Whoa, how is May already here. Even though we were all quarantined and social events were basically cancelled, April went by in a blink of an eye, don’t cha think?
April was a fabulous month of reading for me, and you can see my full April Recap HERE! I’m starting May off at 41% of my 2020 reading goal done! I’m hoping to get to 55% in May but only time will tell if that’s the case.
Once again, as always, I have a ton of books on my list for May. A lot of these are ARCs for May and June that I need to get through but there are also a handful of backlist books I’m trying to read this month as well. If May is anything like April’s reading then I don’t see a problem getting through some of these books! Keep scrolling to see what I’m hoping to read this month!
Book Club & Buddy Reads
Lets Read Rant Repeat Book Club Pick
Bookstagram is such a wonderful community and I have met quite a few folks that I now consider to be friends. One of these is Jordan from @readwithwine and together we host a Virtual Book Club @letsreadrantrepeat. Our aim is to read a variety of genres, constantly switching it up to ensure we are reading something everyone will enjoy. Each month we choose 1 book that can be practically any type of story. We host a group chat with fellow book lovers on Instagram, where we can talk about the book as we read. At the end of the month (a specified Sunday at 7pm CST) Jordan and I get together for wine & an Instagram Live discussion. We generally invite guests from our group chat to share their thoughts on the book as well!
Our May Book Club Discussion will be held on Sunday May 17th at 7pm CST. Head to our Instagram @letsreadrantrepeat to join in the discussion. This month we’ll be reading:
Valentine | Elizabeth Wetmore
“Written with the haunting emotional power of Elizabeth Strout and Barbara
Kingsolver, an astonishing debut novel that explores the lingering effects of a brutal crime on the women of one small Texas oil town in the 1970s.
Mercy is hard in a place like this . . .
It’s February 1976, and Odessa, Texas, stands on the cusp of the next great oil boom. While the town’s men embrace the coming prosperity, its women intimately know and fear the violence that always seems to follow.
In the early hours of the morning after Valentine’s Day, fourteen-year-old Gloria Ramírez appears on the front porch of Mary Rose Whitehead’s ranch house, broken and barely alive. The teenager had been viciously attacked in a nearby oil field—an act of brutality that is tried in the churches and barrooms of Odessa before it can reach a court of law. When justice is evasive, the stage is set for a showdown with potentially devastating consequences.
Valentine is a haunting exploration of the intersections of violence and race, class and region in a story that plumbs the depths of darkness and fear, yet offers a window into beauty and hope. Told through the alternating points of view of indelible characters who burrow deep in the reader’s heart, this fierce, unflinching, and surprisingly tender novel illuminates women’s strength and vulnerability, and reminds us that it is the stories we tell ourselves that keep us alive.”
Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs)
Book of the Month Books
I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse into what I’ll be reading for May. Make sure to check back weekly for my full reviews of these plus other books. If you would like to know more about any of these books or want to share with me what you’ll be reading in May comment below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.