How is it May already? April—my favorite month, my birthday month—went way too fast for me! Maybe because I’ve officially become “that mom” flying from kid activity to kid activity: piano, gymnastics, soccer, golf… I’m dizzy.
May will likely be just as crazy, but I still want to prioritize some good books—to keep me sane if nothing else. Here’s what I plan to read in May. This reading list is as all over the place, genre-wise, as my schedule.
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race by Jesmyn Ward. This is a collection of essays and poems from a number of contributors, collected by Ward and organized into three parts. These parts “shine a light on the darkest corners of our history, wrestle with our current predicament, and envision a better future.”
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. This book has been on my to-be-read list for ages, and for some reason I’ve been a little intimidated to pick it up. I can’t even remember now where I heard about this novel, the first in a series of four novels about two girls growing up in Italy in the 1950s and the friendship they form. If we’re judging books by covers I’d likely never pick this one up, but I do know that it’s beloved by many, so I think I’ll give it a try.
The Journey Toward Wholeness: Enneagram Wisdom for Stress, Balance, and Transformation by Suzanne Stabile. This is my nonfiction/personal development book for May. Stabile was the co-author of another enneagram book I read, The Road Back to You, and I heard good things about this one. This one focuses on how our enneagram number may help us understand how we respond to stress, and explains the three Centers of Intelligence, and how understanding them can help us find more balance.
Almost American Girl by Robin Ha. This is a graphic memoir, a genre I don’t read much of, but have loved the ones I have read in this genre. I also wanted to read this because May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and I’d like to read more by Asian American authors. This is the author’s story of growing up in Seoul, Korea, then moving to Alabama with her mother.
Now What?: How to Move Forward When We’re Divided (about Basically Everything) by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers. Sarah and Beth host a podcast I’ve been listening to for years, Pantsuit Politics, and they also wrote a book a few years ago that I loved: I Think You’re Wrong, But I’m Listening, which is all about engaging in tough political conversations with nuance and grace. Now What? helps us take the next step forward to find connections with others in a divided world.
That’s my reading list for May. What will you be reading next?
