Video: May Wrap-Up
I say this every month, but May brought lots of good reading opportunities. Here’s a bookish May Wrap-Up. Click each title to read my full reviews.
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
Tom Hazard lives much longer than the average person. This fun trip through time includes brushes with celebrities and historical events. There’s also a hint of melancholy, though, as he mourns his lost love and searches for his missing (also near-immortal) daughter.
Mrs. by Caitlin Macy
Wealthy moms gossip about each other while their husbands chase the dollar in legal and illegal ways. But there’s more to the story than glamour and money. Looking beneath the veneer, we uncover inner yearnings, past misdeeds, and crimes that have gone unpunished.
The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll
Women try to outdo one another as the most beloved and fabulous on a Real Housewives-esque reality show. The competition is deadly. Literally. This book provides an interesting look at women who tear each other down under the guise of empowerment.
A Higher Loyalty by James Comey
Former FBI Director James Comey looks back at his career in law and ruminates on the ethics of serving the public in this nonfiction book. Includes accounts of his work with presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump, high-profile cases, and yes, Hillary Clinton’s emails.
Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall
After a years-long intense relationship, Verity breaks up with Mike and marries another man. But Mike thinks it’s just part of their long-running sex game. As Mike becomes unhinged, we wonder if Verity’s engaging him or if she’s desperately trying to move on.
The Oracle Year by Charles Soule
Will wakes up with a head full of oddly specific predictions. When he releases them in a trickling mix of altruism and profit, the public goes into a frenzy and a high-stakes chase to uncover his identity ensues. Mystical soothsayer or a lying opportunist?
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Oh, Ethan. Take my advice: Don’t go chasing waterfalls, Ethan. Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to. And definitely avoid sleds and pretty, young, impetuous girls who make pickles and donuts for dinner. Read Edith Wharton’s classic for a good harumph.
Wonder by RJ Palacio
Auggie is wondrous in many ways, most of all through his abiding and kind spirit. This story of a fifth grader with a craniofacial difference tugs at the tear ducts as Auggie navigates socializing with his peers. Made for fifth graders, but good reading for grownups, too.
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
Four women explore the seemingly unexplorable Area X. Of course, things go horribly wrong and the land and its native inhabitants pose a danger to the group of explorers. Heavy on setting, the world-building is rich in this book, the first in the Southern Reach trilogy.
For more book review videos, check out my Read Remark channel on YouTube.
Music credit: bensound.com
