Bookish Thoughts for May
I renewed my subscription to Kindle Unlimited this month and plowed through quite a few new releases from my favorite independent authors! I also dove back into reading through Courtney Walsh’s books. I reread books by Emma St. Clair to prepare for her new June release, The Pocket Pair. All my fiction was in the solid three star camp this month. I liked the books, but none of them were a new favorite. Just good stories to add joy to my day. I only read one non-fiction book this month. I feel a bit guilty about that. I have four non-fiction books on my TBR list at the moment. I’ll try to prioritize them in June. I have a strong pull to stories and it won this month. Since picking my favorites was too difficult this month, I thought I would write a short thought about each book I read.
My boys gave me an Amazon gift card for Mother’s Day and told me it was for books. I ordered two devotionals and a book by John Mark Comer. I’m slowly trying to add all his books to my home library. I’m using The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days alongside my daily quiet time. When I finish, I plan to switch to Bob Goff’s devotional, Live in Grace, Walk in Love: A 365-Day Journey.
The current theme with my boys is birds. Below is their choice for their June books. Additionally, they each spent their own dollars and purchased used books from Thriftbooks this month. They fell in love with the books in the library birding backpack and wanted their own copies. Graham selected Birds of the Puget Sound Region and Owen picked The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Western Region. They are in a bird nerd phase at the moment. Reference books are always a fun addition to our home library. (Okay, I think most books are a good addition to our home library…)
The Book List for May
1 Star = I did not like it. 2 stars = It was okay. 3 stars = I liked it. 4 stars = I really liked it. 5 stars = It was amazing.
Non-Fiction:
- Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown PhD. LMSW – 4 stars – Through research and stories, Brown shares how to grow and rise up after challenges and failures. Not an easy topic, but such good insight.
Fiction: All 3 stars
- The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart – Quirky characters and suspenseful adventure.
- Ripped & Shipped by Savannah Scott – The title made me cringe, but it was book 7 in a series and I’m a sucker for reading a whole series. Loved the focus on looking past stereotypes and not letting past prejudice define the future.
- Why Trey Let Me Get Away by Kortney Keisel – A sports romcom. Loved the teammate involvement and acknowledgement of the 5 Love Languages.
- Desire or Defense by Leah Brunner – Another sports romcom. The teammate involvement made the book!
- That Time I Kissed the Groomsman Grump by Julie Christianson – A spin-off of her Apple Valley series. I enjoy reconnecting with characters I’ve met in multiple books.
- Juniper Bean Resorts to Murder by Gracie Ruth Mitchell – I was drawn to the idea of an author who kept killing off her main characters unintentionally.
- How to Kiss Your Enemy by Jenny Proctor – I enjoy the farm setting in this series and how each book reveals more about the Hawthorne family.
- Kissing for Keeps by Martha Keyes – A follow-up to a Christmas novel I read and the start of a new series.
- Hometown Girl by Courtney Walsh – Small town Hallmark vibes with a kidnapping cold case to solve.
- The Buy-In by Emma St. Clair – First book in the Graham brother’s series, I read it to refresh my memory before the next book comes out in June.
- The Bluff by Emma St. Clair – Second book in the series, same as before.
- Things Left Unsaid by Courtney Walsh – Great focus on forgiveness, honesty, and healing from the past.
- A Sweethaven Summer by Courtney Walsh – Finding friendship and family in a small Lake Michigan tourist town.
- A Sweethaven Homecoming by Courtney Walsh – Book two, focuses on forgiveness and coming home to family.
Amy Scott's Thoughts 