This is the month I fell behind. I was so disappointed looking at my totals, that I’ve had to really force myself to go ahead and get this post written. I’m only disappointed because I FELT like I read a lot, and it just didn’t show up in the book count. Maybe reading 12-15 books at once is finally catching up at me. At any rate, I’m going to need to get a move on to catch up through June.

I read 9 books in May, but really only 8, because I had to send one back to the library before I was entirely finished. I’m officially two books behind schedule.

1. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I wish this one would count as more than one book, frankly. It was SO long, but SO good! I’m reading the second one now.
2. The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Young Adults and Children by Cheryl B. Klein. This is the one I only finished most of. I feel pretty good about what I gleaned from it, but I regret not truly finishing it. I might have to revisit it later.
3. Jinx and Tonic by Gina LaManna (#3 of the Magic and Mixology Mysteries) I actually read the first two books in this series a couple of years ago but had forgotten to follow up on it. It was a fun, quick read!
4. The Nesting Place: It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful by Myquillyn Smith. This was such an encouraging book to read about decorating. I’m really wanting to pull our hodgepodge into more cohesive, beautiful style, and this book was so encouraging in the message that the most important way to get where you want to be is to just start. She had some great ideas for decorating on a budget too.
5. The Garden of Letters by Alyson Richman. This was a really interesting take on the whole WWII fiction genre, told about the Italian resistance. I feel that fiction about the French resistance is much more common, so this was a fun divergence. I really enjoyed the story as well.
6. Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close. Every once in a while I decide to read some kind of Chic Lit, and every once in a while I regret it. Girls in White Dresses kept me interested in the story, so that’s something, but the story hopped around a lot and the ending was bland.
7. She Walks in Beauty: A Woman’s Journey through Poems compiled by Caroline Kennedy. Rarely have I read straight through a poetry anthology with such eagerness. These poems were so well selected and arranged–I loved the experience of it, almost as much as I loved the poetry. I had to copy poems into my Commonplace Journal for at least 2 hours when I had finished the book.
8. Introverted Mom by Jamie C. Martin. I was so excited to get this book and I really enjoyed it. I’m definitely an introvert myself and it was so helpful to hear that some of the gamut of emotions I’m going through on a day to day basis is totally normal for introverts. I think it has already helped me to be more intentional about stepping away, even if it’s just for a minute, when I’m overwhelmed by noise and clutter.
9. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. This was hands down one of my favorite reads this month. It was so good and so rivetting, I felt like I was basically useless for a day until I finished it. It was achingly sad, but the ending was happy and hopeful, which is basically everything I want from a book.

So that was my month of reading! I did manage to add 47 MORE books to my TBR. 😀 Hi, my name is Elizabeth, and I have an addiction… mainly to summer reading lists and recommended reads. Here’s to June reading!