What are we reading in May?

Happy May, everyone! What are you reading this month? I've begun Anne Gracie's Marry in Secret, the third book in her Marriage of Convenience series. Please share what you're reading or planning to read below!

Happy first of May, everyone! I am reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and The Tiger Queens by Stephanie Thornton.

In audio, I'm wrapping up The Beggar King (The Hangman's Daughter #3; by Oliver Pötzsch; narrated by Grover Gardner) today and then will jump into Last Act in Palmyra (Marcus Didius Falco #6; by Lindsey Davis; narrated by Simon Prebble).

In print, I'm re-reading The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot #4; by Agatha Christie).

I've been listening to Olive and Mabel by Andrew Cotter which is a BB I took from Jackie_K and I've just started one of my AlphaKit books The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny.

I just started New Beginnings at Wildflower Lock which is a romcom set on a canal in England and The Princess Protection Program for NetGalley which is humorous so far.

I’m still reading How to Be Both by Ali Smith and Bean Counters: The Triumph of the Accountants and How They Broke Capitalism by Richard Brooks. I’m also reading The Passion by Jeanette Winterson and Mirrorland (audiobook) by Carole Johnstone. Most of these are potential BingoDog reads.

This month I’m also planning to read The City and the City by China Miéville and Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke for the PrizeCAT and SFFKit, respectively.

I started the month finishing Victory Over Japan, a short story collection with very offbeat characters. I've moved onto Darling Girls.

I am reading The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride for a book club and In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen for Julia (ROOTs), and later this month Molly Molloy and the Angel of Death by Maria Vale for another book club. Also, for pleasure I'll be reading Why To Kill a Mockingbird Matters by Tom Santopietro, a book I heard about in my adult education To Kill a Mockingbird class last month. I borrowed Santopietro's book from our local libary, but ordered a copy for myself so that I could make notes in it.

Currently working on Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin. Really enjoying it so far.

I've begun Emily Henry's new book, Funny Story, and am liking it so far!

I finished Venetia by Georgette Heyer on paper.
Sidesplitter is probably next.

Still listening to Murder most royal in the car.

I'm continuing with Alias Grace, which is really great so far, and have started The Secrets of Art, a beautiful and very interesting book.

Finished New Beginnings at Wildflower Lock and moved on to Rebecca for our community book club.

Finished listening to Murder most royal. Next up for the ears is The Pursued.
Started Sidesplitter on paper. So far not convinced.

Still engrossed in The Once and Future King and finishing Last Train from Atlanta. And going to finish Mothers of Feminism as well. Not sure which challenge I'll pick yet.

I'm reading The Spirit Lens by Carol Berg...I bought this entire trilogy in the early 2010s and am just now getting to it!

Just finished Rebecca which was as creepy as the last time I read it (many years ago when my high school girlfriends and I read lots of gothic novels.)

>16 christina_reads: I've owned book one for just as long and still haven't gotten to it. Will be interested to see what you think.

Finished Sidesplitter on paper. mixed response from me.
Next up is Steeple Chasing, which i was lent ages ago and ought to return.

Still listening to The Pursued.

>18 staci426: I just posted a review at my thread. Short version: I have mixed feelings but liked it enough to continue with the series.

I'm now starting book #2 of India Holton's Dangerous Damsels series, The League of Gentlewomen Witches.

Currently reading Six wakes by Mur Lafferty. Clones, murders, spaceships and mayhem. A little on the gory side - I had to take a few breaks and read ahead when someone lost an eye in too graphic details for my delicate sensibilities

I am reading The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham and Sentinels of Fire by P. T. Deutermann, both of which I am enjoying.

I am currently reading Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure and A Match for The Reluctant Bride.

I'm reading The Smile of the Stranger by Joan Aitken and William: An Englishman by Cicely Hamilton.

I'm still reading The Once and Future King and also pulled out my copy of Erec and Enide for this month's HistoryCAT challenge.

I've started Deadly Nightshade by Elizabeth Daly and I just picked up The Alice Network by Kate Quinn from the library which will be a reread for me but it's next month's book club pick, so I thought I'd refresh my thoughts on it.

Finished listening to Last Act in Palmyra (Marcus Didius Falco #6 by Lindsey Davis; narrated by Simon Prebble) and am officially caught up with the Investigators - Ancient and Modern - Mystery Series Group Read in the 75 Books Challenge for 2024 and able to add another title to the RTT Quarterly April-June 2024: Ancient/Biblical Times thread where I’m focusing on Ancient Rome and more specifically on Vespasian’s reign.

I’ve started the next book in Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, Wizard and Glass (narrated by Frank Muller).

I'm very much enjoying Real Americans.

Finished reading The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot #4; by Agatha Christie) Technically a re-read but I had forgotten the trick of the book so was surprised by the resolution of this whodunnit!

Yesterday I read The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay and Diaries: Bringing Jane Austen's Novel to Film, which contains the final shooting script of the film and Emma Thompson's diaries during shooting. A fun behind-the-scenes look at an excellent movie -- Thompson's diaries are hilarious!

Now I'm beginning The Montesoro Legacy by Stella Riley, the final book in the Brandon Brothers trilogy.

>29 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd decades ago and because I remembered whodunnit, I didn't get around to a reread until recently. As I was reading I almost convinced myself that I had mis-remembered the culprit. The ending was a surprise for me too.

I've added Open Secrets by Alice Munro to my current reading list after reading of her death yesterday.

Feeling in need of a quiet read, I'm starting Listening Valley by D.E. Stevenson.

Finished The Pursued on audio, now listening to The Tidal Zone.
Finished Steeple Chasing on paper, now reading Pearl

I just finished listening to The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue which I enjoyed very much.

I just finished Nonna Maria and the Case of the Lost Treasure. I am still reading A Match for the Reluctant Bride.

I finshed How to Be Both by Ali Smith, Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone, The City & the City by China Miéville, and the audiobook of Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders.

I’m still reading Bean Counters: The Triumph of the Accountants and How They Broke Capitalism by Richard Brooks (which I probably won’t finish anytime soon) and The Passion by Jeanette Winterson.

I started Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke and the audiobook of We by Yevgeny Zamyatin.

I'm reading The Chinaman by Friedrich Glauser, which I'm enjoying, and Bel Lamington by D. E. Stevenson because I wanted something that wouldn't keep me awake, but I'm annoyed with her, which defeats the purpose.

Over the weekend I read Anne Gracie's Marry in Scarlet, and I'm now beginning Pointe of Pride by Chloe Angyal.

Finished Pearl, next up on paper is Ithaca.
Still listening to The Tidal Zone

I am readingThe End of Her, and will see what's next.

I am reading Murder Goes Jazz (A Dodo Dorchester Mystery Book 10) which is about a murder that occurs at a secret jazz club in London during the 1920's.

Finished The Name of the Rose (by Umberto Eco; translated from the Italian by William Weaver) and;
When She Loves: A Dark Mafia, Arranged Marriage Romance (The Fallen Book #4; by Gabrielle Sands).

I have been dithering for the past hour as to what to read next and have landed on The Tailor of Panama (by John LeCarré).

I am currently reading a vintage mystery entitled The Ginger Cat Mystery by Robin Forsythe, and about to start Daisy Jones & the Six.

I'm starting Locked in Pursuit by Ashley Weaver, book #4 in the Electra McDonnell series.

I'm also rereading Impossible Things, a short story collection by Connie Willis. I've decided to read one story each night before bed, which should take me through the end of the month.

I'm reading The Devil's Flute Murders by Seishi Yokomizo, first published in 1953, and set in 1947. Despite a clunky translation and far too many people whose names start with "O" I'm caught up in the story. It's the fourth Kasuki Kindaichi mystery I've read. The Village of Eight Graves is on my Kindle and Death on Gokumon Island is on the Kobo. There are currently no others translated into English, but The Little Sparrow Murders is on the way.

I'm reading Lake County, which is pretty good so far.

I just started The Lantern's Dance by Laurie King.

I'm about to start The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. I was so excited about the description and blurbs of this novel that I preordered it, so I have high expectations but am worried about being disappointed!

My MysteryKIT choice for May is A Deed Without a Name by Dorothy Bowers which is going really slowly. After a week, I'm only on page 46. While the massive Fall of Giants by Ken Follett has zipped by surprisingly quickly.

>51 VivienneR: I thought this one was so-so. Seems that you think the same.

I finished Erec and Enide and started Dragonflight by Anne McCaffery. Getting towards the end of The Once and Future King, too. The part where it becomes heartbreaking.

I've just finished rereading The Alice Network by Kate Quinn which is our book club selection for next month.

Just finished Heartstopper, Volume 5, by Alice Oseman. I'll probably continue the graphic novel trend with A Man and His Cat, Vol. 10, by Umi Sakurai (translated by Taylor Engel)

I started The Last Mrs. Parrish, then decided against continuing with it, at least for now. I started Michael McDonald's memoir, What a Fool Believes, and I'm not sure what else is next.

Today I finished Death Comes As The End by Agatha Christie and also read Pole Poppenspäler by Theodor Storm, a short novella. Now I am starting Bangkok Wakes To Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad.

On audio, I am listening to All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot, although I decided to break it up from time to time by other short audiobooks because the episodic structure makes it a bit hard to listen to it in one go.

I finished The Lantern's Dance and just started Hard Cider Abbey and Murder on the Med.

I'm reading The Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet and Death on Gokumon Island by Seishi Yokomizo.

Just finished The Tailor of Panama (by John LeCarré) - Not one of my favorites. The characters & plot were al there, but it lacked the gravitas and tension of JLC's previous works. Still, a lesser LeCarré is better than most spy thrillers!

I'm thinking of picking up a children's book next, The Wide Window (Series of Unfortunate Events #3; by Lemony Snicket) and knocking it out before I head out for a couple days of vacation :-)

I've begun Lady Elizabeth's Comet by Sheila Simonson and am enjoying it so far! It's narrated in the first person, which is unusual for a Regency romance.

Also still working on Impossible Things by Connie Willis, sticking with my "one story per day" plan.

I’m still plugging away at Bean Counters, but I finished The Passion by Jeanette Winterson, Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke, and the audiobook of We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. The Passion was a beautiful book, like most of Winterson’s, but sadder than many.

I’ve started A Most Remarkable Creature by Jonathan Meiburg, which is an interesting discourse about carcaras, touching on writings by 19th century natural historians Charles Darwin and W.H. Hudson and contemporary ecologists and ornithologists, as well as the author’s own experiences observing these birds.

I’ve also started I Am Alive by Kettly Mars, a novel about a family coping with a family member’s schizophrenia after the earthquake in Haiti closes the institution where he’s lived for over 40 years, which was recommended to me by purpleiris, and the audiobook of The Down Days by Ilze Hugo.

Trying to squeeze in one last May read with Ngaio Marsh's Overture to Death.

I finished Alias Grace last week and And Then There Were None today, and have just started Labyrinth, which I won't finish this month, oh well! And continuing with The Secrets of Art.

Started Desolation Island (Aubrey/Maturin #5; by Patrick O’Brian) - Captain Jack Aubrey heads to the Spice Islands with a mission to assess the situation with Captain Bligh, a cargo of criminals to drop off at Botany Bay, and a heartbroken ship’s surgeon. Perfect vacation read 🙂

I am halfway through James, and enjoying it very much.

Stayed up late and got up early to finish Desolation Island (see “65” above). The book ends with only a portion of the voyage to the Spice Islands completed— and though this arc is satisfactory in its close, I’m eager for the next leg of the journey!