Here are my five-word book reviews of what I read this April and May.
Here’s April.
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Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman: Seems Lighthearted, Has a Twist
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Educated by Tara Westover: Journey Away from Messy Family (I can relate!)
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The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch: Comedy of Errors Meets Hamlet
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Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright: Disjointed Stories of Sweet Childhood
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Our Spoons Came from Woolworths by Barbara Comyns: Honest Narration of Woman’s Mistreatment
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Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker: Discover Sweetness of Immigrant Mother
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Wildwood by Josephine Johnson: Dark Anne of Green Gables
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I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell: Visceral Memoir of Body, Spirit
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Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker: Mommy Is an Abusive Liar
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Halfway by Maxine Kumin: Poems I Mostly Didn’t Understand
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The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church: Smart Woman Caught Between Men
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Homeward Bound by Emily Matchar: New Domesticity is Rad, Confusing (This was a reread for me.)
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My favorite books from April are The Black Prince, Our Spoons Came From Woolworths, and Winter Wheat. They were all 5-star reads for me!
Here is my May reading pile.
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Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth by Warsan Shire: visceral and vivid international poetry (Thanks to Carolyn for the recommendation!)
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The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter: Orphans learn there’s no magic
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Drowned by Therese Bowman: one man ruins two sisters
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The Wreath (Kristin Lavransdatter 1) by Sigrid Undset: medieval love drama surprisingly relevant
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The Wife (Kristin Lavransdatter 2) by Sigrid Undset: husband is jerk, wife forgives
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Mariana by Monica Dickens: never alone with right love
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The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark: dark school comedy of betrayal
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Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella: my reading indulgence, funny again
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My favorites in this stack are the Kristin Lavransdatter books. I loved reading the first two books in this series from Sigrid Undset, a Nobel Prize winner, and I plan to read the third book soon.
The Bookshelf of Emily J. 
I’ve made some notes in my ‘to-read’ notebook, Emily. I did enjoy Eleanor Oliphant. From the point of view of mental health awareness, too–like any movement, I think it’s important when books with protagonists, especially lovable ones, that exhibit those qualities, hit the mainstream.
Agreed! This book did such a nice job of presenting the issue in an accessible and interesting way.
I love the format of this post. Too often I get behind on reviews and then either don’t write anything at all about the books or else I shut down and don’t post at all for a couple of weeks! It’s a good reminder that my reviews can be as long or short as I want them to be.
Also, I loved Eleanor Oliphant. I can see myself reading it again someday.
Thank you! I’m waaaaaay behind on my reviews. I have been bookstagramming these monthly posts so I thought, why not blog them as well? I want to keep going on my blog, and this seems like a way I can do it without feeling overwhelmed.
I’m glad you liked Eleanor Oliphant. It was a good read!
I’ve been meaning to read something by Maggie O’Farrell.