May 2016 Monthly Round-Up

May 2016 Monthly Round-Up
May Reading/Life

  • May was my best reading month of the year so far! There was really only one book I wouldn’t recommend (Girls on Fire). And, wouldn’t you know it, only 1 of my May books was an ARC…lending some credence to my analysis showing I Should Read Fewer ARCs.
  • I finished and enjoyed two audiobooks this month (The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving A F*ck and Kardashian Dynasty) continuing the “listen to light nonfiction while getting ready for bed, driving, and doing housework” strategy that has suddenly started working for me.
  • Two books would’ve won “best book of the month” almost any other month this year: The Expatriates and The Mother. Sorry you both had to fall during a month with such solid competition!
  • I actually made a little progress towards my 2016 goals of reading more nonfiction (my two audiobooks) and backlist (Our Souls at Night). And, I found two solid books that would be perfect for my 2016 Summer Reading Guide (The Girls and The After Party).
  • I’ve been knee deep in triathlon training and race day is only a week and a half away, which means workouts are starting to get easier!

Best Book of the Month

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (May 24, 2016)
Fiction, 368 Pages

Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

Top Backlist Books on my “To Be Read” List

Mudbound by Hillary Jordon
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Most Popular May Posts

2016 Summer Reading Guide
Climbers and Faders: Ten Books I Feel Differently About Now That Time Has Passed
My Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2016
The Numbers Don’t Lie: I Should Read Fewer ARCs (Advance Reader Copies)

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32 Comments

  1. I’m going to check out Our Souls at Night thanks to your recommendation. Right now I’ve picked up The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend and am finding it pleasant comfort reading.

    Your ARC discussion was very interesting – I’m thinking of posting some of my own thoughts on the topic soon.

    Have a great month!

    Posted 6.2.16 Reply
  2. RK wrote:

    Hello! Just wanted to let you know that I recently found your website and it has quickly become one of my absolute favorite blogs! It’s such a treasure trove of reviews, articles, and thoughtful discussion. I look forward to each of your posts. As an aside, I’m about halfway through Sweetbitter myself and am enjoying it – glad to see that it was your best book of the month! Keep up the fantastic work. 🙂

    Posted 6.2.16 Reply
  3. I’m impressed you read so much while you were training so intensely

    Posted 6.2.16 Reply
  4. I thought I was excited for Girls on Fire, but couldn’t even make it through the full Kindle sample! Sorry it didn’t work out for you either, but you’re inspiring me to pick up Sweetbitter, which I’ve been eyeing up lately and everyone seems to be raving about. Hope June holds more great books for you!

    Posted 6.2.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Oh – I’m so glad someone else felt similarly…I feel like I’ve seen nothing but rave reviews!

      Posted 6.2.16 Reply
  5. Amanda wrote:

    Oh I am so glad it isn’t just me with Girls on Fire! I’ve been trying to find the words to review it and they just aren’t coming. And YAY Sweetbitter!!! I am loving seeing this book get love and also pushing it on everyone!

    Posted 6.2.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Haha – I found words for Girls on Fire…they just aren’t that fantastic. I’m still looking for the right words to describe Lacey to convey what I’m trying to say…and why she bothered me so much.

      Posted 6.2.16 Reply
  6. Sweetbitter’s been getting a lot of love lately! Are you going to review Girls on Fire sometime? I had mixed feelings about it when I first heard of it, and so far I haven’t been motivated to pick it up, even after reading a bunch of gloooowing reviews of it. I’d be interested to hear some thoughts from the other end of the opinion spectrum!

    Posted 6.2.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Yes – I’ve written a mini review, but it prob won’t go up until week after next.

      Posted 6.2.16 Reply
  7. You know it’s a good month when it’s hard to pick a favorite! I need one of those months for sure 🙂

    Posted 6.2.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      You’ll get one! Good karma 🙂

      Posted 6.2.16 Reply
  8. I’ve only realized just now that The Girls and Girls on Fire are two separate books. Pfff, no wonder that I kept getting refused whenever I saw either one of them mentioned. I’m glad you had such a good reading month, and Sweetbitter is now on my list of books to look out for. (Impressed by your triathlon training! Enjoy the race!!)

    Posted 6.2.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Haha – yes, but can see why it’s confusing!

      And thank you, I hope it goes well 🙂

      Posted 6.2.16 Reply
  9. I’m so glad you enjoyed Our Souls at Night. The light pace and voice are so perfect for the characters and such lessons to be learned about our elderly. Sweetbitter is one I broke down and got because I just couldn’t stand not having it, anymore. Lord only knows when I’ll get to read it, though. haha

    Your training is impressive. Heck, a triathlon is more than impressive! Enjoy and keep those muscles and bones safe. 🙂 (and thanks for the shoutout!)

    Posted 6.2.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I think you’ll love Sweetbitter 🙂

      Posted 6.2.16 Reply
  10. Naomi wrote:

    Yay for a great month (reading and training)!
    The (Not so) Famous (Almost) Last Words feature is fun – I could get sucked into wanting to read a lot of books that way!

    Posted 6.2.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      As style is becoming more and more important to me in loving a book, posts like that are so helpful in deciding whether to read a book!

      Posted 6.2.16 Reply
  11. Tara wrote:

    I’m so thrilled that you enjoyed Sweetbitter and I’ve just started The Girls; I’m 25% of the way in and it’s definitely a keeper, for now! I’m really enjoying the writing and I’m intrigued by Evie. I’m so excited about your upcoming race!! YOU ARE READY!!

    Posted 6.2.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Oh yay – can’t wait to hear what you think! Ha – I hope I’m ready 🙂 I feel pretty good!

      Posted 6.2.16 Reply
  12. So glad to hear you had such a great month! I need to read pretty much ALL of these books.

    Posted 6.2.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Thank you and hope you get to some of them!

      Posted 6.2.16 Reply
  13. I employ the same non-fiction audiobook strategy and it’s working well. I listened to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up recently and just finished reading (ebook) Not Giving a F*ck, which I think I would have preferred as an audiobook.

    Thanks for the shoutout and happy reading!

    Posted 6.2.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      It was a great audio! And I’m loving the tweaks it made to my mentality!

      Posted 6.2.16 Reply
  14. Melinda wrote:

    I’ve seen so many good things about Sweetbitter…I can’t wait to read it!

    Posted 6.2.16 Reply
  15. I’m glad you had such a great month! I’m off to check out some of your links.

    Posted 6.3.16 Reply
  16. You had a great month! I’m happy to see Mudbound on your TBR list. It’s a great book. While it might not be light non-fiction, Columbine was an excellent audiobook if you haven’t read it already.

    Here’s to another great reading month!

    Posted 6.4.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I’ve heard such wonderful things about Mudbound. Trying to get to it this year…I need to be better about working in backlist books!

      I’ll check out Columbine!

      Posted 6.6.16 Reply
  17. I liked The Expatriates a lot, glad you did too! Sweetbitter sounds fun, I’ll have to look for it at the library.

    Posted 6.4.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Glad to see another Expatriates fan! Fingers crossed for Sweetbitter at the library!

      Posted 6.6.16 Reply
  18. Ann @ Books on the Table wrote:

    Glad you had such a great reading month! Mine was not so good but I’m hoping June will be better. I can’t wait to read Sweetbitter. I loved The Expatriates and Our Souls at Night. Best of luck in your upcoming race!

    Posted 6.5.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I’ve been recommending Sweetbitter to all my friends…I hope you like it! And thank you about the race luck 🙂

      Posted 6.6.16 Reply
  19. I am moving Sweetbitter up on my list and adding The Girls as well (I had been avoiding it as something about the cover turns me off). An earlier post of yours convinced me to try The Expatriates, which I ended up really liking.

    I’m currently reading The Widow in print, The Sky is Everywhere on Kindle, and listening to a thriller, Because She Loves Me.

    Posted 6.5.16 Reply

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