Books Read in 2026: May

 The Name Game by Beth O'Leary.  This author is one I like to go to for a light read that isn't too cliche or annoying.  This particular novel was just published this spring, but I had heard of it last fall and had put my name on the hold list at the library as soon as they placed their order for copies.  After all those months of waiting, I devoured it in just four days and if this wasn't such a busy time of year at this little place here I totally could have read the entire thing in one afternoon.  Which, made me, when finished with it, look up what other books of hers I hadn't read yet and grab that one immediately from the library shelf when I found out it was sitting at my local library amongst all the other books waiting for someone to check them out.

Swept Away by Beth O'Leary.  If I had to pick a favorite between these two books by the same author, I think I would pick this one.  I liked them both, but this one, to me, just flowed better.  

A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality by Kate Khavari. A book I spied on the library shelf, read the blurb, and decided to give it a try.  Set in London in the 1920's, it was overall an interesting read.  Apparently it is the second book of a series, so now I'll have to request book 1 from the library interloan (my local branch doesn't appear to own a copy) so I can read (and understand) some of the references in the second book to characters and events prior. I liked this book and will definitely read more by this author.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke.  Overall, I liked this book although it was kind of weird, and sometimes rather dystopian and hard to follow. Did I like the main character?  Oh heck no, not one bit.  Could I sometimes relate to her?  Yeah, I could. 

The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie.  I'm pretty sure I read this one, a long, long time ago (like high school in the late 1980s).  But I don't really remember it, and since I decided late last year that I would like to read every single Agatha Christie book in the coming years, even those I read once upon a time in another lifetime (pre-kids, pre-husband, pre-having to run a household), in chronological order and this is the second book she wrote, here we are.

Remember back in March, when I started reading Pillars of the Earth?  Guess what. . . this month I finished it!  So good.  So much history, so many characters that get addicting and you want to know what happens to them, so masterfully written! I will, undoubtedly, at some point read the rest of this series, but for at least the summer I need to take a break from giant books, so it might not be until 2027 that I pick up the next one.