A pile of plans for May inspired by annoyingly inviting BookTube reading events
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- Опубліковано 17 вер 2024
- Who put so many great readathons in May and why can't I resist their attraction?
Books mentioned:
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
12 Birds to Save Your Life by Charlie Corbett
Poyums by Len Pennie
Metamorphosis: a life in pieces by Robert Douglas Fairhurst
Of Human Bondage by William Somerset Maugham
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Céspedes translated by Ann Goldstein
Of Cattle and Men by Ana Paula Maia translated by Zoe Perry
Brotherless Night by VV Ganeshananthan
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunarilaka
James by Percival Everett
The Hotel and Last September by Elizabeth Bowen
Normal Women by Philippa Gregory
In Parenthesis by David Jones
Events mentioned with host's channels:
Springathon @myreadinglife8816@alldbooks9165 @CuriousReader @ACupOfBooks
Mental Health May @MarilynMayaMendoza @MIDDLEoftheBookMARCH
Spoonies Readathon @novellenovels @BrewsandReviews
Misery May @GunpowderFictionPlot @GemofBooks I accidentally said Jack who is also a wonderful booktube friend
Asian Readathon @withcindy
You are a wonder! I’m always excited to check in with your channel to see what you’re reading this month.
Thank you Pat. That's a lovely thing to say. I hope your May is full of great plans too.
So many exciting possibilities!
I think a few will roll into June but I'm having a good reading month.
PS I loved portrait of a lady!
Good to hear 😃
This is an exciting lineup, Ros! Much to my surprise, as a person who reads mostly fiction, I also have a People April hangover. I still have several memoirs on my mind that I want to read soon.
I have Wandering Stars on my cart; I hope to read it soon. James is the best novel I've read so far this year; hope you love it, too!
That's exciting to hear from you about James. We'll see what we both make of Wandering Stars.
I am so looking forward to reading James with you-both the misery and especially the joy! Also Bowen, and Everett, and maybe Gregory if I can squeeze it in…
The Gregory is full of fascinating tidbits but is not a flowing read.
I second the view that the audiobook of braiding sweetgrass is beautiful. So many wonderful buddyreads and readathons. May sounds very promising ✨️
Hope your May is equally promising Katja. We need to plan another buddyread sometime.
And your review of James tipped thr balance for me to go for that this month.
So many fabulous books on this TBR! Hope you love Braiding Sweetgrass!
I'm a couple of chapters in and loving it.
I love Tommy Orange! I can't wait to read Wandering Stars - I have it on hold at the library. Every time I see a booktuber holding it, I get excited again! 😅❤.
I'm halfway through and it is living up expectations 😃
An ambitious TBR list indeed! Don’t forget to eat and sleep! 😉😉
Will do! Oh and work of course.
@@scallydandlingaboutthebook2711 Of course!
I loved brotherless night sooo much 😊 I’m reading seven moons in June so I am interested to hear what you think of it. Thank you so much for your kind words and doing our Readathon 😊💜
Tilly and I are both really looking forward to Brotherless Night. And thanks for doing the Readathon 😘
I am so excited for all these readathons. I'm trying to do some crossovers and I also have a lot library holds coming in, so let's see how all of that goes. 🙆🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️ But it is such a nice problem to have.
It is isn't it?
Hello Roz, first of all thank you so much for participating in Mental Health May.. I will also try to check out the spoonie event because I have invisible, invisible illnesses.
I read “of human bondage” and although I had Covid at the time, it really held my attention and wonderfully written. It sounds like you’re having a very full May. awesome video! Aloha friend
Of yes do check out the Spoonies Readathon. There's a natural link with your event I think. Meanwhile I started listening to Poyums today. It is brilliant so far and very much mental health connected.
I will be reading James in May. And also Forbidden Notebook.
That's exciting. I look forward to hearing your reactions too.
Just a few books there. 😂
Oh only a handful really 🤣
Sadly, as you’ve spotted already, I am not a miserable May host - too much misery is too much for me! 😂 Amazing plans! Am with you on the slow approach to some longer or older books - it’s a delightful way to enjoy certain books!
I know I know. I meant to say Gem and Jack came out instead.
Don't worry Ros...I also haven't read Percival Everett, but I am waiting for my hold of James to come in from the library.
I read Braiding Sweetgrass a few months ago with one of my book clubs and loved it!
You too Melinda! We'll join the Everett club soon. And good to hear you loved Sweetgrass.
I like that People "April" isn't ending with all of these extra memoirs. And so many other reading events. I may try a Springathon read and maybe I will steal The Forbidden Notebook from you when you have finished. Looking forward to our buddy read as well.
I've got a memoir bug just now. Forbidden Notebook comes highly recommended!
My goodness, you will be super busy however, you just killed my TBR (hahaha) I just ordered 2 Elizabeth Bowen books I have not read her before. And Norman Women is sitting as my 'next up' beside my bed ! Oh and I ordered Henry James' Portrait of a Lady. You come up with some of the very best things !! Thank you, Roz !!
I am so excited you are going to try Bowen, Lee. She deserves more attention I think. I have only read a couple of things by Henry James. I am hoping reading with Hannah will make him more digestible.
Braiding Sweetgrass is lovely in the audio version. It is also a beautiful hard copy book! I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you Teri. Good to hear you rate the audio version. I find nonfiction is surprisingly successful for me in the audio format.
Braiding Sweetgrass is absolutely wonderful so I am sure you will love it. There is one particular chapter about the language we use about nature that is so important and powerful. Robin Wall Kimmerer is at the Hay Festival this year so I decided I have to go!
We have some other tbr books in common - Forbidden Notebook, Of cattle and men, James and Seven Moons are all books I hope to get to this year!
We are definitely in tune with our reading Ian. Good to know you rate Sweetgrass so highly.
I kinda struggled with Brotherless Night but I did finish it…I truly love Percival Everett, his book Trees was my 1st book…I’m saving James since I picked The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store for book club this month so want savor both for a bit!
I imagine Brotherless Night will be a tough read. Delighted to hear you rate Everett so highly. I will read Trees eventually too.
If I read two of those I would call it a good month. Don’t try to read so much that you accidentally break something! (I find that long slow reads can be a good preventive. 🤔)
I'll be careful David. Lots of reading may keep me out of harm's way.
I’m with you Ros, fitting the books I want to read in with the readathons although I did specially pick Janet Frames’s Faces in the Water for Mental Health May- I have a suspicion it might work for Misery in May too. I’m also the last person to be reading At Night All Blood is Black which again works for Misery in May. You are not the last person to read Braiding Sweetgrass, I haven’t either and have also been told I’d love it. I do have problems with very praised books though in that my expectations are sky high and I fear the book can’t match up. I laughed when you said murder and destruction was your thing, I seem to read a lot of miserable stuff too but must admit I’ve avoided Of Cattle and Men because of the animal slaughter aspect, animal cruelty is one thing I find hard to read, you’ll have to let me know if the book manages it well because often it is the context that matters. With other books I’m already reading or planning to I think I am inadvertently taking part in all the May readathons as well 😉and my TBR is similarly as huge as yours so fingers crossed it’s a good reading month 🤞
I read Janet Frame's memoir An Angel at my Table years ago and have always meant to read more by her. I predict you will find the Diop satisfying. Rash of me to say that as it is a risk reading a highly praised book as you say. That's one reason why I put off Sweetgrass for so long. Of Cattle and Men is short and brutal. I just finished it. I hesitate to offer any reassurance about it as it is explicit in describing slaughter but I found the style oddly beautiful and compelling. And the intention is pure.
I'll be very interested to hear your thoughts on The Forbidden Notebook. I read it a few months ago and really enjoyed it. Brotherless NIght is fantastic. I will be reading James in May.
Good to hear another positive opinion of Forbidden Notebook. I will definitely make that one a priority. I hope we both find James rewarding.
You've got a number of winners planned. I recently read and enjoyed both Wandering Stars and Brotherless Night. I read Of Cattle and Men last year (?). I think it would be really interesting to read with Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterica (sp?). She is Argentinian and also wrote a short book involving a slaughterhouse.
I feel it is going to be a good month. I haven't read Tender is the Flesh but it looks interesting and as you say would be an interesting pairing.
I'm so happy you're planning on reading Forbidden Notebook - put it highest on your list! 😊 Though Brotherless Night and 7 Moons are also fantastic. 📚
Well there's my priority list for starters. Thanks Eric.
Thank you so much for the mention!!! 🥰
It's a precious readathon Kim.
I have yet to read Elizabeth Bowen. I have a second hand book of hers "Friends and Relations" I am yet to read.
Do try her when you have time. I haven't read that particular novel but all have read have been good.
Ooh.. i might just pick up OHBondage (on my shelf for yrs) so i can tune into your discussion in 'real time' & i hope you enjoy POALady, HJ is not the most popular classics author here on yt (i do see why) but gosh do i love him (TWOTDove Misery May tbr) & personally i love the way he writes female characters. Im 50 pgs into Jude The Obscure (MMay again) & i hold you entirely responsible Roz 😆💕 so far so good 😉😊 btw theres a great lecture here by prof Robert Pippin re POALady (if you do enjoy it) 👍
Alas the Of Human Bondage discussion is not a public one as it is on Shawn's Patreon. Like you I have meant to read it for years and am glad that this has pushed me to do so. It is long and not always a lovable novel and yet I am finding it rewarding. Jude is perfect
for Misery May. Good luck with it. It is almost too much but I have never regretted reading it. It is good to hear you love James. I have read a couple of books by him and not become altogether won over but have high hopes for Portrait of a Lady, especially sharing it with Hannah.
Thanks for suggesting the lecture.
@@scallydandlingaboutthebook2711 Damn well if you do a review for OHB on your channel i'll defo tune in. I did enjoy The Painted Veil have a lovely month & i do hope you're feeling better (shoulder etc) 🙂
Love that you try to cover a bunch of readathons! And through you I discovered the Spoonies one, will check the hosts out, thank you!
I believe that the second Misery May host is @gemofbooks, not the one listed. Great choses of books for this one; I also participate.
Can't believe I said Jack not Gemma. They are both booktube friends of mine! Thanks for noticing and saying so I coukd edit this.