Reading is my oldest and favorite hobby. I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to curl up with a good book. Here are my reads for May, 2020…

The Old Farmer’s Almanac: Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook, by The Old Farmer’s Almanac – Trying to head off an impending reading slump, and to get a head start on planning (maybe?) a bigger vegetable garden for after I move, I dug into the latest edition of this gardening reference book with glee.  It was full of useful information but not very suited to reading cover-to-cover; I foresee myself getting a lot of use out of it as an occasional reference, though.

Where Angels Fear to Tread, by E. M. Forster – Another one from the Classics Club list (full review coming soon) – Where Angels Fear to Tread is not going to supplant A Passage to India as my favorite of Forster’s works, but it was a really worthwhile read.  This was his first novel and you can certainly see him working through the themes of travel and culture clash that he refines in later works like A Room With a View and A Passage to India.

Jane Austen at Home, by Lucy Worsley – This new Austen biography was on a stack of loaners from my friend Susan; I’m trying to read through them all before the pandemic ends and we are able to get together again, so I can hand them all back to her at once.  By the time I picked this up, I was in the throes of a full-on reading slump, and as a result it took me almost two weeks to get through – definitely unusual, because this is an engaging and fascinating work that I would normally tear through in just a couple of days.  I’ve read a few of Worsley’s books now and they’re always thoughtful, interesting, and approachable.

Merry Hall (Merry Hall #1), by Beverly Nichols – Nichols has been on my list to read for quite some time, and I definitely enjoyed my first encounter with him.  His garden and nature writing is sublime, and he had me laughing with his descriptions of encounters with local characters Oldfield (the gardener), Miss Emily, and “Our Rose.”  There are some cringeworthy moments for the modern reader, so do bear that in mind – but those are relatively few and far between.

The Boy Who Lost Fairyland (Fairyland #4), by Catherynne M. Valente – I’ve been very slowly reading through Valente’s Fairyland series and every volume is wonderful.  (I should probably not read quite so slowly, because I find myself forgetting what came before.)  The Boy Who Lost Fairyland is the only volume in the series that does not focus on main characters September and Saturday, although they do make an appearance – and as a result, I don’t think it’s my favorite.  Most of the action takes place in Chicago, following a changeling boy as he tries to understand and live in the human world, then finds an opening to get back to Fairyland.  It was a delight, but I’ll be glad to get back to the main storyline in the fifth and final volume.

Austentatious: The Evolving World of Jane Austen Fans, by Holly Luetkenhaus & Zoe Weinstein – Another loaner from my friend Susan; this time of one of her 2020 Christmas gifts!  (I’m loved, am I not?)  This is a series of essays that thoughtfully explores the online fandom culture surrounding Jane Austen in recent years.  Each was well-considered and engaging, but I particularly liked the essays that focused on meme culture; Clueless; and sexual orientation, respectively.

Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy, by Noelle Stevenson – Battling what has become a full-on reading slump, I had a sudden desire on the last day of the month to return to Miss Quinzilla Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s camp for hard-core lady-types.  Since I haven’t felt any excitement around reading for weeks, I clearly went with it, and it was just what the doctor ordered.  I’ve read the first two volumes of Lumberjanes before, so knowing the story already, I was able to catch more of the literary and pop culture references – which was extra fun.

Lumberjanes, Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max!, by Noelle Stevenson – This volume wraps up the storyline that begins in the first volume.  Lumberjane Scouts Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley continue to attract danger and battle mythical monsters, much to the chagrin of their rule-following counselor, Jen.  (“Nerd counselor!  Read the star chart for me!”)  Between velociraptor attacks and an eventful game of capture the flag, not to mention a cave full of ancient boobytraps, the Lumberjanes have their hands full!  I wish my summer camp experience was as exciting…

So – eight books in May.  Considering that I’m battling a pandemic-induced and news-exacerbated reading slump, eight is a good number.  But May’s a long month and I’d have liked to read more.  It’s not just about numbers – I miss the joy that I usually get from picking up a book.  Some of that started to return at the end of the month, and I’m planning to keep reading Lumberjanes as long as it’s working for me, so expect a very summer-campy recap at the end of June.  I’ve got a big stack of trade paperbacks, graphic novels and YA books all set at Miss Quinzilla Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s camp for hard-core lady-types, and they’re calling my name.  (Also, I realized that fully 50% of the books I read in May had at least one LGBTQ+ author, so that’s pretty cool.)  Other than Lumberjanes, the highlight of the month was Jane Austen at Home.  I love an Austen biography, and I love Lucy Worsley, so that’s a winning combination right there – even if my mental powers were so drained from three months of attempting to work at home while my kids climb on me that it took me thirteen days to finish.  Here’s hoping for a happier month of reading in June…

What did you read in May?