Books Read in May 2023!

Posted On May 31, 2023

Hi Readers! We are one month away from being in the second half of 2023. How crazy is that? May has been a month of changes, adjustments and letting go. Through all of that, I stayed true to my anchor. I read EIGHT BOOKS across 3040 PAGES in May. I loved three of them, liked two a lot and did not like three. I read many short books and also a majority them digitally. I read a lot more diversely this month. Not only in terms of genres, but also in terms of the authors. So, here are some recommendations your way!

~~BOOKS I LOVED~~

~~Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson~~

Oathbringer is the third book in the Stormlight Archive series. I read this book about 14 months after reading the last one. I had forgotten a lot of the story, so I read the recap online before diving into it. Reading this 1248-page book certainly took more than 2 weeks, but it was such a delight. There are so many characters and there is so much going on all the time! I think Book Two is still my favorite, but this one was just amazing too! I have rated Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson at 5/5 stars!

~~How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart by Florentyna Leow~~

How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart is the kind of book wherein readers have different opinions based on their own life experiences. Just in about 96 pages, it works on several different levels. To me, I found the constant theme of ‘belonging’ to be the most overwhelmingly intimate. A job. A city. A friendship. Do you belong in your team of colleagues and the company as a whole? Do you belong in a city which is not your home? Do you truly belong in a friendship? And as a reader, do you belong in the environment of this book? This book is tiny but mighty and gets you thinking on levels you would not have imagined. I think everyone should read this book to find their own meaning within it. I have rated How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart by Florentyna Leow at 4.5/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel~~

Still Born was one of the books shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023. Still Born is a short book but talks multitudes about motherhood. Not only about having children or abstaining from motherhood, but also much more complicated ways in which motherhood has a long lasting impact on a woman’s life. Still Born is a book which you will not be able to put down. It might as well be something you read in a day. It does not have a wonderful writing style, no. It does not have too many events, no. It does not even have too many characters, no. It’s not the kind of book where you can judge it by your usual parameters. With its mediocre yet gripping writing style, it will hold your attention and make you question about motherhood and parenthood. That is its intention and it does very well in relaying the complexities of parenthood. It succeeds at what it sets out to achieve and makes for a profound and thought-provoking read. I have rated Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel and translated by Rosalind Harvey at 4.5/5 stars.

You can read the full review here!

~~BOOKS I LIKED~~

~~Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto~~

This is another book which had a lot of hype on Instagram, so I finally caved, because the title itself does half the work of selling the book! I got a lot of fun, joy and whimsy from this book. An old (ish) lady bossing around people who she thinks are suspects in a murder. And the funnier part is these people just go about whatever she says. At times hilarious, at other time heart-warming, this book is certainly among one of my favorite cozy mysteries. I think you should read this book if you are in a reading slump or need something light to read. I have rated Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto at 4/5 stars!

I haven’t written the review yet, but I plan to do it soon.

~~The Art of Living: Reflections on Mindfulness and the Overexamined Life by Grant Snider~~

I think by now, I read at least one graphic novel in a month. Grant Snider has been one of my favorite artists. I have loved his other work including graphic novel ‘I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf’ and some of the other things he shares on Instagram. I also want to read ‘The Shape of Ideas’ soon. I absolutely loved ‘The Art of Living’. It is just as the title of the book says. It doesn’t force you to reflect, but after reading just a few pages, you immediately feel the need to disconnect. You feel like walking around in a field of lilies or lying down in the park having a solo picnic or just sitting on a mountain watching the sun set. How an indoor-person like me felt like wanting to do these things is beyond me, so I suppose that’s the beauty of it. I have rated The Art of Living: Reflections on Mindfulness and the Overexamined Life by Grant Snider at 4/5 stars!

~~BOOKS I DID NOT LIKE~~

~~The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel~~

I know now that Emily St. John Mandel is not the author for me. I did not like Station Eleven, and I did not like The Glass Hotel, and that’s putting it mildly. In The Glass Hotel, the actual story runs entirely on the surface and never once dives into a deeper level. What is described in the Goodreads blurb is exactly what happens. There is no hidden meaning or connection to other events that transpire. There was simply no point to the story. The book has a non-linear story telling with not remotely a stable structure. It has glimpses of a mystery, but it really is simply contemporary fiction at its worst. I have rated The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel at 1/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~Happy Place by Emily Henry~~

Emily Henry is another author not for me, but I will still continue to read her books because now it’s kind of a tradition. There were several things that did not work for me in Happy Place. There were stupid tropes. There were good tropes implemented in an awful manner. All the characters were just lifeless and did not come alive on the page. The story was more predictable than it is in most romance novels. So, yeah, overall, quite a disappointment. I have rated Happy Place by Emily Henry at 2/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~Nimona by ND Stevenson~~

I read another graphic novel at the end of the month. I think this is the first one which I did not like that much. There was a lot of action along with fantasy, so it did have the usual prerequisites, but somehow it felt flat for me. I have rated Nimona by ND Stevenson at 2/5 stars!

~~MAY READING STATS~~

So, that is all, folks. A good reading month! How was yours? Which was your favorite?

I also realised that I don’t usually include anything about me during this monthly wrap-ups. I might start doing that, so here are a few photos. I went out with my friend Suruchi for lunch. We went to Bandra and had lunch at Dona Deli and then went to Dessert Therapy for desserts! It was such an amazing day. I had a lot of fun. We also took a lot of videos to make the Wes Anderson reel, which you can check on my Instagram!

Until next time,