Books Read in May

Purple irises in bloom

It took me a while to catch up on reviews, but looking back, May was a great reading month! Here's what I finished last month:

• Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett (MA/ME) - adult fiction
• Bent Heavens by Daniel Krauss (IA) - teen/YA fiction on audio
• Lakewood by Megan Giddings (MI) - adult fiction on audio

• The Last One by Alexandra Oliva (PA) - adult fiction
• Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos (CA)  - teen/YA fiction
• The Call of the Wild by Jack London (AK, Canada) - adult fiction classic

• The Way to Stay in Destiny by Augusta Scattergood (FL) - middle-grade fiction 

I finished seven books in total in May, and it was an all fiction month! Between the pandemic and not feeling well most of the time, I needed to just escape into fictional worlds during my reading time. These represented quite a variety of different kinds of novels, though, from family drama to thriller to sci fi to nature classic. I read two teen/YA novels, one for middle-graders, and the rest were adult fiction. And I listened to two of my books on audio. For pure pleasure, my favorite book read last month was The Last One by Alexandra Oliva, a fast-paced thriller about a reality survival show gone wrong--pure escapism, just what I needed!

Progress in 2020 Reading Challenges:
You can see all of the reading challenges I am participating in and full lists of the books read for each at the challenges link. I have some fun ones going this year! Here's how May stacked up:

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2020 - I read 5 books from my own shelves last month! The pandemic has been great for reducing my TBR shelves.  

2020 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - May was Author Introduction, so Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos fits (first book I've read by the author), plus bonus points as it's been on my shelf for about 8 years!

Back to the Classics 2020 - I read a classic, bringing my grand total for 2020 to ... two! I read The Call of the Wild by Jack London (published in 1903) and counted it in the challenge as "A classic with nature in the title."

PopSugar Reading Challenge - this is a unique one! I fit five of my seven books into categories in May, filling in 31 categories so far this year--it's getting more challenging with fewer categories left but still a lot of fun:

1. The first book you touch on a shelf with your eyes closed - Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett
2. A book featuring one of the deadly sins - Bent Heavens by Daniel Krauss (wrath)
3. A book by a WOC -  Lakewood by Megan Giddings 
4. A book published the month of your birthday (July) - The Last One by Alexandra Oliva
5. A book with a great first line - Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos

2020 Nonfiction Reader's Challenge - No nonfiction in May.

2020 Diversity Reading Challenge - Three of my books were diverse, though none fit this month's category (East Asian/Southeast Asian/Pacific Islander).

Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge - No new countries last month - the only book that took place outside the U.S. was (partly) The Call of the Wild, but I already had Canada listed.

2020 Literary Escapes Challenge - I added four new states: Maine, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Alaska.

I also kicked off my own annual challenge, 2020 Big Book Summer Challenge.

And finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month! Stop by to print out this month's Bingo card and play along. In May, I filled 19 spaces on my bingo card:

Spaces Filled:

Imagine Me Gone - independent publisher, more than 1 POV
Bent Heavens - More than one person on cover, audiobook, sci fi
Lakewood - free book, mother, book club read, new release
The Last One - Orange on the cover, thriller/suspense
Out of Reach - not in a series, contemporary
The Call of the Wild - squad/team, made into a movie, read a physical book
The Way to Stay in Destiny - overcoming adversity, shelf love
Free Space

What was your favorite book read in May?