May, Etc. | Monthly Favorites, May 2017
Wrapping up some of my May Favorites!
New to the TBR
IT | Stephen King | While this certainly isn't a new book, it is one that has had a surge in popularity recently, thanks to this whacked out movie trailer! With over 28 million views, I have no doubt that the re-boot will be a huge hit come September. If you're interested, @Jobis89 is hosting a weekly discussion in June over on her Instagram. Follow along with the #WeAllFloatReadalong hashtag!
Speaking of books that I can't get away from... This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankl keeps coming up for me. I see it on Instagram, hear it talked about on podcasts. So when I saw that it was just sitting there on the shelf at my local library, I knew I had to finally pick it up. I hear it's better if you go in blind, so here goes nothing...
New to the Bookshelf
In the Woods | Tana French | Set in Dublin, a detective who lost two friends in the woods when he was a child is set to investigate a murder that looks shockingly similar to the unsolved mystery he was involved in as a kid. Part psychological thriller, part police/crime fiction. I saw it for $2 at Half Price Books and couldn't pass it up!
The Dark Tower IV: Song of Susannah | Stephen King | To be honest, I don't know much about this series, other than it's often cited as the favorite series by fans of Stephen King. The only other book I have in this series is Book V, but hope to collect all of the illustrated hardcovers someday. The movie comes out later this year and the trailer looks intense! (What a year for Stephen King movies!)
You Are A Badass: How To Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life | Jen Sincero | This book offers up direct advice on how to stop sabatoging yourself and go after what you want. One of my good friends recommended that I pick this up, and I think he's right in predicting that I'll enjoy it. I really like an inspiring pseudo-self-help book now and again, and this looks like a great blend of humor and motivation.
Into the Water | Paula Hawkins | Hawkins' follow up novel to The Girl on the Train came with a lot of hype. A single mother is the most recent victim to the river in a small town. It looks like suicide, but there's more to what's going on in this town than meets the eye. This was by far and away my most anticipated book for the summer.... and it was just okay. Longer review to come.
Since We Fell | Dennis Lehane | In Since We Fell, a journalist has a very public, on-air, nervous breakdown and becomes a shut in. She's been enjoying her life of relative obscurity until something happens that causes her to further unravel and question everything she thought she knew. The plot does sound like it could be your run of the mill domestic thriller, but I trust Lehane and have high expectations.
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry | Neil deGrasse Tyson | Filed under my most random pickup for May, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry addresses the Big with a capital B questions that humans have been asking themselves for centuries- who are we? How do we fit within the universe? deGrasse makes physics accessible and addresses these questions and more- all in bits that you can read over your morning coffee.
Around #Bookstagram
You know the yellow line next to the train tracks? It's there for a reason... | Working Stiff
Listened
May was a great reading month for me, but I didn't get to finish any audiobooks. I did start On Writing, Americanah, and 1984, but I've yet to finish any. I love audiobooks on long car trips and haven't had any of those recently, so I'll probably get back into these during my busier travel times.
Watched
The Handmaid's Tale | I'm sure you've heard people talking about Hulu's adaptation of Margaret Atwood's classic book, but if you're on the fence then I recommend that you push this to the top of your list. It's a dystopian society where most women and men are infertile. To continue to populate the country, women who are known to be able to have kids are captured and forced into government sanctioned breeding for rich families. It's haunting, thoughtful, creepy, and well done.. Elizabeth Moss acts her ASS of; I heard that she memorized Offred's monologue from the book and went through the lines silently in her head to match her facial expressions with the voiceover. It's insane!
What were your favorite May discoveries?
