May Wrap Up
Yes, this is indeed spectacularly late as we approach the end of June, but here it is at last, my May wrap up!
May 2024 Stats:
Total Books Finished: 9
Total Pages Read: 1,710
Total Minutes of Audiobooks Listened To: 970 (16hr 10m)
Formats:
E-Books: 5
Paperbacks: 1
Hardbacks: 1
Audiobooks: 2
Ratings:
5 Star: 1
4 Star: 4
3 Star: 4
2 Star: 0
1 Star: 0
DNF: 0
And now onto the reviews. If you’re interested in buying any of these, please consider doing so using my affiliate links below, every purchase helps to support me.
Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland by Lisa Schneidau
Adult Fantasy/Folk-Tales / 3 Stars / Audible Plus
I grabbed this audiobook from the Audible Plus catalogue when I finished my current read while waiting at a station and needed something short to fill a few hours. It ended up being an interesting little collection of folk tales that reminded me just how vicious traditional tales can really be! It’s a short book that, if I’m honest, didn’t leave a lasting impression but was an enjoyable listening experience nonetheless.
“This collection of folk tales takes you on a green and leafy journey around the British Isles. Traditional stories, passed down the generations, tell of the complex relationship between people and plants in Britain, in lowlands and uplands, coasts, bogs, forests, and towns.”
Buy (Affiliate Links): Amazon (Free on KU) / Audible / Bookshop / Libro.fm
The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry
Adult Horror / 3 Stars / NetGalley ARC
This ended up being the last book I intentionally wrote a full-length, long-form review here for, so you can go and check that out if you’d like more details. Suffice to say, this was a middling gothic horror novel with an interesting premise that was let down by a predictable twist and an abrupt and unfulfilling end. Horror movie fans will no doubt get a kick out of it, but don’t expect anything world-changing.
“A single mother working in the gothic mansion of a reclusive horror director stumbles upon terrifying secrets.”
Buy (Affiliate Links): Amazon / Audible / Bookshop / Libro.fm
Little White Lies by Philippa East
Adult Thriller / 3 Stars / Borrowed from Library
Little White Lies was my local book club’s pick for May, and was chosen because the author was due to visit a nearby ladies group to give a talk. I didn’t end up attending that talk in the end, but I did read the book, which turned out to be a somewhat pedestrian thriller. I loved the premise: a teenage girl is returned home to her parents seven years after she vanished from a London street without a trace, but not everything is as happily ever after as it first seems. What let this down for me was the big secret that wasn’t nearly as damning as I’d expected from the build up, and a truly confusing ending that my entire book club united on finding baffling.
“Anne White only looked away for a second, but that’s all it took to lose sight of her young daughter. But seven years later, Abigail is found. And as Anne struggles to connect with her teenage daughter, she begins to question how much Abigail remembers about the day she disappeared…”
Buy (Affiliate Links): Amazon (Free on KU) / Audible / Bookshop / Libro.fm
A Year in the Woods by Colin Elford
Adult Natural History / 3 Stars / 2024 Charity Shop Purchase
I picked up this short little memoir style book second hand at the Shakespeare Hospice charity shop in Stratford-Upon-Avon and dived almost straight into it. The book follows the author through an average year working as a forest ranger in the south of England. It makes for difficult reading at times, I still struggle with the concept of deer culling even when I know logically that it’s the best option not only for the forests at large but the deer themselves, but this is not an author who glorifies killing. Instead, he discusses every part of his work matter-of-factly, doing what needs to be done to help keep our wild places in balance, and this book is a fascinating insight into just that.
“From the crisp coldness of January, through the excitement of spring and the warmth of summer, and back into the dampness of the autumn and the chill winds of winter, we accompany the forest ranger as he goes about his work.. [this] is an enthralling journey deep into the heart of the English countryside.”
Buy (Affiliate Links): Amazon
The Pig of Happiness by Edward Monkton
Adult Humour / 4 Stars / 2024 Gift
I spotted this hilarious little book at a yard sale and picked it up for my sister, who has always loved pigs and has an affinity with all things Zen. I had to read it before handing it over (I’d say it took just under two minutes to read from cover to cover) and was very glad I did. A short modern parable, The Pig of Happiness cannot fail to put a smile on your face. After all, he is just SO happy!
“In the tradition of Jonathan Livingston Seagull comes The Pig of Happiness-a philosophizing porcine fellow with a penchant for spreading good cheer.”
Buy (Affiliate Links): Amazon
Magic Pill by Johann Hari
Adult Health / 5 Stars / Libro ALC
I absolutely loved every minute of this audiobook and gave it five stars, but I came to think a little differently later on. Magic Pill is a non-fiction deep dive into Ozempic - the “miracle” weight loss drug that currently has the world in thrall, it was even in the news again this week with the WHO issuing a global alert over counterfeits. Johann Hari has been taking Ozempic for some time, and was doing so while writing this book that looks at the pros and cons of the drug in detail. I loved it, but after finishing I read more about the author and discovered that he has been called out for plagiarism and admitted to malicious editing of Wikipedia amidst other issues. So while I still maintain that I found this book useful and informative, I sadly can’t see myself reading more from the author in the future.
“These drugs are about to change our world, for better and for worse. Everybody needs to understand how they work – scientifically, emotionally and culturally. Magic Pill is an essential guide to the revolution that has already begun – and which one leading expert argues could be as transformative as the invention of the smartphone.”
Buy (Affiliate Links): Amazon / Audible / Bookshop / Libro.fm
The Gifts Trilogy by Caroline O’Donoghue
YA LGBTQ Fantasy / 4 Stars / Review Copy and Borrowed from Library
I read All Our Hidden Gifts - the first book in the Gifts trilogy - two years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, which makes it all the more mystifying that I never picked up the two sequels during the last two years. In May, I needed to read a book with the word “every” in the title, and decided to use that requirement to spur me on to finish off this series. I ended up re-reading the first book again before continuing on to the Gifts That Bind Us and finally, Every Gift a Curse. This is a YA trilogy set in modern day Ireland and filled with magic, loveable LGBTQ characters, tarot, and an antagonist group taking the form of a conservative Christian youth group. It’s one of my favourite YA series and one that deserves so much more attention than it ever received.
Set in an Irish town where the church's tight hold has loosened, and new freedoms are trying to take root, magic-sensitive teenager Maeve and her friends become the targets of a conservative cult determined to suppress these freedoms and drain their home of its ancient source of power. To save Kilbeg, they must harness their extraordinary gifts and face difficult truths about themselves and what it means to grow up.
Buy (Affiliate Links): Amazon / Audible / Bookshop / Libro.fm