Hi all, we’re into May now, yay. How’s your spring going? Mid-May is our planting season for our vegetable patch and the annuals around the house — also our spring yard cleanup and mowing begins. It’s a busy time around here, but first I’ll be returning to SoCal later in the week for a short trip to attend a Celebration of Life for my Dad that his work colleagues are giving and to meet my new grandniece born on Earth Day April 22. She has arrived into our lives at a much needed time and I can’t wait to meet her.
Yesterday was my first bike ride of the season and it was nice to be out and about. It’s oddly already reaching 80 degrees now after snowing last week. Crazy but true. Apparently it seems we’re going straight from winter into summer without much spring. My summer golf league here will start this Wednesday and I need to get out on the practice range, so I can hit the ball consistently. This is my second season in the league and I’m still a newbie. I played some golf earlier in my life then have re-picked it back up decades later. It’s a pretty fun sport when you’re with a group of others.
Unfortunately the news continues to be dismal with announced cuts now to NPR, PBS, libraries, museums, theaters, education, and people’s jobs. It’s horrible! So much for the arts, sigh. And the economy is shrinking with grocery and other prices staying high. It’s hard not to doom scroll one’s days away. I’m staying informed but also trying to find escape in the outdoors and reading. Here is my book recap (below) for March and April. I think I only finished three in March and six in April.
What do think about this group of reads? There’s some heavier ones mixed with a couple lighter reads. I think Enter Ghost and The Scrapbook (coming in June) were my favorites. And I’ll be reviewing Wild Dark Shore next time.
And now let’s chat about new books releasing in May. There’s new novels by such well-known authors as: Fredrik Backman, Ocean Vuong, Kevin Wilson, Brendan Slocumb, Michael Connelly, Stephen King, and Isabel Allende among others. While those look enticing, my head has sort of glommed onto a few others — maybe because of the news and what I can tolerate these days.
First off, Virginia Evans’ novel The Correspondent (April 29, okay it’s a late April book!) is said be a “charming debut … that takes the form of letters and emails exchanged by a divorced and retired woman with her friends, family, foes, and literary idols.” She’s lived a full life as a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcée, and distinguished lawyer, but when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes she must send the letter she’s been unwilling to send before. This novel has very high ratings on Goodreads and includes a strong older female protagonist who’s apparently a lovable curmudgeon. I’m usually not a big reader of epistolary novels but with all the high praise about it, I must give it a go.
Next up is another clever debut novel titled The Names (out May 6). This one is by Florence Knapp that spans thirty-five years and follows three alternate storylines of a British family’s lives, which includes mother Cora, her daughter Maia, 9, her new born son, and her controlling husband Gordon. In each of the three timelines, Cora assigns the baby a different name, and the lives of the family members unfold quite differently. Apparently, the three storylines turn in surprising ways and explore the effects of domestic abuse, the ties of family, and the possibilities of healing. I’m not usually an alternate plot kind of reader, but this novel is said to be one of the most anticipated novels of the year and so I don’t plan to miss it. Will it live up to its positive hype? It seems to contain some trigger warnings of abuse and mental health, so I’ll put that out there but I’m hoping it’s a beautiful read too.
And lastly in books for this month are two nonfiction titles that I can’t quite ignore. Ron Chernow’s 1,200 page tome about the life of Mark Twain (1835-1910) comes out May 13, which looks to be a whopper of a biography. Twain seemed to have had his hand in so many facets of 19th-century life; he was everywhere, and was quite the personality and the quintessential American author.
Apparently the book explores many of his contradictions. Granted it’s a bit intimidating as I haven’t read a book this long in quite a while. The novel Gone With the Wind might have been my longest. What about you?
The other nonfiction book is Last Secret Agent: My Life as a Spy Behind Nazi Lines by Pippa Latour with Jude Dobson. Latour, who died in 2023 at age 102, was the last surviving undercover British female agent of the (SOE) in World War II, who parachuted into Normandy and worked as a radio operator in occupied France. She called in German troop deployments and relayed info for Resistance efforts.
Apparently Latour didn’t reveal her wartime story till late in life when her kids found out about it from the internet, but it’s said to be a remarkable account — one filled with inspiration and true courage.
On the screen this month, there’s two films with particularly strong real-life female protagonists. The film Words of War (out May 2) is getting much coverage and is based on the true story of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya and her brave crusade, fighting for an independent voice in Putin’s Russia. Tragically she was gunned down in 2006, but her story lives on in this portrayal of her by British actress Maxine Peake.
Also the movie Lily (out May 9), starring Patricia Clarkson, looks good based on the life of Lilly Ledbetter, who was a tire factory supervisor who fought for equal pay for women. Both films’ storylines appear to be strong along with their performances.
In TV series this month, there’s Murderbot (on AppleTV+ starting May 16), based on the popular book series by Martha Wells, about a security android (played by Alexander Skarsgård) who struggles to hide his free thoughts while balancing dangerous missions. I have not read these novels yet, but others have loved them.
Also Season 2 of Nine Perfect Strangers (starring Nicole Kidman) about a group of rich city folk who visit a health resort where they’re promised transformation begins on May 21 on Hulu. Its premise seems quite a bit like The White Lotus’s eh? Both shows are pretty cukie, but they make for pretty good escapes when you need one. Though if you’re looking for something a bit calmer, try the four-part series Miss Austen on PBS starting May 4, that explores why Cassandra, Jane’s sister, burned most of Jane’s personal letters after her death. Hmm. That’s one way to tick off fans.
Lastly in music releases this month, there’s new albums by Arcade Fire, Counting Crows, Maren Morris, Thom Yorke, Suzanne Vega, The Head and the Heart, and Anderson East among others. I’ll pick Anderson East’s new album Worthy coming out May 30 since he has a great voice. For a listen, here’s his new single “Say I Love You.”
Whoosh that’s all for now. What about you — which releases are looking forward to this month? Happy May.
A lot of 19th century novels go way over 1200 pages! The Count of Monte Cristo has over 1300. War and Peace: 1997 pages. Back then, they liked them to go on and on. I guess your aversion suggests it’s not the way of modern readers. I hope you do read and enjoy it.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Thanks Mae. You’re right – lots of long books in the 19th century. There’s also Middlemarch and David Copperfield though they don’t seem as long as the ones you mention. I still hope to read some long ones over the next few years. I’m curious about Chernow’s biographies on Twain and Grant and could read them over time. Cheers.
Hi Susan, I hope you have a good time in California visiting your grand niece. I too am depressed about the cuts to NPR, libraries, food assistance. It’s not right.
Years ago I read half of Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton and Chernow is an excellent writer and he does such great research but the book was about 1000 pages as I recall. And no matter how important a historical figure is sometimes less is more in a biography or a history book.
Thanks for letting us know about all of these new books coming out. I always look forward to your posts.
Hi Kathy, thanks so nice of you to say. And thx about my trip to Calif — should be fun seeing my new baby grandniece, and offset some sadness about my dad.
It’s impressive you read half of Chernow’s bio of Hamilton & glad to hear you liked his writing. I have not read him but I’m curious to read his Twain and Grant bios. Still the length does put me off quite a bit. We’ll see.
The news is dismal — I hope something changes or these cuts can be stopped.
take care. Enjoy your week.
I’m a big fan of Mark Twain, given that I grew up a half-hour south of Hannibal. But I’m not sure that I can commit to a book that long.
I’m looking forward to Miss Austen.
Hi Joy, I taped Miss Austen last night — so I hope to watch it. Yay.
The Twain book is a commitment, lol. I know you’re our Twain resident expert being so close to where he’s from. It’s wonderful to hear your times when you’re near the Mississippi. I think of Twain seeing those views. I likely will try the Chernow book but probably won’t get to it right away. Cheers. Have a great week.
My father was a big biography reader, and from I could tell whenever he finished one of those doorstoppers is that most times they are 700-800ish pages-long and the rest is bibliography and addendums. Just so you know. Mark Twain’s may very well be in that category. Anyway, I have an ARC for The Cardinal by Alison Weir. I enjoyed her Queen Mary I biographical fiction novel from last year, so I’ll take a plunge this time as well. Besides that, I’m hoping to catch up with recent releases that I have bought and haven’t gotten to yet, like Twist, Beartooth, Casualties of Truth, and Sylvia Moreno-Garcia’s latest (TBR in July), of which I have an ARC. Happy week ahead!
Hi Carmen, good to hear your father read such large bio tomes … and that many pages are just notes & other texts at the end. That’s encouraging. I will likely try the Chernow book but probably not right away. I’m also interested in his Grant bio — as he was such an interesting figure too.
I hope you enjoy the Alison Weir book – I just looked it up. Looks like good historical fiction. Those other books you mention I’ll be interested in hearing about. I had Twist on an earlier Preview post didn’t I? But not sure I want to read Twist while I’m in shaky Calif. lol. I’ve been in a few big earthquakes over the years and they’re sort of scary. I need to be on solid ground to read it, ha. Hope you enjoy your reads. Have a great week.
Twist is the one you read (McCann’s). I think the one you mean is Tilt, which I considered reading but decided against due to mixed reviews; apparently it’s more about the pregnant woman searching for meaning than the earthquake and its aftermath. I would have liked it more had it been about the disaster. I have a few too many biographies in my digital library— my father’s interest as well as mine, only I drag my feet big time when it comes to nonfiction; it’s so time consuming and I have to take many more notes than usual for novels. If I ever consider a switch I’ll have reading material until kingdom come. 🙂
Have a safe trip and enjoyable trip!
Thanks Carmen, These trips can be wearing in light of what happened, but I’m hoping to have some downtime. We’ll see how it works out.
Carmen: you’re right, gosh I’m mixing up titles now (!) … ha my mind must be turning to mush. I read Twist so why was I thinking of Tilt? I guess all these titles are trying to sound alike. Next it’ll be Tip or Transit or Transfix, lol.
I can relate with you about nonfiction …. I have a ton of it lying around but I always seem to choose fiction instead. And nonfiction takes me a really long time to read. Not memoirs usually but bios and history.
Sometimes I think somebody in charge of things here got a list of my favorite things and started cutting them all. I seem to be living in an alternative US these days. My chief consolation is in books. Thanks for sharing some of the upcoming releases. I’ve added my name to the list for The Names, The Correspondent, and Mark Twain.
Hi Deb, I agree. The cuts are to all the good things. Ugh I hope they don’t go through. And I hope you enjoy a few of these titles if you get to them. We need to keep our minds churning to a higher level than the sewer that he’s taking the country. Sigh. Enjoy your books & nature there!
It sounds nice, that you get to meet your newborn grandniece. Here in the UK, we also had a streak of summer, but now we are back to normal spring temperatures. I rarely watch TV, but the min series Miss Austen sounds good.
Reading-wise, it sounds like you are doing pretty well. 9 books in 2 months is not bad at all. I hope you enjoyed most of them and I look forward to your review of Wild Dark Shore.
Hi Stargazer, good to hear you’ve seen sunny days there! I taped the first Miss Austen episode last night so plan to watch it soon.
Thanks, I had a drop in reading in March but that was understandable. I’m trying to get back on the ball. But life is busy, right? I will write about Wild Dark Shore next time. It had some pluses & minuses for me … so a bit of a mixed bag but the island setting was worth the ride. Enjoy your week.
Have a good trip to California.
I just finished The Correspondent while we were on a short trip to Virginia and Maryland. I enjoyed it but I didn’t think it was as special as others thought. I am currently reading The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Harnett.
Our music on our trip was Alan Doyle who is from Newfoundland, the greatly missed Michael Stanley a Cleveland icon and Bruce Springsteen.
We mostly watch baseball this time of year but are happy The Brokenwood Mysteries are back on Acorn TV.
Thanks Sharon for stopping by. Your input is good. I will temper my expectations of The Correspondent. And wait to hear how the Harnett book is.
And yay, I’m a big Springsteen fan — I saw him in concert (again) in Nov. But I need to check out the music of Alan Doyle and Michael Stanley. Thx for these!
Which baseball team do you follow? I used to be big on baseball but fell off the wagon years ago. I try to root for the Blue Jays these days.
I don’t think we get Acorn but good to know about Brokenwood Mysteries. thanks for these. and I hope you return. Cheers.
The Mark Twain book has piqued my interest, but yikes! 1200 pages is intimidating. My longest book was The Source by James Michener. It comes in at a whopping 1427 pages. I read it about 35 or 40 years ago. Ha! Okay so Mark Twain is going on the TBR list.
Ha Olivia, I forgot about the long long Michener books! Man he could spin a tale back in the day. Long ago I read the first part of his book Hawaii and I think I’d like to finish it someday. His books were huge, lol. Maybe I should try his Chesapeake book sometime. The Twain book looks like a commitment. See what you think. Enjoy your week.
I have a hold for Wild Dark Shore and The Names but had to suspend them as I won’t have time for either upcoming. Maybe after the end of June. the only thing I have on tap is our buddy read, which I am very much looking forward to, and can start on Tuesday. We can touch base on that.
The Pippa Latour book looks good to me so I will add it to Goodreads.
Chat with you soon!
Hi Tina, so many books, so little time, lol. I’m on the wait list for about 23 at the library … who knows when they’ll come in. But I’m geared for Ferrante too! I will touch base today about the grand start, ha. I’m thinking about you & your move. Excited for you. I was pleased to see my library has a copy of the Latour book and I might get it later this month. talk later!
May is always busy, isn’t it? I have a ton of annuals to plant in pots on the deck this afternoon. We’ll continue to clean up the yard a bit, but I try not to over-schedule myself. We’re going to have great weather for the next week or so, and I can do a little at a time.
A birth after the death of a loved one brings so much needed joy to a family. I’m glad you’ll get to meet your grandniece while you’re in CA for your dad’s celebration of life with his colleagues. Bittersweet times. {hugs}
The photo of your bike brings back memories of my rides in the country when we lived in Nebraska. We had such a great trail system and I could easily ride for hours. Not so much here since there aren’t any safe spots. Hwy 101 would be far too dangerous with tourists looking at the ocean or their phones, not to mention all the huge logging trucks. I can’t complain though, since I can take long walks while safely gazing out at the ocean.
I’m looking forward to reading your review of Wild Dark Shore. I liked (but didn’t love) Migrations, but didn’t read the one after that. I am eager to read The Correspondent. Unlike you, I love epistolary works and I do love older female protagonist stories, so this book is at the top of my list.
The Names sounds intriguing. Probably one I’ll get to eventually, but I think I’ll go with the print edition. The audio might be confusing.
I’m not sure if it’s the longest book I’ve ever read, but Sarum (Edward Rutherfurd) might be one of the longest. The mass market (which I read) has 1056 pages. Chernow’s bio of Twain might be a good one for audio.
I tried the Murderbot book series and couldn’t get interested, but I’ll give the TV series a try. Looks like it could be entertaining.
Regarding the awful state of the U.S., I’m going to start the process to get my Canadian passport. I dug out my birth certificate, which is a cute little laminated card from Ontario.
Hi Lesley, great hearing your input always. I’ve been a bit swamped but it’s getting nice here too, yay. I hope you’re enjoying the walks & views near the cove. I’ll be flying to the OC later in the week. Always feels a bit like home to be back at the ocean there. I can see where the photo would remind you of biking in Neb. I really enjoy the biking here. But you do have to be careful with fast cars. I’m way over.
Good to know your thoughts on these books. McConaghy is a bit hit & miss for me but her new one is pretty entertaining in a thriller-ish kind of way. And yes I forgot about Edward Rutherford … he wrote some really long books! I’m impressed you read Sarum. I looked up the audio for Twain — it’s 44 hrs 35 mins. Ha! That would get you across the U.S. on a road trip.
And like you – I don’t think I’m a Murderbot kind of girl but I could be wrong. I don’t read sci-fi much. But some people rave about the books, right?
I’m very curious to hear what you’d have to do for a Canadian passport. Could it just be filling out the application or would it be more — I’m not sure. But I hope you can get it. Vancouver Island would be a nice place to settle if it doesn’t have any big earthquakes in the near future. Enjoy your sunny days!
I hope you have safe travels to SoCal, Susan. A bittersweet time with the Celebration of Life for your Dad and meeting your new Grandniece. I am glad you have been able to go riding and good luck with the new golf season! Your March and April reads look like a nice mix. I hope you enjoy your May reading and have a good month!
Thanks much Wendy. I’ll be flying into the OC … I used to fly into Palm Springs but the OC is where I need to be this time. I’m still recovering about my dad but it’ll be nice to meet my grandniece. It’s been busy. I’m a bit worn down but maybe I’ll get some downtime there. I hope your life is not too hectic. Happy reading this month.
I also hope you have a safe trip to your Dad’s Celebration of Life and also very much enjoy your new grandniece. Good luck with your golf. It’s definitely golf season here and I’m not a golfer, but my husband is definitely one. Take care of yourself and know that you are thought of often.
Thanks Kay. That’s so sweet of you to say. I really appreciate your words. We’ll see how the trip goes. It’ll be a quick one … but I’m still recovering.
The golf is a bit new still … but I can see where it’d be addicting. I hope your husband enjoys it. Hope the flowers are out in Austin. Enjoy.
Enjoy the weather. We are starting to get cooler weather now. To everything there is a season right.
Enjoy your trip to the Celebration of Life for your dad. It is difficult but hopefully there is some joy for you too, especially in meeting your grand niece.
Have a great week!
Thanks Marg, I appreciate your words. We’ll see how the trip goes … but I am looking forward to meeting my grandniece. She looks so adorable. 🙂
The weather here is just starting to get warm & nice … been a bit of a long winter. And now you all will cool off there. I was interested to see the results of Australia’s recent election … what do you think? Hope all is well. Enjoy your week too.
The Last Secret Agent sounds interesting. I’ve listened to one of the Murderbot books and would like to continue the series before watching the adaptation.
Strange weather! We seem to be getting to the warmer part of spring here, too. It’s going to be high 70s for the rest of the week. Hope the celebration of life goes well and the good memories help with the grief! Safe travels, Susan!
Hi Rachel, thanks for your words, plenty of great memories with my dad … and mom. Still a weird feeling without them. We’ll see how the trip goes. I’m sure it’ll be a rousing celebration with his work buddies.
I wonder if the Murderbot series will do a good job replicating the books? Or if your mind will have imagined things differently. You’ll have to keep us informed. I’m pleased that my library carries The Last Secret Agent and I should be getting it pretty soon. What a life! Hope your reading is going well. Happy spring!
I hope the celebration of life for your dad went well and that you felt him honored. As I help my parents prepare to move to a retirement home, it definitely feels like that last phase of life. How is that possible when they are both still doing well?!
Hi Helen, thanks. Actually the celebration of life is tomorrow (Saturday) so I’m in SoCal now for a long weekend. It feels good to be back. Pretty here now. Though it is sad too.
It’s great your parents are doing so well. Still it’s probably a good step for them to move earlier than later. We had to move my parents in March 2021 during Covid … it wasn’t easy! It’s so good you get to spend much time with them. Have a nice weekend.
I agree the political news is dismal. I try not to get so involved in it that I get upset, but it is impossible to ignore entirely. I read about Carney’s meeting with Trump and I was impressed with Carney. What do you think of him?
Of the books you read, I am interested in Crow Mary and Wild Dark Shore. Of the new releases, I am very interested in The Correspondent. I don’t know if I will look for it at the end of the year or just put it on a list for someday.
I have read a few of the Murderbot novellas and enjoyed them. I will try the new series on Apple for sure, but I have my doubts as to how well it will work. On the other hand, I have always had trouble visualizing Murderbot; maybe this will help when I read future books in the series.
I don’t think the length of the Mark Twain book would bother me if I was really interested in the topic. Because it is nonfiction I would just divide it up over time. But… there are not many topics that would be worth spending that long on a book… for me. I do agree with Carmen that most longer nonfiction books like that have long indexes and appendixes etc and the actual text reading is less… unless you get sucked into reading footnotes the notes, which I sometimes do. I have read some fiction books over 1000 pages: Under the Dome by Stephen King, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.
I hope your trip to California goes well. How exciting to have a new baby in the family!
Thanks Tracy, great to hear your thoughts. It seems Carney did well with his meeting in the U.S. There’s various problems in Canada so we’ll have to see how he does going forward. We’re a bit wait & see on him but hope he can make progress.
Glad to know you’re into the Murderbot series. It seems so popular. Perhaps the series will be fun. I think The Correspondent could be a good palette cleanser kind of read with the format — we will see. I’m on the library wait list for it.
And those really long novels you mention reading are two good examples. Those are huge books — I’m impressed you finished those. I agree indexes can be long at the end of nonfiction – so perhaps they not as huge as they look. Not sure when I have time for Twain but it’s on my radar.
I’m in Calif now and it’s pretty nice being back. All in all, it’s bittersweet. thanks for your thoughts. Enjoy your weekend.
Aww a new baby in the family! How nice! Enjoy your visit with her.
Both my parents lived and breathed golf. I don’t like it but I love miniature / goofy golf, whatever you call it.
Hi Jinjer, I didn’t realize your parents were golfers … back in Arkansas? I’m just getting into it a bit. I haven’t played miniature golf in years … but I think it can be a hoot.
And thanks, this Calif. visit is going well so far. Nice to be back.
Colorado has been schizo this year as well, with cold temps and rain last week, and hot weather this. Planting outside this weekend and into next week for sure. Just hardening off the grow light plants now. Good luck with your planting.
The Last Secret Agent sounds great–love books like this. Will seek it out.
I actually have the Autobiography of Mark Twain, which remains unread and is even thicker than the Chernow bio. To be honest, the more I know about Twain, the less I like him. He was definitely a conflicted person. I like Chernow as a biographer, but I will probably take a pass on reading this one.
I am taping Miss Austen and will start it later this weekend–just a couple of episodes of Northern Exposure left, so we can finally watch something else!
Happy almost summer! Safe travels to SoCal–my condolences on your loss and my congratulations on the birth of a new grandniece.
Thanks Jane, nice of you to say. The SoCal trip is going well so far. And a bit of downtime too, which is nice.
I hope Miss Austen will be good — I have it taping at home. And I agree the Last Secret Agent looks good. I’m glad my library has a copy and I should get it fairly soon. I know what you mean about the Twain book. He was a conflicted person. My dad had a copy of the big Twain autobiography. It is huge. I don’t think any of us took the book. Too hard to carry! I wonder how the autobio would read?
Good you got some rain. We could really use some in Alberta. Will you put your veggie plants in the ground soon? We had to buy some plants as not many of the seeds came up. Might have been the sun room where we had them was too chilly. Enjoy your planting.