For the Love of Words: April Recap and May Look

I’ll be the first to admit that months seem to fly by this year. May is already here and May always holds a special place in my heart. It’s the beginning of the summer months, my little brother’s birthday is tomorrow on the third, and today, the second, marks two years since I moved to Austin, Texas. I’m determined to make this month one of the most productive ever.

Between some nasty allergies and some personal things, I didn’t quite stick to my plan like I had hoped for April, meaning there are less books under my belt.

For the Love of Words: May 2018

April Recap

The Books I Read

  • Finished The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian
  • Fire and Fury by Michael Wolfe
  • Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
  • Reunion in Death by J.D. Robb

There were two major reasons for less books this month: it was super busy at work, where I get a lot of my reading done, and it took me a while to get into Gone Girl. 

When it finally picked up (after the second part, I read most of it in just a few days). I also watched the movie, and I’ll admit I was rather impressed by how similar it was to the book.

While the movie was pretty true to the book, it made me realize just why books are always better than movies. Because we get inside the characters’ heads. If you’ve read Gone Girl, you know how big the narratives of Nick and Amy are to the book.

Part of what made me love to hate both was the narratives. You don’t get that in a movie.

Either way, it’s slowed down at work so it feels like we’re going to be back in business for reading. A minor hiccup, but we’re all set now.

The Books I Wrote

I finished Airtimes and Alibis this weekend, and while it’s a mess, it really felt like a good way to get into this world. The draft is finished at about 35,000 words.

What’s Up on Deck for May

Books I’m Planning to Read

  • Purity in Death by J.D. Robb
  • Portrait in Death by J.D. Robb
  • The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin
  • The Girl Before by JP Delaney
  • The Dime by Kathleen Kent
  • Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall
  • I’ll be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

I’m still working on the In Death series and I’m sure I’ll finish by the end of the year. Three books are from the Austin Public Library, Our Kind of Cruelty is from Book of the Month, and I grabbed I’ll be Gone in the Dark after the announcement of the Golden State Killer’s arrest.

I’ll be Gone in the Dark was on my radar before the arrest, but that just added the book higher up the list.

The Books I’m Writing

I’ll be starting the second short story in the series, out of the three I have planned for right now. I’m hoping to have this done by the end of the month so I can write the third story.

As I said earlier, I hope for this month to be super productive.

What books are you reading this month?