What are we reading in May?

Happy May, everyone! What are you reading this month? I finished Jasmine Guillory's The Proposal and am now reading Soniah Kamal's Unmarriageable.

I am reading Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer, Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro and listening to The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien.

I've started Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks and just picked up The World's Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne at the library.

Currently working my way through Jane Eyre, which I was enticed to finally pick up after reading Lyndsay Faye's retelling of the story in Jane Steele. I probably should have read the two books in reverse order...

Today I finished The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick deWitt (a re-read), and started The 12:30 from Croydon, by Freeman Wills Crofts.

I'm really excited for some books I've got scheduled this month, but I'm afraid I'm currently wandering through three books that are all leaving me somewhat underwhelmed:

Bug Boys
Godslayer
Devil May Cry

Of the three, Bug Boys is most original, and Godslayer is the most well written. Devil May Cry is the fastest-reading, but it's just a bit clunky.

So, as you can guess, I'm anxious to finish them and move on, and I'm getting there...

My latest bus book is my first entry in my French category: Mourir sur Seine, by Michel Bussi.

I've also started The Fated Sky, by Mary Robinette Kowal.

I am currently reading The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo, part of the Harry Hole series. I hve also started The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo, a historical fiction novel filled with Chinese folklore.

I finished a swords and sorcery short story collection, Flashing Swords! #5: Demons and Daggers, and am now almost halfway through Blood Rites, the 6th book in The Dresden Files.

I've just begun Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and am liking it so far.

I've finished Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks for one of my book clubs and am going to start Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens for my other book club. Plus I have a library book that I need to start.

I'm hoping that tonight I can finally carve out some time and finish up The Fated Sky, by Mary Robinette Kowal. It was supposed to be my lunch book this week, but I've been eating at my desk because I'm trying to put everything to bed before going on vacation (as of Friday p.m., woo hoo!!!).

I've just started Last of Her Name by Jessica Khoury.

I'm rotating between the following: Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut, The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway, The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo, and The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan.

I am reading Waltz Into Darkness by Cornell Woolrich, Beartown by Fredrik Backman and still plugging away at Adam Bede by installments.

I finished Blood Rites last night - very exciting! and now I'm jumping back and forth between William Henry Harrison, a short bio of the president with the shortest tenure in office, and Backwater the second novel in Pilgrimage - maybe I can finish them both this month this way!

Yesterday I finished When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson and loved it. Last night I started my book club's selection for this month Becoming Mrs. Lewis, and I'm not warming to it yet. I'm reading Dick Francis mysteries along with a group on the 75 Challenge and I'm going to start the next one, Reflex later today.

Managed to get an audiobook read on a long drive today: Dalek Empire 1.2: The Human Factor (a Big Finish audio drama). Now to catch up with a bunch of Serial Reader issues of Tom Jones.

I finished Well-Read Black Girl and Elephants Can Remember. Next up is Tar Baby, a book that was referenced in Well-Read Black Girl. I have read very little Toni Morrison, I think I always felt intimidated, that I "wouldn't get it". I am going to keep trying though.

Now that my Australian guest has gone home, life has settled down and I am back to reading. During her visit I managed about 20 pages of The sixth heaven by L.P. Hartley, the second book in the trilogy Eustace and Hilda. I hope to finish that soon (it's quite short). While putting everything back in place and doing laundry I've been listening to The golden tresses of the dead by Alan Bradley.

I've decided that I need to start The World's Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne which needs to be back at the library soon.

I am focusing on Lies Sleeping, by Ben Aaronovitch, today. It's due back on Tuesday and has a bunch of holds on it. Fortunately I should be able to get it done today :)

I finished My Body My Choice, an ER that is more timely than I would've liked. I also finished another ER, Things That Fall From the Sky, a very quirky book that is hard to categorize. Then I got back to Pilgrimage I, starting the third novel, Honeycomb. I think I will read it along with Dead Beat, the 7th book in the Dresden Files.

I'm working on Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens for my book club next month and Think of a Number by John Verdon which I started on the plane last night.

I'm reading The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag, which is a lot of fun. 18th century Stockholm was smelly!

I'm reading There There by Tommy Orange and will also start The Dry by Jane Harper soon.

I'm making my way through Honeycomb and decided to read The Lord of the Flies on the side - what a read so far! I was not expecting it to be such a page turner!

Recently finished Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie and Some Die Eloquent by Catherine Aird. Almost finished with Whisper of Death by Patricia Wynn and Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.

At last I just finished The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

I just longed to get to the end of this one. Two thirds into the book I wanted to abandon it but I felt I had too much time invested in it so kept on going. What a slog!

Set in 1922 the story begins with a mother and daughter in straitened circumstances being forced to open their home to lodgers. The background of genteel poverty opens up many opportunities, after all, it's been a topic for many writers in the history of English literature, but Waters can't pull it off. The characters, are poorly developed, the writing is repetitive and overwrought, there is just too much going on and even then it's boring, especially the graphic sex element. The bloody parts were bloodier than the seriously grisly crime novel I'm reading. Far too long, it could have been cut by half and would have been improved.

What I didn't like about this book would fill pages. However, Juliet Stevenson's flawless narration raised my rating far above what it would have been if I'd read the print version.

Finished the delightful Swing, Swing Together, by Peter Lovesey, and started Maigret Stonewalled, by Georges Simenon.

I finished Pilgrimage 1 last weekend and Six Moon Dance today for a productive reading month!