It's been a minute since I've done one of these, but I'm rededicating time this month to actually posting on here more regularly and committing to this project. I have a very ambitious month ahead of me reading-wise, so much so that I have to do bullets for them in my planner to keep myself on track (very Type A of me, I know)! However, I do have some exciting ~content~ also coming to this blog too, especially this summer, and it's been what motivated me to recommit to my blog. Here's my X-book TBR for the next 31 days without further ado!
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Last year, my friend and I read The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson for Halloween, and we *loved* her writing! I'm really looking forward to reading this short story and see the range of Jackson's writing for my book club this month. However, since this is a shorter book, we also picked a second book for this month.
White Noise by Don DeLillo
I don't know much about this book, but I do know that it was adapted for Netflix starting Adam Driver recently. My friend and I love reading classics and watching their adaptations and comparing them, so I'm really glad that we found yet another classic novel adaptation to read and watch.
This Boy We Made: A Memoir of Motherhood, Genetics, and Facing the Unknown by Taylor Harris
This is not my typical kind of book that I would pick up on my own, but this is The Stacks Book Club pick for this month. I am interested to see who the guest speaker is and what Traci thinks of this book. I'm liking it so far, but I'm also a little frustrated with it.
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
Literary League, a digital book club that I've been following for a while, finally came back last month, and I'm excited to start following along! This book is a debut that explores consumerism, self-worth, race, and identity, and I'm eager to see how this unfolds.
You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith
I am attending an event for this book with the author through one of my local bookstores, and I'm excited to read this! I haven't read any of her work before, and she's local to Columbus, which makes it even more fun!
Just As You Are by Camille Kellogg
I recently joined a romance book club through one of my local independent bookstores with a friend, and I'm really excited to 1) talk about romance books and 2) meet new people in my city! This was the book club pick for this quarter, and I'm really excited to read it.
Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory
You heard that correctly: I'm FINALLY reading Royal Holiday! I'm nearly done with it, but I really love the comparisons between London and California, and now I also want to go to London at Christmas time because it sounds so dreamy. This romance focuses on Maddie (from The Wedding Party) and her mother, Vivian, as they travel to London for Christmas while Maddie styles the Duchess (inspired by Meghan Markle) for Christmas events. While there, Vivian meets Malcolm Hudson, the attractive private secretary of the Queen, and it all takes off from there. This is the light book I've needed, and I am loving it!
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkein
I read The Hobbit and the first two Lord of the Rings books last year, and I enjoyed them, but they weren't my favorite. I decided to finally circle back to the last one so I could finish the series and return the book to my dad. I started reading the series initially because my dad wanted me to watch the movies with him, and I told him I had to read the books first so I could understand them. That was three years ago, and I'm now following through with my end of the bargain.
Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba, Angola, Africa, 1595 by Patricia C. McKissack
I'm still going strong with my personal reading challenge of reading the Royal Diaries series. As of this moment, this will be the diary where I am the most unfamiliar with the heroine/narrator as well as the time period and political climate of when this diary would have theoretically been written. I learn a lot from all of these books, especially with the historical context at the back of the books, so I'm looking forward to reading something new.
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
I was not a Percy Jackson reader as a kid; I found that Harry Potter was superior and that reading the Percy Jackson series wasn't worth it, so I never bothered. During the pandemic, I read the series for the first time, and I was pleasantly surprised. However, the sixth installment of the series is being published in late September, so I'm planning to start rereading the series now so I'm not rushing through them at the end.
They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib
Getting a signed copy of this book that was kindly paid for by Hanif was the highlight of my independent bookstore day. I have been wanting to read his work for a while now (his other popular book is A Little Devil in America), and I'm excited to finally give myself an excuse to read it!
As of this post going live, my sorority book club pick has not picked our May book yet (we are meeting later this week), but I'm thinking we will pick something by an AAPI author for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. We don't always pick themes, but sometimes we do, and it would be exciting to read more books by Asian authors and prioritize reading more books by authors that don't share my experience.
What book(s) are you planning to read this month? Or which one are you most excited for? Let me know in the comments; I'd love to start a conversation with you!
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