My May 2024 TBR

I've struggled with reading the last two months, so for May, I'm drastically cutting back my TBR to give me the opportunity to read more of what I want to in the moment. That being said, I still have a couple of books I want or need to get to next month, so let's have a look at those.

The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry

First up is an interesting new horror novel that I've only just learned is a retelling of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. The House That Horror Built follows a single mother named Harry who takes on a new job as a cleaning lady for a reclusive old horror film director. While trying to keep her head down and maintain the discretion so valued by her new employer, Harry hears noises behind a locked door that sound suspiciously like someone pleading for help, and she has to decide whether to uncover the secrets of the house or leave them be. This one isn't getting great ratings, but I've enjoyed one of the author's previous books much more than its average rating would suggest, so I'm interested to see how this goes.

White Little Lies by Philippa East

This book was the month's pick at my local in-person book club. It was chosen because the author will be speaking at a nearby Women's Institute in a few weeks' time and with there being considerable overlap between the two groups, it was decided it would be nice to read something by her prior to the visit. I always enjoy reading books by local authors, and this will be another nice addition to that list.

“Every”

The Buzzword prompt for May is a book with "every" in the title. I'm currently toying between Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire, a fantasy book I've been meaning to get to one day but isn't easily accessible (and is also book one in a very long series) or Lock Every Door by Riley Sager, a thriller who's big twist I already know. I'll probably make the decision later in the month.

Star Wars

May is Star Wars month thanks to May 4th and I generally try to prioritise reading at least a few Star Wars books during the month. This May I have a whole lot of unread books from the galaxy far, far away sitting on my shelves, and I'm excited at the thought of mood reading from that perhaps too vast selection! The choices I'm leaning towards right now are starting on the YA High Republic novels, or digging into one of the two anthologies I got for Christmas.

Catching Up

Finally, I’m hoping to use May to catch up on some of the hopeful books I never got around to in previous months. I really need to get on with some more Edgar Allan Poe, finish up The Lord of the Rings, and read one book I borrowed from a friend among other things. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this month I might finally make some headway into those, as this should be a quieter month than the previous few.