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Writer's pictureOlivia Swindler

May Reading Roundup

“Any story could be a comedy or a tragedy, depending on where you ended it. That was the magic. How the same story could be told an infinite number of ways.”

–Emma Straub, This Time Tomorrow





I had a hard time rating this book. It was not what I expected, and I often found myself lost as the story was misconstrued in details. It was also hard for me to root for the characters. I wish there would have been a little more backstory or character development. At times it felt more like a description of a timeline. If you are looking for a fast past heist book, I don’t think I’d recommend it.

This book is fun and fast-paced and great to get you out of a reading rut. If you like celebrity profiles and rom-coms, I think you will love this book. Great beach read. Felt like a mix of Emily Henry and Sophie Cousens.


I think this is either your type of humor or not, and you will probably be able to tell by the first essay. I enjoyed it, and there were some essays that I liked more than others. Overall entertaining and fun if you are looking for a lighthearted essay collection.


The writing in this book is stunning. At times I had a hard time keeping all of the characters straight, and it really is a slow burn, but I really enjoyed it. Like The Goldfinch, this book is long and feels long but worth the read!


This book is incredibly detailed, so well reported, and a must-read. Before reading this book, I did not know much about the opioid crisis, but I loved Keefe’s book, “Say Nothing,” and I was looking forward to reading this. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are interested in the pharmaceutical industry and the ongoing opioid crisis. I will be thinking about this book for a long time. I loved reading it on audio.


I really enjoyed this book. As someone who knew nothing about the violin, I learned a lot and was left wanting to know more. The plot was engaging and page-turny. However, I do wish the writing would have been a little tighter.


I really enjoy family sagas, and this book has such a fun setting. It is slow (nothing happens), but it is an excellent look at complicated family dynamics. It felt similar to Ask Again, Yes.


Though this book held my attention, it was very predictable, and I found the characters to be dull. There was also way too much backstory, and I found myself not invested in the plot. However, I am glad I listened to it on audio, as I found it really well done.


This book is stunning. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will resurrect your favorite 90s playlist. I flew through this book; it was the perfect mix of nostalgia and beauty.


I loved this book. An Alaskan cruise also bookended my mother’s death, and when I heard about the synopsis for this book, I was really looking forward to reading it. It is a beautiful picture of grief and family. And while this is a story about the loss of a mother, more than anything, it is a story about a father and daughter, and I loved it. Read with tissues.


This book feels like the old Liane Moriarty, and I am here for it. Though this book is long, it was nearly impossible to put down. I love a sports adjacent book. The only thing that kept this from being a 5-star for me was the ending, though it did leave me guessing up until the last 50 pages.



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