May 2026 Reads
Oh hello!
In the midst of packing up our life and preparing to move back to the west coast, I’m still reading a ton and I think it’s my way of P-R-O-C-R-A-S-T-I-N-A-T-I-N-G.
And escaping.
Because when I am forced to think about leaving all our Chicago people and places, my heart breaks a little bit. So why not throw myself into a book?! (My therapist told me I’m not allowed to Irish-exit Chicago at the end of June. Clearly I don’t handle my emotions that well because that seemed like a really great way to go, y’know?)
WHY DO WE HAVE TO LEAVE CHICAGO WHEN IT’S JUST STARTING TO GET GOOD? WHY DIDN’T WE PEACE OUT BACK IN JANUARY WHEN EVERYONE WAS HIBERNATING?!
Anyway, books are bringing me joy right now. At a time when I’m feeling sad sad sad.
Here are my ratings/reviews copied and pasted from GoodReads and StoryGraph! Follow me there – let’s be FRIENDS.
Seeing Other People by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka:
Imagine your ex coming back from the dead to play wingman for you. Ha.
I haven’t read a book quite like this before and I love me a little magical realism. Some things were not my favorite but I stayed for Zach’s storyline.
This felt like an adult choose-your-own-adventure. The novel follows three parallel timelines, all branching from one simple choice: what the baby is named. Three names, three versions of a life, and three completely different futures.
It’s a really clever premise and one I really wanted to connect with. Florence Knapp’s writing is beautiful and thoughtful, but I never fully attached to the characters or felt immersed in any of the timelines. I kept waiting for one version of the story to pull me in emotionally, but it never quite happened.
It’s the kind of book I can appreciate more for the idea behind it than for how it made me feel while reading.
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke:
Oh my gosh, talk about CAPTIVATING. I was sucked in from the beginning and found myself thinking about the book when I was away from it. Such a crazy story.
Follows a “tradwife influencer” and shares all the behind-the-scenes of her highlight reels. Obviously this was an exaggerated story and not every influencer is out there living dual lives. But it does give us a peek into the effort and energy and exhaustion that goes into having your life on display for everyone to see/judge/form opinions about.
The ending threw me. Wasn’t my fav.
But also it’s a book I just can’t stop thinking about.
The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez:
I have always loved AJ; I will always love her.
There has been some criticism about the book (namely a guy going after his best friend’s girl). That being said, I still love her writing. I still love how captivated I am by her storytelling. I love that she brings awareness to mental health issues. I love how I feel when I’m reading her stories about two people falling in love.
It’s always a 4 or 5 for me when it comes to AJ and this one is no different!
This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum:
A little bit mystery/thriller, a little bit romance. The author smashed my two favorite genres together and I was a fan.
Friends to lovers with all this craziness in between.
Such an emotional rollercoaster. The writing was GREAT. I was so hooked the whole time.
Oh my gosh, sweet Elsie. I love her so much. I loved this book SO MUCH.
I love when you get to know the story behind a crankypants, you realize there’s so much more than meets the eye.
I loved the writing. It pulled me in from the beginning. I loved the characters. Especially the development of Elsie and how we come to know that she really is just a sweet soul underneath it all.
Read this book!
Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller:
What a great book. It felt incredibly relevant (honestly, a little too timely) given the state of the world right now.
A few of the characters initially seem exaggerated, but then you just have to pop your head into Twitter or any current news article and you’re reminded that people like this absolutely do exist. Props to Kirsten Miller for turning these very real issues into an engaging novel. Not everyone follows current events closely and fiction can sometimes reach people in ways that headlines can’t.
I LOVE novels that weave important social issues into compelling stories (shout out to Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult), and this one does that beautifully. It raises awareness without ever feeling preachy.
Having lived in a small town myself, I could easily imagine many of these events playing out in real life. My one criticism is the ending. Change is usually slow, messy, and complicated, so the way everything wrapped up neatly felt a little unrealistic to me.
“As far as I’m concerned, it goes against everything the South is supposed to stand for. We’re supposed to be the nice people, aren’t we? How can we use phrases like Southern hospitality if we don’t really mean them? If we do, maybe we shouldn’t have statues that make people feel scared or unwanted.”
STILL, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It made me laugh, roll my eyes, get angry, and tear up. Sometimes all within the same chapter.
Read it!
Alright, that’s it from me!
Reading will probably take a backseat in June as I’ll be packing. And crying. And soaking up these last few weeks in the BEST CITY IN THE WORLD.
Which reminds me that I probs gotta change my @readinginchicago handle. But we’ll save that for another day.
Have a good one!
Tell me in the comments — have you read any of these and what are you reading right now?
