Month in Review: May 2020

Well, friends, I'm really not sure how to wrap up the month of May. It's been a little unreal to see everything that's happened in the last month, and between some of my own personal life issues, COVID, the recent protests, and the general uncertainty in the air these days, I'm sure we're all feeling upset, overwhelmed, stressed, anxious, and, if you're like me, feeling pretty lost about what to do these days. I'd like to keep this wrap-up as positive as can be as I usually do, though. That being said, I do want to take a moment to say that I am here to support the Black Lives Matter movement and I've been taking some time to really think about what things I can do differently to make a change, not only to improve my own understandings, but to maybe help others understand as well. I know that I have privilege as a white woman and I'd like both learn more and use that privilege in a beneficial way. I'm not overly active on my social media these days (maybe one day I'll become active again) so I don't post much there, but I do more frequently post on Tumblr and I've decided to bring back my indie bookstore spotlight posts, but this time focusing on some Black-owned bookstores that we can all hopefully try to make it a point to support from here on out. It's not much, but it's something that I can easily start doing today.

In book related news, despite everything I still somehow managed to have a pretty good reading month overall! My local library is still unfortunately (but understandably) closed and ARC shipping has slowed down a bit it seems, so it's allowed me to really spend some time digging through my backlog of owned books that I've gotten as gifts and from library sales over the years. It's actually been pretty satisfying to actually go through and read some books I've been sitting on for a while, though I am missing being able to request physical books from my library. One of my most anticipated releases, Rule, was finally released and I had such a wonderful time diving back into the world created by Rowenna Miller. I also loved Catherine House, The Unsuitable, and Blood & Beauty! There were only two books that didn't majorly click with me this past month (The Last Neanderthal and The Clan of the Cave Bear), so I'll take that as pretty good overall. :)

In the end, I think it was a pretty good reading month despite the extreme anxiety I've been battling over the past month. June is shaping up to be another anxiety-filled month for me, but I'm really trying to work on calming myself and trying to adapt to changes in my life in the best way I can--and hopefully being able to do so while focusing on reading! I also just started a summer course for my grad program (“Race and Identity in Ancient Greece & Rome”—pretty timely, it seems), so I have a little more work now as well, but hopefully not too much.

How was your reading month? Did you read any great books? Have you read any of the books I read? Let me know, I'd love to chat about any and all the books!

# books read: 13
 

Sepulchre by Kate Mosse ★★★★
Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas ★★★★★
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart ★★★★
Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave ★★★★★
Source: Owned | Format: Paperback

Olive the Lionheart: Lost Love, Imperial Spies, and One Woman's Journey to the Heart of Africa by Brad Ricca ★★★★★
Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

The Unsuitable by Molly Pohlig ★★★★★
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

Blood & Beauty by Sarah Dunant ★★★★
Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover

The Little Friend by Donna Tartt ★★★★
Source: Owned | Format: Paperback

Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella ★★★

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron ★★ 
Source: Borrowed | Format: Paperback

Night by Alexandria Warwick  ★★★★
Source: Author | Format: Physical ARC

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel ★★★★★
Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover

Rule by Rowenna Miller  ★★★★★
Source: Owned | Format: Paperback

The Mother Code by Carole Stivers ★★★★
Stealing Thunder by Alina Boyden ★★★
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas ★★★★★
Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault ★★★★
The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon ★★★★
The Unsuitable by Molly Pohlig ★★★★★
Red Queen by Christina Henry ★★★★★
Blood of Wonderland by Colleen Oakes ★★★★★
Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella ★★★


(other than reviews)

Month in Review: May 2020
If You Like... You Might Also Like... (Part 4 of ?)
Anticipated June 2020 Releases!

Top Five/Ten Tuesday:
Sepulchre by Kate Mosse & The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Most Recent DNFs and Series I Don't Plan to Continue
Reasons Why I Love Covers With Beautiful & Creative Typography

Can't-Wait Wednesday:
5/6: A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H.G. Parry & The Angel of Crows by Katherine Addison
5/13: The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso & The Court of Miracles by Keslier Grant
5/20: Robin Hood Edition! The Ghosts of Sherwood by Carrie Vaughn & Hood by Jenny Elder Moke
5/27: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Sisters of Sword and Song by Rebecca Ross, & Seasons of the Storm by Elle Cosimano

The Friday Face-Off:
Graphic Novel
Sorrow

Have you read any of these? What books did you read this month? I hope you all had a great month-- comment below and let me know!