Turning the Page on May 2017

It was a bit of a hectic month here, mostly due to Jarrod having some crazy ridiculous hours at work, leaving me to entertain a 5-month-old very energetic puppy on my own. Not a lot got done around the house, I'll say that much!

Luckily things finally settled down, and on the very last day of May I made it to the beach for the first time in months! It was warm and peaceful and lovely, and I simply must get back into going every week or two like I did pre-puppy!

Books read: 9

"A Conjuring of Light" by V.E Schwab (4.5 stars)

"Saga" vol. 7 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (4 stars)

"Umentionable: A Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners" by Therese Oneill (3 stars)

"Maisie Dobbs" by Jacqueline Winspear (4 stars)

"The Lost City of Z" by David Grann (4 stars)

"Waking Gods" by Sylvain Neuvel (4 stars)

"American War" by Omar El Akkad (4 stars)

"The Stranger in the Woods" by Michael Finkel (3.5 stars)
"Into the Water" by Paula Hawkins (3.5 stars)

Currently reading: "A Twist in Time" by Julie McElwain (book 2 in the Kendra Donovan historical mystery/time travel series).

Favorite book: Definitely "A Conjuring of Light." What a fantastic ending to the Shades of Magic trilogy! If you haven't yet met Kell and Delia, I highly recommend this fun fantasy series. (The first book is called "A Darker Shade of Magic.")

Biggest let-down: "Unmentionable" wasn't horrible, and I did learn a few things about Victorian life, but the author's sarcastic, snarky tone started to wear on me pretty quickly.

June release I'm most excited about: "The Essex Serpent" by Sarah Perry.

Book I'm most excited to read in June: So many! June is going to be a month devoted to reading backlist and books I already own -- something that's been sorely lacking this year. I've read almost entirely new releases, and that's probably why I've yet to award any book 5 stars.

Books added to to-read list: 10 (not bad!)

Most intriguing TBR addition: "Artemis" by Andy Weir. I'm so excited to finally read another book by the author of "The Martian"!

Here's part of the Goodreads blurb: "Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself -- and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first."

Favorite bookstagram: This picture has some of my favorite things: historical fiction, a cup of tea, flowers, and a yummy dessert (apple cake!). Find me on Instagram @knittinglindsay.

I actually did a little bit of knitting this month! My best friend at work is getting ready to move from Hawaii to Virginia (that's the way the military goes -- you make a friend and one of you moves away!) so I whipped up a hat for her as a going-away gift. I used the Slouchy Copycat Hat pattern, which I used once before to make a hat for my Bookish Secret Santa swap partner, and it came through for me a second time. I think this hat looks good on everyone!

I also splurged and ordered a kit of absolutely gorgeous hand-dyed merino wool from Tanis Fiber Arts to knit the So Faded sweater, which I'm hoping to cast on soon!

Favorite post: 10 Beautiful Night Sky Book Covers. I love book covers, and it was so fun looking back through my Goodreads lists to compile the post.

Book reviews:
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
The Lost City of Z by David Grann
Unmentionable by Therese Oneill