Hello bookworms: Happy Indie Bookstore Day. Saturday was the day celebrating the small privately owned book shops that aren’t apart of big conglomerates or chains.
Somehow the indie bookstores here seemed to have weathered the pandemic the past two years enough to survive. A couple even seem to have prospered during these times. I guess readers came to the rescue, ordering more and going out less.
I admit I tend to get books from the library instead of buying them, but I try to support the indie bookstores when I can. So yesterday I went over to Owl’s Nest Books, my closest indie store and browsed for a while before purchasing the novel Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. I see other bloggers are liking this one. The co-owner of the store rang up my book and gave me a nice complimentary little book bag. How’s that for personalized attention? Pretty good, right?
Meanwhile, Sunday is the start of May. Wow, I love May … as about mid-month the buds come out and the trees, bushes, and grass all turn green. It’s wonderful. I even like May and June now better than July and August since the smoke from western wildfires these days is getting too prevalent in the summer. But apparently May was once considered a bad luck month to get married. There’s a poem that warns: “Marry in May and you’ll rue the day.” Who knew? Luckily I was married in June (sigh of relief). And on a positive note, May has a lot of new releases to wade through.
For starters, I like the sound of Hernan Diaz’s new novel Trust (due out May 3), which is about a wealthy couple, the Rasks, in 1920s New York. Benjamin is a successful financier, and Helen is the daughter of aristocrats. “There’s a novel written about the couple,” according to the New York Times, “which is one part of Trust; subsequent sections of the book advance their story from other angles, each with the possibility to change everything you thought you knew.”
Aha. This plot and narrative mix slightly reminds me of Lisa Halliday’s 2018 novel Asymmetry. If you liked how that one flipped the narrative about, then you might like this new one as well. Though Trust has themes about money, power, class, and perception. It sounds a bit mysterious so count me in.
Next is Candace Miller’s nonfiction book River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile (due out May 17). Wow I’m actually picking a nonfiction book this month! That’s quite rare, but the epic journey of British explorers John Speke and Richard Burton in the 1850s to chart the Nile River in Africa is an amazing adventure story full of hardships and setbacks, which I’ve read a bit about before in Fawn Brodie’s book The Devil Drives: the Life of Sir Richard Burton.
Apparently Miller’s new book shows not only Speke and Burton’s rivalry but also how an African guide played a crucial role in their mission. Miller’s book promises to be catnip for readers enticed by accounts of the pioneers of exploration.
I also like the sound of Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel Remarkably Bright Creatures (due out May 3) about a widower named Tova, who works at an aquarium in the Pacific Northwest, and Marcellus, the giant octopus living there who forms a friendship with her. As author Kevin Wilson says: the novel is “a beautiful examination of how loneliness can be transformed, cracked open, with the slightest touch from another living thing.” And Van Pelt’s writing, he says, “is so finely tuned that it’s a natural element of a larger story about family, about loss, and the electricity of something found.”
Oh yeah. It seems we deserve a heartwarming story right now, especially with an exceptional octopus. Plus Marin Ireland, with Michael Urie, narrates the audiobook. What more do you want?
I’m also looking at Chris Bohjalian’s novel The Lioness, Vanessa Hua’s Forbidden City, Moses McKenzie’s An Olive Grove in Ends, Alyssa Songsiridej’s Little Rabbit, and Marie Myung-Ok Lee’s The Evening Hero. If you check out any of these, let me know your thoughts.
Moving on to what’s screening this month, there’s the true crime miniseries The Staircase (out on May 5 on HBO Max), starring Colin Firth as a writer who’s accused of killing his wife, played by Toni Collette, after she’s found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their home. It includes the long court battle that ensues and is based on the real life case of American novelist Michael Peterson and the death of his wife in 2001. (Hmm I didn’t know about this.)
The cast seems amazing with not only Firth and Collette but also Rosemarie DeWitt, Juliette Binoche, Parker Posey, and Odessa Young among others. You might not even like true crime stories, but it doesn’t matter now because you’re watching it.
Next is the spinoff of the detective series Bosch called Bosch: Legacy (due out May 6 on Amazon Freevee). In the spinoff show, Bosch has retired from the LAPD and is now working as a private detective for attorney Honey Chandler, played by Mimi Rogers. Bosch’s daughter Maddie (now a cop) is in the new series, but I don’t see his old partner Jerry (Jamie Hector), or his boss Grace (Amy Aquino), or even Mayor Irving (Lance Reddick).
Ugh without these mainstay characters, I’m sure I’ll feel like a fish out of water. And here we were riveted to Bosch for seven seasons, but now he’s on a network that was formerly Imdb TV, which we don’t get. So Bosch is on his own for now.
Still the espionage thriller Tehran Season 2 is starting on May 6 on Apple+ TV. And now Glenn Close is joining the cast. I’m not sure in what capacity yet, but the series is about a young female Mossad agent (played by Niv Sultan) who is on an undercover mission in the Iranian capital … trying to avert a future nuclear war no doubt. It’s scary stuff, and Season 1 kept me on the edge of my seat. Now we will see how it plays out in Season 2.
Next is the six-part TV series The Essex Serpent (out May 13 on Apple+ TV), based on the 2016 novel by Sarah Perry, about a woman (played by Claire Danes!) in 1893 who moves to Essex to investigate reports of a mythical sea serpent. There she forms a bond with the pastor, who I gather is skeptical of science, until a tragedy causes locals to blame her for attracting the creature.
It’s interesting that Claire Danes was drawn to this Victorian-era role, but perhaps it didn’t hurt that she’s playing opposite Tom Hiddleston as the pastor. Though apparently Keira Knightley was set to play the leading role but pulled out right as the filming was due to begin. Can Claire compare to Keira in this kind of role?
Lastly there’s also another Downton Abbey movie due out May 20 called Downton Abbey: A New Era, which is a sequel to the 2019 movie. This one sees mostly all of the main cast back, and the plot includes the Abbey being used for a Hollywood film set … as well as a few of the Crawleys are sent on an adventure to the south of France to uncover the mystery behind Violet Crawley’s newly inherited villa.
The movie has received some mixed reviews but looks pleasing enough judging by the trailer. And as usual it’s great to see the large familiar cast back in action. It’s been a while.
Finally in new music for May, there’s new albums by the Black Keys, Florence + the Machine, Harry Styles, Wilco, Liam Gallagher, Mandy Moore, and the Canadian bands Arcade Fire, and Stars. I’ll pick Harry Styles new one Harry’s House (due out May 20) as my choice this month though there’s been only one song released to listen to so far. That’s the breaks.
That’s all for now. What about you — which new releases are you looking forward to this month?
Hello Susan, I loved reading about books you’ve been eyeing . I’m reading Remarkably Bright Creature now and so enjoying it. I also have Trust on my TBR. I hope that you enjoy Lessons in Chemistry as much as I did. Off to check out a few more on your watch list.
Hi Diane, wow that’s great you’re loving the novel about the octopus. We always seem to dovetail on the books we pick, which is great. And it seems we could all use a positive story (like the octopus one) about now. Happy reading to you this week!
My daughter purchased Lessons in Chemistry yesterday for Indie Bookstore Day, too! I’m sure I’ll get a chance to borrow it this summer.
I’m out of the loop for May releases (good thing, there are plenty of older ones to catch up on) and all the one you mention are new to me. Will look forward to your thoughts.
The new Downton movie may get me back into a theater… don’t think I’ll be able to resist it! Happy May!
Thanks JoAnn. It’s a brand new month, clean slate! Everyone seems to be getting the Lessons in Chemistry book these days. We’ll see – it could be just the read for us. I’ll be curious what your daughter says. And I’m glad Downton Abbey is back too. I found it incredible to see all the cast again while watching the trailer. Yippee. Happy reading this week.
River of the Gods sounds very interesting. And I’ve good things about The Lioness! Both of which if I read I will be getting from my library, because I tend to check out more books than I buy these days. Happy May! 😀
Thanks Lark. Yeah I better stick with the library too. The Lioness seems like it’ll have good suspense, and I think I will like all the explorer stuff in the River of the Gods amidst the wilderness. Have a great May as well!
A Crawley follow up? Sign me up!
I also got a copy of Lessons in Chemistry on Independent Bookstore day and am looking forward to reading it after seeing such good reviews.
Hi Helen, wow we are thinking alike on Indie Bookstore Day. I think it should be a fun read. And watching the Crawleys I find is always entertaining.
Have a great week! I plan to stop by your site soon to see what’s up.
I missed shopping at an indie yesterday, but I did buy two books earlier in the month at Parnassus (in Nashville), so I guess that counts. You got a nice book bag with your purchase! I’m halfway into Lessons in Chemistry and wasn’t too sure about it, but it picked up this afternoon and I got two hours of yardwork in while listening.
Remarkably Bright Creatures sounds like it might be one I’d enjoy, especially with the PNW setting. And I love Marin Ireland, so I’ll look for it on audio.
We’re currently watching Traces, but I’ll add The Staircase to my list. Great cast! And we literally have Bosch: Legacy on our kitchen calendar (not that we’d really forget that it’s due out this week). I’ll miss the characters that aren’t carried over from Bosch, but I think it’ll still be good, especially with Harry, Maddie and Honey.
I never finished watching all of Downton Abby and you’ve inspired me to start from the beginning and watch all the way through. Once I’m caught up, I’ll watch both movies. There are only two, correct?
Hi Lesley, yes this new one will be the 2nd Downton Abbey movie … and there were 6 seasons as a TV series. So you have plenty to watch. We enjoyed them awhile back.
Do you have that new network that Bosch is on? I wish he was still on Prime.
And did you post about your visit to Parnassus? I would love to know more about the store and what you thought. Is it a really cool place? I know what you mean about yard work & listening. I was about able to finish Lisa Harding’s book Bright Burning Things out cleaning up the yard today. Wow yard work is good with an audio. I hope all is well there. Will visit your site soon. Have a great week.
I didn’t realize that Bosch: Legacy isn’t on Prime. I looked up the details of where to watch and found this:
Bosch: Legacy is going to be available to stream on Amazon Freevee (formerly IMDb TV). It’s the free-but-with-ads version of Amazon Prime (which you can access through the Amazon Prime app), a relatively new streaming service that’s home to originals like Alex Rider and library titles like Community and The West Wing.
I posted my Nashville travel essay today. I didn’t write a lot about the book store, but can tell you that I loved it and would have enjoyed spending more time perusing the shelves. We were on our way to meet family for dinner and I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get there, so we only stayed in the store about 20 minutes or so. I will definitely return on our next trip to TN.
Have a great week, Susan! Always good to “hear” from you in your posts. 🙂
Well, that’s annoying. We have Prime and I’d rather watch without ads, thankyouverymuch. I wonder why they’ve decided to show it this way. Oh, well.
Hey Lesley, thanks for the update about how to watch the new Bosch show. Ugh what a pain. We likely will take a pass on it for now. But if you see it, let me know what you think. We have about three shows we are watching presently which maybe I’ll mention next time. I’m glad you posted about your trip — I’ll stop by! Sounds like a great time. I’ve been a bit tied up lately but hope to get freed soon.
I hope you enjoy Lessons in Chemistry, I did.
I’m definitely adding Remarkably Bright Creatures to my TBR
Wishing you a great reading week
Thanks Shelleyrae. Everyone is reading that Chemistry novel now — I must investigate! I’m hearing good things about the octopus novel. Enjoy if you get to it. Have a great week.
My picks would be River of the Gods and The Lioness. I read Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris (out May 31), and I’m half-way through An Island by Karen Jennings, which made the Booker longlist last year or the prior one, but which is due out on May 12 (I think) on this side of the Atlantic. Once I’m done with that one I’ll be reading City of Orange, another May release. I’m interested in watching The Staircase. After the latest Oscars, AppleTV+ has become a must have that I don’t have, so I’ll see what can be done about it. I’d love to watch The Essex Serpent, Pachinko, and maybe Tehran.
Yeah Carmen, it seems suddenly there’s more on AppleTV+ … and maybe HBO Max. We have dropped Netflix, but I never got to see that octopus documentary which is only there. My Octopus Teacher. I still want to see.
What did you think of the Sedaris book? And I’ll look up the Jennings one. I think I saw City of Orange. The Lioness looks pretty suspenseful … a safari gone wrong kind of story with Hollywood types. I’m sure it’d be quicker than others. Your reading seems like it’s going very well! Keep it going & enjoy!
Sedaris’ book is very good (4*). It’s no Calypso, but it’s very good, nonetheless. An Island is good, it reads easily, but it’s not that memorable beyond the page, or maybe I’m more distracted than usual. My Octopus Teacher is kind of sad but emotional and instructive as well. Yeah, I have most streaming services worth having but Apple TV+, which suddenly it’s the hot ticket in town.
Hi Carmen, Thanks for the word on the Sedaris book … and the Island. Sad animal stories are hard for me but I still want to see My Octopus Teacher sometime. Spring is a distracting month — I’m all over the place, busy.
I hope your spring is lovely there now.
I had hoped to shop at an indie bookstore, but it did not happen. I will make it to one before the end of May, I hope. If nothing else, I will order online.
I’ve had my eye on Lessons in Chemistry and now I’ve added River of the Gods and Remarkably Bright Creatures to my list. Thanks for sharing a little about these.
I wasn’t completely wowed by the first Downton Abbey movie, so I’m not expecting a lot from this second one. But there’s something comforting about seeing familiar characters on the screen during these crazy times.
Yeah Deb, I don’t think the Downton movies are as good as the series was but it is nice to see the characters again.
I hope you’re over your jet lag from being in France … and that it’s good to be home. Much to read this month. Enjoy your reads!
I’ve been hearing and reading a lot about “Remarkably Bright Creatures” and I’m putting it on my TBR list. I really liked the book “The Essex Serpent” so I’m hoping to convince hubby to watch it with me. If not, I’ll try to find a time to watch it by myself. Lots of interesting things coming up, both literary and film. Fun times for us readers and viewers.
Hi Dorothy — now you have me wondering about picking up the book of the Essex Serpent before watching it. Sounds like an interesting plot. I think the series will be good … but likely not as good as the novel. And Bright Creatures seems right up my alley … maybe yours too. Have a great week.
Oh my gosh, none of the books you’re discussing were even on my radar. I love that!!
For May, I’ve already loved Elektra and am looking forward to The Year of Horses- a memoir.
Not focusing on books too much this week and am back to eyeing the Canadian border as America slips back to the 1950s and I have no rights over my own body.
Hi Catherine. Yeah it’s been a really alarming & depressing week about the direction the States is heading. I just hope this motivates Dems to win the upcoming midterm elections, but it is a scary time right now. Thankfully Canada & other countries are Not moving in that direction in terms of taking away women’s rights, so moving here is a good idea.
I think I’ve seen Elektra but I need to check out the memoir you mention. If it’s about the power of animals & healing, I’m sure I’ll have to get it.
Happy reading to you!