May Goodreads Update Pt. 1

We are currently half way through the month and it occurred to me that I may have added a lot of new books to my want to read list on Goodreads this month. I checked, and yes. I need to do an update before we all end up sitting here an eternity at the end of the month. You're welcome.

The Yoga-Store Murder: The Shocking True Account of the Lululemon Athletica Killing by Dan Morse - I heard about this on one of my book podcasts. Both of the hosts loved it, which is a rarity with this particular podcast, so I added it to my list. The book is a decade old and the crime even older. But it sounds intriguing.

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell - I heard about this one on a podcast as well. It is touted as a mash up of The Great British Baking Show and Only Murders in the Building. I have never seen either of those shows, but I am still intrigued by a book with those vibes.

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman - Honestly, I know nothing about this book I didn't deduce from this cover. 1) Regency dresses. 2) Alison Goodman has written some very entertaining YA regency fantasy in the past. 3) "A Novel of Mystery and Adventures". 4) The ladies are holding weapons. All of these things have called me to put this on my TBR. It will be published May 30.

Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World by Gretchen Rubin - I love Gretchen Rubin's books. They are without doubt the most helpful self-help book I've ever read.

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See - This is the next Lisa See book. It comes out in June. Can we please talk about this cover!? It's stunning! Lady Tan was a real woman in the Ming dynasty who was trained as a doctor, but when she married, her mother-in-law won't allow her to leave the house or treat the women in the household.

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende - Another gorgeous cover, but it's got the whole "woman with no face" situation going on. But it's Isabel Allende so you can be assured it's a good story. It is partially a WWII novel, but I will allow it for Allende. It follows a boy in 1938 whose mother gets him on a Kindertransport train out of Austria during WWII and a girl who flees El Salvador in 2019 and ends up separated from her mother in the holding cells at the U.S. Border.

Mrs. Plansky's Revenge by Spencer Quinn - Firstly, Spencer Quinn. 'Nuff said. He wrote the Chet and Bernie series. This new series follows Mrs. Plansky, a 70 something grandmother who falls for one of those scams where she thinks she's sending money to a grandson, only to be taken for every penny. She decides to get revenge and follows a lead to Romania. This sounds like it will be great fun.

Gone to the Wolves by John Wray - I was first attracted to the fonts on the cover. They are highly reminiscent of the fonts used on various heavy metal albums of my youth. So I read the summary. Oh yes, this is going on the list. It is set in the late 80s and early 90s. Just when metal was in its hey-day and I was in high school. Three friends go to Los Angeles to check out the raging metal scene there. Things go awry and there is a mystery to be solved.

Scarlet by Genevieve Cogman - I have enjoyed Genevieve Cogman in the past, and this one has several buzz words that drew me in. 1) Vampires. 2)Scarlet Pimpernel retelling. Yes, you read that correctly. The Scarlet Pimpernel. Here is a classic work that is sorely lacking in retellings.

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas - This is the sequel to House of Earth and Blood that I finished recently. I liked it enough to read another 800 pages of it.

Four Seasons in Rome: On Trains, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World by Anthony Doerr - This is actually pretty old and I may have trouble getting my hands on a copy. Doerr and his pregnant wife moved to Rome for a year for some work thing he had. This is a memoir about their year in Rome raising twin boys. I'm intrigued.

The Daydreams by Laura Hankin - I am hearing about this all over the place. The cast of a TV show from the 200os are coming back together for a reunion show. Think Disney reality TV. Since the show imploded 13 years ago, the 4 cast members have gone very different ways. The come back with varying goals. Will it blow up again? Who knows, but everyone will be watching. I personally hate reality TV so we'll see how this goes.

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis - For someone who has an entire shelf and a half of historical fiction on her to-read shelves, I don't read much of it. I have most of Fiona Davis' books on my TBR, but I have yet to read one. What is wrong with me?

The Connelly's of County Down by Tracey Lange - I was attracted to this by the Irish setting. Tara Connelly has spent 18 months in prison for drugs and is back at home trying to hold her family together. Her brother is a single dad with a brain injury. Her sister is beginning to crack under the pressure of all the secrets she is hiding. Of course it's going to get all messy.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett - The summary says this is set in the spring of 2020, but nowhere does in mention the plague. So it may be an alternate universe. Anyway, it's Ann Patchett so it's going to be a wonderful book.

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo - Acevedo has written amazing novels in verse for teens, and this is her first book for adult readers. There is some magical realism, the story of 4 sisters, and their lives in Santo Domingo and New York City.

California Golden by Melanie Benjamin - I love Melanie Benjamin. This one is about 2 sisters who are the daughters of a woman who surfs instead of being the typical 60s housewife. This is about the sisters' relationship as well as their relationship with their elusive mother.

Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue - This is a historical fiction about 2 girls who fall in love at boarding school in 1805. One is an heiress from India and the other is a tom boy. I feel like there will be more to the story, because it is Emma Donoghue.

The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang - Kate Quinn has made a name for herself as a WWII fiction writer. I'm excited to read this book about two women in 1906 San Francisco (earthquake, anyone?) and how their lives are affected by a wealthy railroad magnate and the rare Chinese artifact he has called The Phoenix Crown.

Family Meal by Bryan Washington - This is a book about male friendship and allowing someone to help heal our wounds. Male friendship books are rare enough, but male friendship stories among black men are even rarer.

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T.A. Willberg - 1958 London. Miss Brickett's Investigations & Inquiries. A secretary is murdered and the murderer is a member of the firm. Marion Lane is a young trainee who is drawn into the investigation. This is the first in a series.

A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales - Jane Austen + Knives Out. Yes please.

The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray - This is about the friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune. Bethune was considered the first lady of civil rights.

The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis - Surprise! Connie Willis has a new book coming! Francie is in Roswell for her best friend's UFO-themed wedding, which she intends to talk her out of. Until she gets abducted by a UFO herself along with an anti-abduction insurance salesman. This throws a wrench in her plans, but she determines to help her new alien friend get where he needs to go.

The Hate Next Door: Undercover Within the New Face of White Supremacy by Matson Browning and Tawni Browning - And now for something completely different. More social justic non-fiction. I know you were wondering how long I could go without adding more to my list.

Half-Life of a Stolen Sister by Rachel Cantor - As far as I can tell, this novel retells the lives of the Bronte sisters, but tells it slant. Some re-imaginings, some movement in time. Sounds intriguing.

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin - Rick Rubin is a major music producer and has been for 40 years. I heard about this on a book podcast and it sounded interesting aside from being written by a big name in something other than literature.

Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang - Another one I heard about on a podcast. Our main character gets a job at a high end beauty store in NYC called Holistik. They have intensely bizarre and expensive products and our unnamed narrator is transfixed by all the things. But beauty has a price, and the cost of these products goes beyond money.

So what had happened was, I worked a really boring Saturday shift and I got wrapped up in BookRiot's New Release Index. I went through and added all the interesting ones to my GR list, and here we are.

But we made it. It's done for a couple of weeks.

Did you see anything interesting?