May is gone, no idea how that happened, because my mind still firmly believes we’re somewhere in March. It got warmer and it got sunnier and I appreciate it, but my brain is clearly in denial, maybe because I really do feel I should start exercising again and cannot use short days as an excuse anymore.

Reading was great this month, I’ve read 11 books and hated only one, with that I managed to beat my January reading record. It is a bit of a cheat because the first book I finished this month was It by Stephen King, most of which I read in April, but hey it’s the ending that matters.

Also it’s that time of year again when Kathy @746books hosts the amazing 20 Books of Summer challenge. I did not join any other challenge this year (book buying ban is a challenge but not a reading one, with my stash of 380 books still safe in my shelves), but this one is my firm favorite, mainly because of it’s open form. The same as last year I decided not to select my books upfront, because books I put on a list tend to loose all their charm, however I created my project page where the list will be building up over the summer with links to reviews as I post them. I cannot believe that if I manage to keep my May pace of reading I could finish 20 books in two months not in three. Let’s be honest it probably won’t happen, but 20 books in three months is possible, I proved it to myself last year.

Without further ado, here’s what I read this month:

41. Krivoklat – Jacek Dehnel (r) – this was a very weird experience, on the surface about a mentally ill person destroying art, but just beneath the surface it offers very interesting views on art, our interaction with it and and its role in the society.
40. The Racketeer – John Grisham (r) – thank God for John Grisham, he is reliable, even if he;s not at his best his books are highly readable and a decent entertainment. Exactly what I needed after the previous one. 
39. A Family Affair – Mary Campisi (r) – stay away! I don’t even know how it happened to be on my Kindle even more mysterious thing is how it ended up in my ‘fiction crime’ folder. It’s an awful sugar sweet, badly written romance, I finished it only to find the most ridiculous quote to use in my review and trust me I found one and it’ll be there.
38. Big Brother – Lionel Shriver (r) – it was what I expected, until the final twist happened and it no longer was what I expected and with that it became an amazing and memorable book.
37. Into Thin Air – Jon Krakauer (r)
36. England, England – Julian Barnes (r) – one of those books that speaks more to your intellect than emotions, but a great read nonetheless, had me laughing out loud few times.
35. House of Day, House of Night – Olga Tokarczuk (r)
34. Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death – M. C. Beaton (r) – an enjoyable countryside crime novel, as the title states it does involve a poisoned quiche, not much mystery here 😉
33. It – Stephen King (r)

Photo by Violetta Kaszubowska @ vkphotospace