I don’t know what happened to May, but here we are at the finish. It’s a big month for birthdays in my family and we squeezed in a college graduation too! It’s always nice to settle into a comfy chair during the down times and relax with a book, a show or a puzzle.
I’ve become a bit crazy with a word game I have on my ancient Kindle called Every Word: Crossings, and I have been playing it obsessively. I never look at that as a waste of time, though. Things like that always help me sort out my day.
And I went a little overboard with my Barbie doll posts (see below), but it’s been fun (for me, at least!) sharing something that I loved as a girl.
This month, I read and reviewed three regular books:
A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd – if you like mystery series, this is the first of the Bess Crawford stories, set in England during World War I. I enjoyed both the characters and the historical setting. The author, Charles Todd, is actually a mother-son writing team.
More and more, it seems, fiction books are being co-authored and this month I wrote a post about this very thing!
Author teams and pen names – if the story’s good, does it matter? Not to me!
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren – in this memoir about becoming a female scientist, Jahren writes a compelling personal story about family, love, friendship, mental health and the difficulties of earning a living as a scientist. (Jahren made it big, after a long road, and has won many awards.)
The Beneficiary – Fortune, Misfortune, and the Story of my Father by Janny Scott – a biography of Robert Montgomery Scott, written by his daughter. A tale of four generations of a wealthy Main Line, Pennsylvania family and their 800-acre estate and the complicated relationships among family members.
As I mentioned above, I also started a series that celebrates books about the Barbie doll’s 60th birthday. Here are the first two posts, indulging my obsession. I’ll share my final Barbie post next week.
Look what Barbie’s wearing! Barbie Fashion 1959-1967 by Sarah Sink Eames
May was a busier indie author month. I introduced three hard-working writers:
Richard Doiron
Lucia N. Davis
Frank Prem
If you are an indie or self-published author and would like to be featured on Who’s That Indie Author, please email me at bvitelli2009@gmail.com. To shake things up, I’ve updated my interview with a new set of questions!
Next week, we’re starting a Summer Reading program at the library where I work, so I’ll be signing up for that. I plan to work these two books onto my list:
June book previews: Lot – Stories by Bryan Washington and Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
And last, I was sorry to see that American author Herman Wouk died on May 17, at age 103. I’ve enjoyed many of his books and think I will go back to some of them this summer. I had a fun time looking at these book covers – did you notice that the last two, The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, fit together to make a bigger picture?
Remembering American author Herman Wouk, 1915 – 2019
I hope you had a good month, out in the world and between the pages. I’m looking forward to a good summer!
Thanks for visiting – come back soon!
Book Club Mom 
Lab Girl sounds interesting. Thanks for a great month, Barbara. It sure went by fast!
It sure did – and it was a busy one for me – always moving and trying to keep the weeds outside at bay!
Looks like you had a great month! Our library’s summer reading kicks off next week, as well. I don’t really have anything to do with it, but I’ve been haring all about it. Happy June!
Ours is called A Universe of Stories, tied to the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing. I’m going to try to fit my books into the categories!
Our theme is the same! Must be a pretty common one this summer.
I think it’s a national library theme – I’ll be working on mine this summer – we’re having some interesting programs to complement the theme too!
Thanks for the May round-up, which I’m reading in June. Two takeaways: More and more authors are collaborating. Maybe it’s the wave of the future. Also, I never play word games, but “Every Word” sounds intriguing.
Oh, a third thing: You read a lot of books – ha!
Hi Marian – thanks for the visit! Well I don’t read nearly as much as other people. I can only manage about 1 a week, sometimes less. Word games are definitely a way for me to zone out a bit. But exercise my mind. It’s a good balance for me. Hope you’re having a good weekend 😀
Busy May – Happy June!
Looking forward to slowing down a bit this summer 🙂
I’m really interested in reading Lab Girl. I’ve heard nothing but good things. Glad you had a good May!
Hi Lorilin – yes, I have only heard good things about Lab Girl. Hope you have a chance to read it. Thanks for the visit!
Very busy update, Barbara! No wonder your May flew past. Was it one of your sons who graduated?
It was – 2 down, 2 to go! Thanks for the visit, Jennifer.