May Reads

penny on June 6, 2019

May’s reading was for a bit of this, a bit of that. Mostly fun mindless reads. I enjoyed (and needed) the downtime.

May 2019 Reading List

  1. The World That We Knew★ by Alice Hoffmann
  2. In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
  3. Sparrow Hill Road (Ghost Roads, #1) by Seanan McGuire
  4. It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson
  5. The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
  6. Atlas Alone (Planetfall #4) by Emma Newman
  7. The Girl in the Green Silk Gown (Ghost Roads #2) by Seanan McGuire
  8. Naked in Death (In Death #1) by J. D. Robb
  9. Witchmark (The Kingston Cycle #1) by C. L. Polk
  10. Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal
  11. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
  12. Glory in Death (In Death #2) by J. D. Robb
  13. Immortal in Death (In Death, #3) by J. D. Robb
  14. Year One (Chronicles of The One #1) by Nora Roberts

List of Book Covers for titles read in May 2019

Recommendations

NetGalley Reviews

A ★ indicates I received the title through Netgalley, the FTC wants you to know.

the world that we knew by alice hoffmanThe World That We Knew★
by Alice Hoffmann

I began reading The World That We Knew on Yom HaShoah, it was an unintentional pairing and one I believe brought an extra layer to this magical realism tale set in 1940s Germany. The woven stories of Ettie, Lea, Ava, and those that they love transcends the horrors of the time without making light of any one choice or its ripple effects. Hoffman’s characters make realistic choices amid the brutality.

While The World That We Knew is set in a time of intense horror, it is a story of sacrifice and kindness. It is a story of love and truth. It is a story that needed to be written and needs to be read.

Further recommendations
  1. Witchmark (The Kingston Cycle #1) by C. L. Polk
    This Nebula nominee is well worth the read, for worldbuilding, for characters, and for the magic. It is set in an world that feels like an alternate 20th century England with its own horrible WWI type event. There is magic in this world, but not all can wield it nor can they love. Be warned you’ll have to wait until 2020 for the next book in this Kingston Cycle!
  2. The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
    I’d enjoyed A Dead Djinn in Cairo , also set in this alternate world and this one was a fun quick read too. I hope there will be more. You can read a bit about Clark’s inspiration for this story at his website.
  3. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
    If you haven’t read this one yet, why not? If you can figure out how I’d missed it until now, I’d very much appreciate it. In all the publicity with the release of the show, I reviewed my notes because while I thought I’d read it, I apparently hadn’t. So I did. And if you haven’t yet (or recently) go read it!

Next reads

Still trying to work through my Netgalley backlog (and trying not to request too many new books). I’m also grabbing whatever I can download from the library in audiobook form as I knit and crochet to deadlines.