The website of freelance writer and published author Kaitlin Scirri

May Wrap-Up!

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BeachReading (2)

Well here in the northeast, we went from winter to summer practically overnight! May brought with it unusually warm weather – I can’t believe we had to use the air conditioner in May! But I have to admit that it felt great to finally get some sunshine and fresh air. My dogs were thrilled as well! They’ve had cabin fever for weeks now, waiting for the never-ending winter to finally cease. This month I was able to get my outside reading nook all set up, complete with flowers, birdbath, and fountain. Oh, and some good books to dive into!

This month, I dove back into one of my favorite genres, the Golden Age of Hollywood with Amanda Quick’s newest release, The Other Lady Vanishes. It was a mystery set in 1930’s Hollywood, and all in all I enjoyed it. I did find the beginning a little confusing but overall it was a pretty good mystery.

After my visit to La La Land, I dove into a new devotional, courtesy of Baker Publishing Group. I was overdue for a good devotional, and this one hit the spot! In Begin Again, Leeana Tankersley touches on a very relatable subject – beginning again and again and again in our walk of faith. How many times have we screwed it up only to think, “Oh great, now I have to start over again!” I know I have countless times…because I’m human! Tankersley writes a very real, very relatable devotional all about learning to keep walking in faith…again and again and again.

Reading Emily Giffin’s newest release, All We Ever Wanted, last month put me in the mood to catch up on some of her past novels. I missed a few while I was back in school with zero read for fun time. So I went on a reading binge! I read Heart of the Matter, The One and Only, and First Comes Love. I enjoyed them all and found them to be true to Giffin’s writing style. They were all about various kinds of relationships, and I think each one hits the reader personally in some way. Her characters are just very real, and their circumstances are ones that I think many of us have either been in or know someone who has gone through what her characters are going through. If you’re a fan of Emily Giffin or if you’ve never heard of her, check her out in my author profile post!

In other news, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect in late May. In order to be in compliance with the new law, I drafted the Kait’s Bookshelf privacy policy and shared it in a blog post so all visitors to the site have access to it.

Now, for my May book bucket list pick. No, you didn’t somehow miss my review of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring…because I didn’t post it…because I didn’t read it. This is the first month this year that I haven’t gotten to my book bucket list pick for the month. The thing about fantasy novels is that I love them, but I also have to be in the right mindset to read them. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get there this month. I have had a lot of health issues popping up lately, and I’ve been fighting a slump, so to speak. This month, I found myself reaching for what I consider “comfort reads.” They’re kind of like comfort food, but of the literary kind! I reached for books that felt familiar and joyful like stories set in Old Hollywood and Emily Giffin’s relationship reads.

For June, I have picked out Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, and I really hope I get to it. This won’t be a re-read. I never read this book in school. I’m not sure why we didn’t read it in my school because it’s such a popular pick for many high schools. But I always regretted that I didn’t get that opportunity. So hopefully, I will get back to my book bucket list this month because, I really do love checking books off as I read. As for Lord of the Rings, well, perhaps I’ll sneak it in at a later time or maybe it will roll onto next year’s reading list. But I’m not going to beat myself up over it. I’m fighting enough battles right now that I’m going to cut myself some slack with this one!

What are your reading plans for the summer? Any beach or pool reading coming up?

– Kait

Up Next: My review of All the Stars in the Heavens by Adriana Trigiani. Subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss out!

Author: kaitsbookshelf

I am a freelance writer and published author of multiple juvenile nonfiction books and a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. I'm also a book reviewer and blogger.

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