May 2024 Wrap-Up and June TBR

Plus June releases on my radar and our next Booker of the Month pick

Hi, book friends.

Happy June — a big month for me, because I’m due in just a few weeks. I’m very ready to not be pregnant anymore, but we’re hanging in there. This week has been full of prep work, because I feel a bit like a jack-in-the-box that could pop at any moment and there’s still plenty to do both at work and at home. But I think by Sunday, I’ll be in a much more settled place, which hopefully means the rest of June can feature me on the couch and blazing through my TBR as I wait.

Another exciting thing: ICYMI, I am having wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves built in my dining room, and they’re currently on track to be finished this coming Tuesday! (Will I have the physical stamina to then organize all my books onto said shelves? We will find out. 😅) Stay tuned, because the final reveal is going to be what bookworm dreams are made of.

But before all that happens, we’ve got to close the book on May (ba-dum, tsss). Here’s the wrap-up, my June TBR, and other monthly updates!

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What I Read in May

As I mentioned in my mid-month reading update, May kicked my butt, y’all. Between some busy weekends — especially baby shower weekend, when we hosted about 10 people at our house, plus a dear friend’s wedding all the way in Mississippi — and my waning energy levels, it just wasn’t destined to be a very productive reading month. As of May 19th, I’d only finished three books. But somehow, some way, I managed to buckle down (and swap in a few shorties) to grind out a total of nine.

Still, May felt very slumpy, and I’m not sure if June will feel the same. Alas!

One more thing: Normally, I’d link each title below to my full review on the blog. But I’m very behind (see: waning energy levels), and I’ve only one written so far. In the interest of not putting unnecessary pressure on myself, I won’t delay this newsletter any longer just for the reviews. But I’ll try to have them done before I send the next one so you can go back and read any that catch your eye!

Loved

Unfortunately none this month, but that was probably more about my energy, concentration, and mood than these books.

Liked a lot

• The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley* 📖: A solid literary beach read, tbh.

• All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow 📖🎧: Beautifully written, and loved the autistic representation written by an autistic author.

• Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland* 📖: SO fun, SO funny, and the book that held my attention best during this brain-chaos month. (Warning: Not for those who shy away from characters talking about sex a lot!) It comes out on June 11th!

• The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang* 📖🎧: Very not what I expected (I wouldn’t call this a romance!), but very good.

• We Were the Universe by Kimberly King Parsons* 📖🎧: KKP is such a great writer, and this one tugged at my heart and also made me laugh.

Liked

• The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright 📖🎧: I was mostly not in the right mood for this, I think. Anne Enright’s talent is not to be denied.

• Witch King by Martha Wells 📖🎧: I love worldbuilding, but this one’s took up too much space for a 400-page standalone novel.

No rating

• The Autonomous Freelancer: On Your Own Terms, In Your Own Time, At Your Own Rate by Dominic Kent* 📖: I read this for work, but I do recommend it if you’re considering freelancing full-time!

• How to Baby: A No-Advice-Given Guide to Motherhood, With Drawings by Liana Finck* 📖: Cute!! This would make a great low-key gift for any pregnant person in your life.

*gifted to me by the publisher

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My June TBR Possibilities

This month’s TBR is truly a loose “possibility pile,” because only time will tell what June has in store for me. 😅 And yes, there are a lot of carry-overs here from last month, but I’m genuinely excited to read all of them, so I had to do it!

• My focus this week/weekend will be the rest of the shortlist for the Women’s Prize, which is awarded next week:

  • Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy*

  • Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad

  • Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville

  • River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure

• Then we have some exciting June and early July releases:

  • The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma*: Out 6/4. I wanted to read this last month, but I ran out of time. I’m SO excited.

  • Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo*: Out 6/18. The Most Fun We Ever Had is one of my all-time favorites and I’ve been chasing the feeling it gave me ever since I read it. High hopes here!

  • Bear by Julia Phillips*: Out 6/25. Disappearing Earth is also a favorite and I’ve heard such great things!

  • Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi*: Out 7/9. We LOVE a fantasy novel published by a lit fic imprint, my friends. In this case, it’s Knopf.

  • The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry*: Also out 7/9. I have such a great lineup of beloved authors this month, because Night Boat to Tangier is also a favorite!

• And a bit of miscellany:

  • In Ascension by Martin MacInnes: This month’s Booker of the Month.

  • Starter Villain by John Scalzi: My next read from the list of finalists for this year’s Hugo Award for Best Novel. Scalzi is always a lot of fun!

  • Mirrored Heavens (Between Earth and Sky, #3) by Rebecca Roanhorse: The conclusion to the trilogy that started with Black Sun is finally here!!!

*gifted to me by the publisher

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June Booker of the Month

ICYMI, I run a book club called Booker of the Month, where we read one book from the Booker Prize longlist each month. There are 13, so we double up just once, and by the time next year’s longlist is announced, we’ll have read them all.

This month’s selection is In Ascension by Martin MacInnes. Join us!!

• Get yourself a copy

• Find it on The StoryGraph or Goodreads

• Sign up for our Zoom discussion on Monday, June 24 at 8 PM ET. If I’m in labor (lol) or recovering, the discussion will be led by my dear friends and fellow Bookstagrammers, JC Grenn and Kelly Marble!

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June hot releases

I keep a running list of new releases I’m excited for on my Bookshop storefront, plus a list of recent releases I love or expect to love.

Aside from those mentioned above (The Road to the Country, Mirrored Heavens, Running Close to the Wind, Same as It Ever Was, and Bear), a couple of books that I have my eye on in June include:

• The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

• Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi

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As always, thanks for sharing your corner of the internet with me! It would mean a lot if you were to take a second to like this post. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments, too.

Finally, if you like this newsletter, please send a few friends my way.

See you on Instagram!

— Deedi (she/her)