10 Books to Read in May

One thing I love about the lengthening evenings of May is the chance to spend some time on my deck or porch after dinner. What am I doing out there, besides listening to the birds? Reading, of course. Here are 10 books to put on your list this month. Whether you like crime or history, facts or fantasy, you're sure to find at least one book that calls to you.

Whodunits and Thrillers

• Aunt Dimity and the Widow's Curse by Nancy Atherton (Viking, May 30): This is the 22nd installment in a much-loved cozy mystery series featuring a young mother and her dear departed aunt. This outing involves one of Lori's elderly neighbors and a possible black widow-style curse. Good fun, set in England with a friendly ghost, and you can jump into the series right away; no need to start at the beginning, though why miss out?
• The Graves by Pamela Wechsler (Minotaur, May 2): The second book in the Abby Endicott series, set in Boston, promises to keep you guessing. Our protagonist, a chief district attorney in the homicide unit, is dead set on bring justice to a serial killer who is preying on young women. Class issues, politics, and the judicial system all come into play as Abby tries to help find the killer without becoming the next victim.
• What My Body Remembers by Angnete Friis (Soho Crime, May 2): Get ready for a new Scandinavian crime novel set in Denmark, which takes us on an emotional journal as a young woman struggles to recall the murder she may have witnessed when just a little girl. Will uncovering family secrets heal her or put her and her son in danger? Themes of parenting and PTSD round out the tightly woven plot.
• Target Omega by Peter Kirsanow (Dutton, May 16): This timely thriller pulls us into the world of weapons of mass destruction and the people who really shouldn't have access to them. As the only survivor of a special ops mission, our man Michael Garin is either very lucky or the perpetrator of the mishap. Intelligence agencies from Iran and Russia and even from his own U.S. government are to get Garin, who must stay alive along enough to thwart a horrific terrorist plot.

Astronauts: Real and Imaginary

• Chasing Space by Leland Melvin (Amistad, May 23): In this fabulous memoir, Melvin recounts his transition from NFL wide receiver to NASA astronaut. His story is one of overcoming setbacks, holding fast to one's dreams, and grabbing on to second chances. Melvin takes us behind the scenes, both on the ground and in space, as we follow his inspiring career. Plus, who doesn't love that book cover?
• Hold Back the Stars by Katie Khan (Gallery Books, May 23): In an astronaut's worst nightmare, Carys and Max are left floating in space with only a finite amount of oxygen and no one else in sight. If only one of them can be saved, who will it be and will they be able to make the decision? This novel is the perfect blend of action, romance, and literary fiction.

Modern-Day Stories

• The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo (Putnam, May 9): Fated or star-crossed? Lucy and Gabe meet in college at Columbia and connect over their visions of the future as well as their mutual attraction. Careers, however, take them on different but crossing paths, and as the years go by, they wonder what could have been (or could still be?). A contemporary love story that explores the dilemmas, emotions, and practical decisions that help and hinder twenty-first-century relationships.
• Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank (William Morrow, May 16). Frank is the queen of the beach read for women of a certain age, and her latest novel takes us back to her beloved Lowcountry and a story that spans two decades. Two couples witness and share years of jealousies, victories, tragedies, and everyday living as they meet each year for their summer at the beach. A thoughtful, intelligent, and witty story.

Women in History

• Marie Antoinette by Stefan Zweig (Pushkin Press; May 2): The definite biography of the famous French queen is being re-issued in an English translation this month. Based on Marie Antoinette's personal letters and other firsthand accounts, Zwieg exposes the private, human side of a woman who had few choices over her own fate. From her teenage political marriage that took her to a foreign country to her imprisonment during the French revolution, she tried to play her expected role, suppressing her own desires.
• The Widow Nash by Jamie Harrison (Counterpoint, May 22): In the early 20th century a young woman's life changes after her father, recently returned from a trip to Africa, seems to have lost both his fortune and his mind. While on a train carrying her father's body across the country for burial, she slips away at a Rocky Mountain station, leaving her controlling fiance and her old life behind. Soon she's settled in Montana, where she's known as a wealthy widow, but has she truly escaped her past? Historical fiction that's garnered lots of buzz.

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6 Books to Read This Summer (the 24in48 Edition)

This past weekend was the 24in48 Readathon (try to devote 24 hours to reading over the course of two days). I didn't track my reading stats, but I think I read about 8 hours a day over the weekend. I'm still (and ever) in the middle a few books, but here's what I finished.

Dave Goulson studies bees for a living--he's a biologist--and has a fascination with the natural world, from the smallest bugs to the largest mammals. In his second book, A Buzz in the Meadow, he invites us to the French countryside where he and his family have restored a rundown farm with the goal of providing a rich environment to a variety of plants wildlife. I love his intimate, conversational style and enjoyed seeing the farm from his point of view. More important, I liked learning about how easy it is to become a steward, protecting the often-forgotten species of insects and plants that inhabit our planet. (Picador, May 2016--paperback edition)

Faith Erin Hicks's Nameless City is the first in a new graphic novel / comics series that stars an unlikely couple: a well-off young boy who has been sent to the city to become a warrior, although his true love is books, and a homeless girl who knows how to negotiate the city and who is tough, smart, and resourceful. The story has a medieval Asian feel and involves politics, class differences, and the winds of war. The story hints at a deep past and a changing future and sets the stage for the rest of the series.The artwork is engaging, and its earthy colors resonate with me. You can easily get a feel for the action and the facial expressions are clear, and full of emotion. (First Second, April 2016)

I've been curious about Mona Awad's 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl not only because it won several awards but also because it received glowing praise from readers and bloggers. Perhaps I simply wasn't in the mood, but I had only a so-so reaction. There are certainly some emotionally intense and painful moments in the book as Elizabeth matures from teen to adult and struggles with her self-image and her relationships--with her mother, other women/girls, men/boys, store clerks, and others. In the end, though, I wanted something more, although I couldn't tell you what the more might be. It's a quick read and may resonate more deeply with you than it did with me. (Penguin Books, February 2016)

As many of you know, I love books in verse, so Sharon Creech's Moo was on my list. The story follows a young family that decides on a whim to move to Maine and start over when the parents lose their jobs after the big-city (New York?) newspaper they work for downsizes. The contrasts between city and country life are exemplified in how Reena and her little brother adjust to the freedom of being able to roam around outside without an adult. After their parents volunteer them to help an elderly woman take care of her cow, the siblings learn the less romantic side of rural living. Zora the cow has a mind of her own! I laughed out loud and I shed a few tears and I absolutely loved this book. ((HaperCollins, August 2016; Middle Grade)

Over the weekend I decided to read a short story or two in between the bigger books and picked Bonnie Jo Campbell's Mothers, Tell Your Daughters to do the job. I haven't finished the collection, but the stories I've read so far are emotionally strong and revolve around women in tough situations and tough relationships: marriage, sex, family, jobs, abuse, death. I might not be like many of the women I read about but I could easily connect to their issues and choices (or lack thereof). Of course, I liked some pieces more than others, but can recommend the collection for those of you who like to read short stories. My approach, as I noted, is to read only one or two pieces at a time; I'll finish the book over the next day or so. (Norton, October 2015)

One of my most anticipated books of the summer was Jacqueline Woodson's Another Brooklyn, and I was not disappointed. This amazing novel starts in contemporary times and with a funeral but quickly takes us back to the 1970s and focuses on a Southern, motherless black family who relocated to Brooklyn. Woodson captures the time period--the changing neighborhood, the drugs, the violence, the few choices, the difficulties of being young and black and female and poor.  Female friendships, death, family, choices, trust, religion . . . this slip of a book gave me so much to think about. I am a bit older than August, the protagonist, but I remember the era. Despite the immense differences between August's life and mine, we still share the universal experiences of being female in America. (Amistad, August 2016)

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