Books I Read in May 2022

This month was a somewhat complicated reading month coming off the high of April's 10 books. I finished five books, didn't finish (DNF'd) four books, and am going to put two books on the backburner temporarily. The past few months, I've played around with making a monthly "to be read" (TBR) list to sort of focus my reading goals, read books that have maybe been pushed to the back of the pile for too long, and to rein in my mood reading tendencies. This has worked great for the most part, but this month sort of felt like it began to unravel. Mostly because two of the seven books I picked for my TBR are being paused for now. This is partially because I was kind of excited to read them in the beginning of the month, but then lost steam toward the end when I actually got to them. But, I used to do this a lot in the past: I'd start books, and then just let them sit until I felt like getting back to them. I have to remind myself: reading is a hobby. It's not a task to accomplish. Books are allowed to sit unread for a while, and I can get back to them whenever I want to. So, that will be the case for The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, and Reynard the Fox by Anne Louise Avery.

Now, onto the reviews!

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Shelves: Beach Reads, Horror-Thriller, Favorites

Review: This book shocked me. The characters were vapid and terrible - a hot mess, but the writing was good and I thought the building suspense was pretty good! I don't normally read books like this so I didn't see the ending coming at all. I also thought the author could have taken multiple opportunities to make this novel gruesome, and didn't (which was great for me). I managed to read this in, like, two evenings I think. Super quick to get through.

This novel made me feel like I was living a nightmare I never knew I had, and that is something I can appreciate in this genre! It would make a perfect beach read. But be warned, the characters and this book overall won't be for everyone. I was surprised it was for me. One of those books that I couldn't stop thinking about after I read, a real trip of a read.

Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Shelves: Beach Reads, Favorites, Memoir-Biography, Nonfiction

Review: If you're a fan of Stanley Tucci and are familiar with his persona, I think you'll enjoy this book. It was an absolute delight to read and includes 25 well-loved recipes spanning from his childhood to now. His tone and personality showed through charmingly, and while he does name drop quite a bit, I didn't find any of it to be overly pretentious or outside of my expectations. It felt like he was showing love to the people he knew (who happen to be famous, lol).

I don't have too much else to say about this other than this was one of the more enjoyable memoirs I've read in a while. He's funny, acknowledges his privileged lifestyle while also sharing bits of his life before acting, and takes us briefly through some of the hardships he's experienced. He moves somewhat chronologically through his life with food being the constant theme. He tends to ramble somewhat consistently, straying off topic a few times, but I didn't find it to detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. It was a lot of fun but also sad in parts, as a life tends to be. And it could easily be a quick read to devour in a couple of sittings (ahh, see what I did there, lol). Really loved this, and now I think I need to go watch a Stanley Tucci film!

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

Shelves: Historical Fiction, Modern Lit

Review: Moloka'i is one of the best researched historical fiction novels I've read in a long time. It's clear that the author put in a lot of time and effort to make this a novel that respected Hawaiian culture and history while aiming to do justice and honor to those who suffered through isolation in the Kalaupapa peninsula during the height of the Hansen's Disease epidemic on the islands. This was an ambitious topic to tackle, especially in a novel format, which I think Brennert mostly succeeded in doing.

However, I took issue with two things: (1) Brennert failed to write women well in most of the intimate scenes he included in this book. The language surrounding them was clunky and awkward, abrupt and ineloquent. And (2) he put a lot of sadness, pain, trauma, and grief on the main character throughout the entire book without much of a break. This novel is very heavy the majority of the time, and I felt Brennert pushed the boundary almost too much as to how much sadness you can give one person and ask the reader to follow along for.

Did the book come around in the end? Yes. I am still more glad that I read it than disappointed in its short-comings (to me personally). I think this is an excellent novel to pick up if you have any interest in Hawaiian culture and history, just with those two things to consider.

In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain by Tom Vitale

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: All-Time Favorites, Memoir-Biography, Nonfiction, Travel

Review: In the Weeds is probably one of the most authentic memoirs I've read in a long time. Vitale paints a very real picture of the work, both mentally and physically, that it took to make Bourdain's shows as well as the relationship he had with this larger-than-life personality. It was sad but also beautiful and enlightening.

Vitale wrote about at least 8-10 of the many places they traveled to, and explored his identity in relation to Bourdain when so much of his life was spent around him. Bourdain's suicide is mentioned at least once every chapter because Vitale was using this memoir to process his grief surrounding it. He shows the good, the bad, and the ugly of both Anthony Bourdain and his experience as the producer and/or director of these shows. Vitale writes,

"Tony brought so much joy as well as so much pain. Though I don't think he did it on purpose, Tony's demons ensured he was a difficult and, at times, fearsome person to be around. Anthony Bourdain was a great man, even though he could, at times, be a less successful human being."

I feel this quote from the book sums up what it's about pretty accurately: "Is there such a thing as vacation of a lifetime PTSD where your main tormentor is also your hero, mentor, and boss? After having had these intense experiences of being in the trenches together with Tony and with the crew, sharing these adrenaline-inducing, life-altering experiences, going back to my regular life felt like the real trauma. It was all some Gordian knot of irreconcilable contradictions. Basically, a giant mind fuck." It was very well-written, poignant, and asked important questions about the impact of travel and shows like those they made. If you're into travel memoirs, but also a fan of Anthony Bourdain, I think this is a very real picture of the man that he was but also the incredible effort it took his entire team to create the things he put out into the world.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

Shelves: Beach Reads, Favorites, Chick Lit, Romance

Review: I thought this book was really fun and I think I sort of love the friends-to-lovers trope. I lived for Poppy and Alex's friendship and chemistry. To me, this book falls in line with other beach read/chick lit books, but I liked it a lot better than the more recent ones I've read. Maybe because of travel being a main component, maybe because they were opposites who became friends. I also really enjoyed Emily Henry's writing style - she wrote this book in a way I picture myself writing these kinds of books.

The third act nonsense did make me drop the rating slightly. Some of the things that happened didn't feel totally authentic to the characters, or didn't seem totally believable based on what I read. But I pretty much enjoyed everything else. This was such a fun, quick read that I was totally on board for. Is it predictable? Of course. I know this is hit or miss for some, but it's my first Emily Henry book and I liked it a lot. Definitely a good vacation read! :)

Did Not Finish

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Rating: N/A

Shelves: Fantasy, Magical Realism, D-N-F

Review: A DNF from me around 50%. I didn't care about the characters even though the writing is good and the story idea is super creative! It just moved so slowly, and when I'm promised a life-or-death duel between two magicians on the back cover, I expect drama and a fast-paced storyline. I got neither, and unfortunately, the pretty writing alone couldn't hold my interest. I just couldn't get into it!

Wolfsong: Moonrise #1 by Ignatz Dovidans

Rating: N/A

Shelves: Fantasy, Novella, D-N-F

Review: Another one I just couldn't get into. DNF around 35 pgs. in. The writing style felt like it could have been tightened up a lot more, and I wasn't really able to connect with the characters.

The Car Share by Zoe Brisby

Rating: N/A

Shelves: Beach Reads, Chick Lit, Modern Lit, D-N-F

Review: I gave this book four chapters, and found myself annoyed with the characters and the way the book was written. When one of the main characters says they went into a clinical depression because someone they were stalking (and had never talked to) started dating someone else, I knew I had to stop reading. I'm sure the characters have the potential to grow on you, but I wasn't interested in giving it another chance.

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

Rating: N/A

Shelves: Historical Fiction, D-N-F

Review: I stopped around 33% on my second try of reading this because I wanted to like this book so much. It was just so. slow. In addition, there were so many characters, and they were hard to keep track of because they all felt equally boring. I lacked sympathy or feeling for most of them. I didn't really care about the storylines for any of them. I guess I also wasn't a big fan of the writing style. Sad about it, but not enough to push through a book I just wasn't feeling the first time (or the second time) around.