Halfway Through May And What I've Read

Well, I was hoping to get this post done a little bit earlier since it's now time for my end of May reading but what with dance, science fair, Ultimate Frisbee, work commitments, and getting sick, it's been an insane few weeks. An Instagram friend referred to May as "May-cember" and, even though our school year doesn't end until the end of June, I definitely agree with her. All the things happened in May, at least around here.

So with all the preamble, let me see if I can remember what I read in the first half of May. And please note, that while the decade I was supposed to be focusing on for the Decades Reading Challenge was the 1940s, a lot of books set in the 1930s still crept into my reading. Let's face it -- I've read a lot of World War II books and those cover the 1940s fairly well.

I didn't know a lot about the Lindbergh kidnapping which happened in the early 1930s. After reading this book, I can't say I feel any great love for the family. I don't know if it was the author's portrayal, or if the family really was that remote, but I wasn't very impressed. I found this book interesting in that it taught me more about a piece of history I didn't know much about, but I don't know if I'd recommend this book, unless you are very interested in the Lindbergh kidnapping.

A random book about horse racing, again in the 1930s, does not sound like a book that I'd be really interested in. However, I actually found this book quite fascinating. I was cheering for Seabiscuit and wanting to race through to see how it all ended. It's bizarre to me that I've found books about random sports in the 1930s (car racing, horse racing) so intriguing. Also, I have a newfound respect for horse jockeys after reading this book.

I had a vague idea of who Hedy Lamarr was -- a film actress from the past -- but I had no idea of her history, or that her main passion was being a scientist. While I didn't find this novel engaging, I did find Hedy's story fascinating. I just felt like maybe it could have been told in a more interesting way. This book made me want to read more about Hedy and her story because I just feel like there's more to learn.

I read this book back in 1999 or 2000 and remember absolutely loving it. We read this for Blog Friends Book Club this month and, I have to be honest, this time it was a slog. I have learned a lot more about the world, and anti-racism, since the first time I read this book, and that coloured my perceptions around it greatly. I know many people still love this book but I just am not one of them any more. I feel a little but like this book is like To Kill A Mockingbird where it was good for its time, but our world has outgrown it.

I had heard so much hype about this book but really knew nothing about it. It finally came in off my hold list and I devoured it. This book made me laugh, it made me cry, it was absolutely worth the wait. If you haven't read this book, what are you waiting for? I want to read this book every year and be delighted by it over and over again.

So that was my reading for the first half of May. I feel like I didn't get as much read what with everything else going on and the fact that The Poisonwood Bible was a slog this time around and took me so long to read.

I hope to wrap up the rest of my May reading next week so come back then because I have, what I think are, some very interesting books to share.