sitting type of book. Big fat yes from me!
The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides (audio)
I wasn’t feeling this for a while; I mean the audio book is good – I like the narrators and everything. Just didn’t feel like I got into the story in the beginning. I was struggling to understand the hype around it. BUT THEN, you know how much your girl loves a twist. It just makes the book for me. So my opinion changed drastically. Worth a read, audio book was easy on the ear and I didn’t give in and listened to the end – and oh boy am I glad I did.
Don’t think I need to say it anymore, but I want to: Belinda Bauer just can’t do wrong in my eyes. I found The Shut Eye interesting, intensely gripping and mysterious. In the end I felt some questions were unanswered but really, I did like it. I enjoyed the character development, I appreciated Anna’s journey to finding her son and I was entertained by the story. Give me Belinda’s book any day of the week.
Hey, check out my first King book. Not only that, it was also our pick for my first ever buddy read. I can totally tell why Stephen King is loved by so many. Pet Sematary ticked all the boxes for me. It was honest, it was raw, it was gripping. King’s writing totally sucked me into the narrative and didn’t release me from it’s grip, even now. Really-really enjoyed this.
I started a further two books
Okay, so what happened this month was that I constantly had two books on the go because of the buddy read. Things happened and I just ended up not having enough time to finish Snow in April nor The Girls Are Gone. Both of them have roughly 100 pages left, so I’m anticipating I will finish them this month. (Would it be cheating if I counted those as my June reads end of this month??)
NetGalley was left in the alley this month (sorry!)
What I mean by that is no NetGalley ARCs were read this month. I was going to read The Chain, but realised there were so many other books I had on my list to read, I decided to save it for.. you guessed it – June!
Current NetGalley TBR:
- The Chain – Adrian McKinty
- The Furies – Katie Lowe (in progress)
- A Nearly Normal Family – M.T. Edvardsson
- What Dementia Teaches Us About Love – Nicci Gerrard
In other news – I splurged on a new Kindle! And I’m loving it. Shame on me. (Sorry, not sorry) I can’t wait to go away on holiday and take all my books with me in one hand. It’s so exciting!
Goodreads updates
In the beginning of 2019, I set myself a target I didn’t think I was able to reach in a million years. It turns out I’m only 8 books away from it!
Needless to say, I’m super proud and VERY happy I’ve managed to read so many books this year already. Most of them 4 and 5 star reads. COME ON!
Bookstagram
I hit a restart in May. I got rid of all my feed and started afresh. It was a tough decision, but honestly I’m pleased. I love the way my new feed looks like, and as it turns out many other people do, too! Go check it out and let me know what you think.
www.instagram.com/bookskatlikes
New books? Hell to the yeah! You know it.
Confession time – I actually did really well with the book buying ban I placed on myself in April.. which was meant to last until end of May. I cracked pretty much in the last week of May, so I did pretty well. But then I went TO TOWN and bought everything.
- Waterstones
An Unwanted Guest – Shari Lapena (OMG I’ve been waiting for this paperback forever!)
- Charity Shop
The Cockoo’s Calling – Robert Galbraith
The Silkworm – Robert Galbraith
Lethal White – Robert Galbraith
The Burning House – Neil Spring
So there – a quick May Wrap-Up!
I’m so pleased with the progress I made with my TBR. Although I’ve gone one step forwards, two steps back – I have so many new exciting books to read. PLUS there are a few blog tours coming up in the next few months. Make sure you subscribe and follow me on Instagram, so that you don’t miss anything! (I’m soooooooooooo thrilled to be bringing some new content to this blog!)
Oooof, I am so embarrassingly behind on my 2019 reading challenge >.> nice work!
Thank you! You still have time to catch up x