What I’m Reading (May 2018)

It can be totally overwhelming to pick a new book, and when reading time is limited I want to make sure that my choices are going to be well worth it. About once a month, I share my reading list in the hopes that it makes your reading list a bit easier to navigate and, more importantly, helps you discover books you really love. After all, life is too short to read books you don’t enjoy!

I’m linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy to share my reading list this month.

On My Nightstand This Month

This post contains Amazon affiliate links which allow me to earn a small commission from your purchase (at no cost to you). For more info, see my full disclosure policy.

Brain on Fire: My Month of  Madness by Susannah Cahalan

This book was released several years ago but my book club picked it up for our read this month, and boy, could I not put this one down! Susannah Cahalan is a reporter for The New York Post and uses her investigative skills to piece together a month of her life that she doesn’t remember. From doctors notes to hospital video tapes and even her dad’s own diary, Cahalan tries to figure out what happened as her brain attached itself and she slowly slipped away. This reads like a super intense episode of the medical drama House and I found myself anxiously reading along, even when I knew the outcome. Great discussions in book club about identity and personality and the powerful but mysterious workings of our brains.

Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon

I will confess that my knowledge of the Hindenburg disaster was pretty limited to a blimp explosion sometime during the first half of the 20th century, but another reader turned me towards Flight of Dreams because of my interest in WWII. This work of historical fiction is very much based on the facts of the final flight of the famous German blimp and uses multiple narrators to explore one possible explanation for this horrific disaster. Each section of the book features a countdown to the explosion and I found myself reading faster and faster even though I knew what was coming. Intriguing and interesting characters made this a great read.

Dear Farhenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks: A Librarian’s Love Letters and Breakup Notes to the Books in Her Life by Annie Spence

You know a book is good when your snort laughing is so loud it wakes up your sleeping husband. This silly and satirical book is full of Annie Spence’s (my new favorite sassy librarian) letters to the books she finds on her shelves. Some are love letters to books she adores and others are bitingly funny break-up notes to the books that are being retired. Each short chapter is a different letter and as a book lover, my TBR list was overflowing by the end of it. This is a easy book to pick up and read in small sections since you don’t have to follow a long story. Just keep a notebook handy to write down all those new suggestions.

By the Book by Julia Sonneborn

A modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion – Anne Corey is an English professor at a small liberal arts college in California who is struggling to gain tenure while also figuring out why she is so alone. When a former boyfriend is appointed the college’s new president and a charming best selling author joins the faculty, Anne finds herself having to decide what kind of life she truly wants. Having taught in higher ed for years myself, this was an especially funny look at the life of a professor. The English department chair’s emails are worth reading the whole book for! This was just the light and breezy read I needed after a heavier book, and if you enjoy a good (albeit fluffy) Austen retelling, this the book for you.

The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah

This intense but beautifully descriptive story follows Leni from the time she first arrives in the tiny Alaskan town of Kaneq at the edge of the wilderness. Without giving away too much, this is a coming of age story about family, love, loyalty, and most of all, survival. There are plenty of triggers especially around domestic violence, and this is not a book for the squeamish reader but I found the story heartbreakingly honest and illuminating into the complexities of our relationships with each other. The supporting characters in Leni’s life are a delight and ultimately the entire book is a love letter to Alaska and its harsh beauty.

The Case for Jamie (Charlotte Holmes #3) by Brittany Cavallaro

I loved the first book of this Sherlock Holmes tribute but the second book was a confusing and poorly executed follow up so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this third installment. The series features descendants of the famous detective team and we once again see teenagers Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes entangled in the ongoing feud with the Moriarty family. I was happy that this book featured a stronger plot line and tied up many loose ends from book two. I love the relationship between Holmes and Watson through the lens of YA, and overall, the series is worth it, especially since you can binge all three books together now.

Click to Pin for Later

What was your favorite read this month? Have you read any of these books before? I’d love to hear what’s on your nightstand so leave a comment below!

PS. As always, you can find all my book recommendations here.