Books Read in May 2021!

Posted On May 31, 2021

Hi Readers! We are already on the last day of May! How was your month? It was incredibly hot & humid in Mumbai, which sure sucked. I hate summers & because of the whole covid scenario, we can’t eat as much ice cream as we did earlier. Other than that, it was a good reading month. I read SEVEN BOOKS this month, of which 3 were poetry books & 4 were novels. It started out slow, but after I read those poetry books, I got a good momentum back. Check out the books below! 

~~FOUR NOVELS~~ 

~~WHEREABOUTS by JHUMPA LAHIRI~~

Whereabouts is a treasure box of untethered creativity & a wondrous flooding of imagination. Jhumpa Lahiri has taken the ordinary & made it extraordinary. Making the monotonous so beautifully wonderful is an art & Jhumpa Lahiri has made it all seem so simple, that it leaves me baffled. Without a sold plot, memorable characters or a purpose, this book has somehow achieved that edge of raw simplicity where every reader loves to dwell. I have rated Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘Whereabouts’ at 4.5/5 stars! I will definitely recommend reading this book. 

Check out the full review here! 

~~PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION by EMILY HENRY~~

Against my better judgement, I read another boring, predictable, stupid romantic novel. From the theme of the novel to the story writing to the characters, it was all a bit too meh. The reading experience during this one was completely miserable. I have rated this book at 2/5 stars. 

Check out the full review here! 

~~FIRST PERSON SINGULAR by HARUKI MURAKAMI~~

Translated to English just this year, I was keen on reading this collection of short stories by Murakami. There are eight short stories in it & each story is unique in its own Murakami way. Here’s my per story rating. 

Cream 2/5 
On a Stone Pillow 4/5 
Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova 5/5 
With the Beatles 3.5/5 
Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey 4/5 
Carnaval 3/5 
The Yakult Swallow Poetry Collection 2/5 
First Person Singular 2/5 

After reading this, I realised that I enjoy reading Murakami’s novels a lot more than the short stories. That way there is a lot of scope for all the weirdness to realise. The characters are also more interesting as is the story. My overall rating for First Person Singular is 2.5/5 stars! 

~~PACHINKO by MIN JIN LEE~~

I finished Pachinko just yesterday and I am still in the process of processing it. It is the story of a Korean family told over 100 years. The story writing is absolutely beautiful & brilliant. The characterization is also written wonderfully. Apart from this, the major lesson is how Koreans were treated during & after the war. Because of that harsh & unfair treatment, many of them have suicidal thoughts. So, it talks a lot of about mental health as well. I am working on the review & it will take some time for me to put all my thoughts on the review. Either way, stay tuned, it will be a good one! I have rated Pachinko at 5/5 stars! 

~~THREE POETRY BOOKS~~

THE PRINCESS SAVES HERSELF IN THIS ONE BY AMANDA LOVELACE

LOVE & MISADVENTURE by LANG LEAV

THE HILL WE CLIMB by AMANDA GORMAN

I had to read three poetry books as a part of my 2021 Reading Challenge. Because I was a lot behind on the challenge this year, I thought reading 3 short poetry books will help speed the process. I did not enjoy the first two books at all. They were very generic & nothing really hit me. Nothing was relatable & it felt kind of like a drag. There was really nothing that I haven’t read before. On the other hand, The Hill We Climb, was a lot more interesting. I think everyone had heard Amanda Gorman orate her poem on Joe Biden’s Presidential Inauguration. 

So, that’s all for now! I am currently reading Brandon Sanderson’s ‘The Way of Kings’ from the Stormlight Archive series. And still reading ‘Why We Sleep’ by Matthew Walker. Which books did you read this month? Is your TBR increasing or has it reduced? Let me know in the comments below!  

Until next time,