Hello Readers! I would like to start by saying that posting a normal monthly book haul post seems strange while my country and the world is hurting. As a person with white privilege, I sometimes feel unequipped to even begin to understand what people of color are going through, have gone through, and will go through. But I want to learn. I want to be someone who lifts up their voices, not ignores them or silences them. I’m starting by educating myself—listening, reading, looking within. Calling out racism when I see it. No longer being silent and looking the other way. Which is hard for a shy introvert, but so important. If you’re a person of color and you see something I need to correct or do better, please don’t hesitate to point it out to me. <3

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(Link to synopsis on Goodreads through the book title.)

My May Book Haul

Much like last month, I still managed to add many books to my physical and virtual shelves, despite being unable to shop in a brick and mortar store. This month I added 21!! and I even managed to read two of them. 😉 Yes, my TBR is out of control. Once again, Paperbackswap came through like a champ. All these people stuck at home must be un-hauling their bookshelves. Their un-haul becomes my haul! I decided to separate my wrap-up and haul this month since they were both so large, but you can check out my wrap-up here!

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My Paperbackswap books

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• 99 Days by Katie Cotugno
• The Truants by Kate Weinberg
• Love & Gelato (Love & Gelato, #1) by Jenna Evans Welch
• The Street by Ann Petry
• Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Paris for One and Other Stories by Jojo Moyes
• Adrift: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Survival at Sea by Tami Oldham Ashcraft
• Winter in Paradise (Paradise, #1) by Elin Hilderbrand

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My Half Price Books Grab Bag

I couldn’t resist trying out Half Price Books grab bag deals over the past few months. I ordered a 1 lb. bag of random legos and 20 random comic books for my son. For myself, I ordered this Fiction Book Grab Bag this month, which was 5 books for $10, and I even got a bonus book. 🙂 I did also get one book I’ve already read and passed on (Grange House), and a copy of The Grapes of Wrath that I already have on my shelf. All of the other selections were new to me and sound great!

• Keeping the World Away by Margaret Forster
• The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
• Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania by Warren St. John
• Killing Mr. Watson (Shadow Country Trilogy, #1) by Peter Matthiessen

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I ordered a copy of Normal People by Sally Rooney when I decided I wanted to watch the new adaptation on Hulu. I read this one quickly, but I think I like the series even more than the book. 🙂

My Review

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I won a copy of Summer Hours by Amy Mason Doan on Instagram, and having read and enjoyed her previous book, The Summer List, I couldn’t wait to pick this one up! I loved it! It’s currently $2.99 on Amazon, as well! 😉

My Review

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The eARCs

I was invited to participate in my first blog tours, but since I’m trying to be extra selective about my ARCs, I only decided to participate in one for now. It’s a memoir that I’m very excited about!

I’ll be spotlighting Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz on June 16th, its paperback publishing birthday!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

One of the Must-Read Books of 2019 According to O: The Oprah Magazine * Time * Bustle * Electric Literature * Publishers Weekly * The Millions * The Week * Good Housekeeping

“There is more life packed on each page of Ordinary Girls than some lives hold in a lifetime.” —Julia Alvarez 

In this searing memoir, Jaquira Díaz writes fiercely and eloquently of her challenging girlhood and triumphant coming of age.

While growing up in housing projects in Puerto Rico and Miami Beach, Díaz found herself caught between extremes. As her family split apart and her mother battled schizophrenia, she was supported by the love of her friends. As she longed for a family and home, her life was upended by violence. As she celebrated her Puerto Rican culture, she couldn’t find support for her burgeoning sexual identity. From her own struggles with depression and sexual assault to Puerto Rico’s history of colonialism, every page of Ordinary Girls vibrates with music and lyricism. Díaz writes with raw and refreshing honesty, triumphantly mapping a way out of despair toward love and hope to become her version of the girl she always wanted to be.

Reminiscent of Tara Westover’s Educated, Kiese Laymon’s Heavy, Mary Karr’s The Liars’ Club, and Terese Marie Mailhot’s Heart Berries, Jaquira Díaz’s memoir provides a vivid portrait of a life lived in (and beyond) the borders of Puerto Rico and its complicated history—and reads as electrically as a novel.

(6/16/20)

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I broke my arc-request-ban in a moment of weakness and requested The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves. I’ve never even read an Ann Cleeves book!! And this is the 9th in the series! According to Goodreads they all work as standalones, so I should be okay. Have you read any of the Vera Stanhope series? I couldn’t resist this synopsis!

Synopsis:

On the first snowy night of winter, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope sets off for her home in the hills. Though the road is familiar, she misses a turning and soon becomes lost and disorientated. A car has skidded off the narrow road in front of her, its door left open, and she stops to help. There is no driver to be seen, so Vera assumes that the owner has gone to find help. But a cry calls her back: a toddler is strapped in the back seat.

Vera takes the child and, driving on, she arrives at a place she knows well. Brockburn is a large, grand house in the wilds of Northumberland, now a little shabby and run down. It’s also where her father, Hector, grew up. Inside, there’s a party in full swing: music, Christmas lights and laughter. Outside, unbeknownst to the revelers, a woman lies dead in the snow.

As the blizzard traps the group deep in the freezing Northumberland countryside, Brockburn begins to give up its secrets, and as Vera digs deeper into her investigation, she also begins to uncover her family’s complicated past.

(9/8/20)

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I was excited to be approved for E. Lockhart’s Again, Again through Netgalley and picked it up right away. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I hoped to.

My Review

Synopsis:

In this novel full of surprises from the New York Timesbestselling author of We Were Liars and Genuine Fraud, E. Lockhart ups the ante with an inventive and romantic story about human connection, forgiveness, self-discovery, and possibility.

If you could live your life again, what would you do differently?

After a near-fatal family catastrophe and an unexpected romantic upheaval, Adelaide Buchwald finds herself catapulted into a summer of wild possibility, during which she will fall in and out of love a thousand times—while finally confronting the secrets she keeps, her ideas about love, and the weird grandiosity of the human mind.

A raw, funny story that will surprise you over and over, Again Again gives us an indelible heroine grappling with the terrible and wonderful problem of loving other people.

(6/2/20)

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My Simon & Schuster free e-books

Loyal subscribers to Simon & Schuster’s Newsletter have occasionally been invited to choose from about 10 ebooks (while supplies last) to read on the Glose app. This has been the nicest surprise, and I’ve been so happy with the choices. Here are the books I chose:

• The Lake Season by Hannah McKinnon
• The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar

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Penguin Random House Audio also provided a free download of The Mothers audiobook by Brit Bennett for a limited time that I was able to snag!

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And lastly, I added Sorry I Missed You by Suzy Krause, my Amazon First Reads selection.

From the Goodreads Synopsis:
When Mackenzie, Sunna, and Maude move into a converted rental house, they are strangers with only one thing in common—important people in their lives have “ghosted” them. Mackenzie’s sister, Sunna’s best friend, and Maude’s fiancé—all gone with no explanation.

Have you read any of these books? Did you add any of them to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!