My May was very busy with lots of travel for work and vacation. I figured I wouldn’t have much time to read, but I still was able to finish five books. This month’s reads included a poetry collection, one nonfiction, and three fiction books.
I cheated a bit on reading one fiction that I already owned; I bought Emily Henry’s Great Big Beautiful Life so I could read it sooner since I was like 400th in line at my library! So I do own it now, but it doesn’t fit with the spirit of my goal. But I did read one nonfiction that I already owned, so still made some progress on my physical TBR. I also ended up taking around 20 books to my local Half Price Books (most of which were books I hadn’t read yet and mostly lost interest in) and only bought two with the money they gave me, so I’m slowly removing some books from my TBR one way or the other!
What I Read
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
377 pages | Romance | 4 stars
I really enjoyed reading this book. It landed somewhere between Funny Story and Beach Read for me. I thought the banter was so fun and it had a satisfying ending. There were a few character quirks that irritated me, but the emotional relationship between the sisters as well as the core romantic relationship was beautifully done.
Read my full review of Book Lovers
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
418 pages | Sci-Fi | 5 stars
This was for my library book club, and I wasn’t sure I would finish it or even start it with how busy I was, but I started it the week before and finished it in four days! I did not expect to fall in love with this book! The robots are so funny and oddly relatable, and I liked how the relationship between Vic and Hap developed; it felt organic. I also liked that there wasn’t a cliché happy ending.
Read my full review of In the Lives of Puppets
Make Believe: Poems for Hoping Again by Victoria Hutchins
120 pages | Poetry-Mental Health | 4 stars
It wasn’t exactly what I thought from the book blurb, but there were still some nice sections that made me sit and think for a while.
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
432 pages | Romance | 5 stars
With the mixed reviews out there, I wasn’t sure how it would be, but I really enjoyed the book actually. It is definitely different from her other books, but I found that to be a refreshing, and I really liked Margaret’s stories, especially at the end when they tie into the main story.
Read my full review of Great Big Beautiful Life
Start Something that Matters by Blake Mycoskie
208 pages | Nonfiction-Business/Entrepreneurship | 4 stars
This was the nonfiction that I own. I thought it was interesting to hear the origin story of Toms shoes, and there were some good insights on how a business can be for-profit while still making a positive community impact.
Favorite Book of the Month
My favorite for the month was TJ Klune’s In the Lives of Puppets. I didn’t expect a book about robots to make me emotional, but I loved every minute of it.
Catch Up on Past 2025 Monthly Wrap-Ups:
What was your favorite book in May?
What stood out to you during your May reading? What are you excited to read in June? Let me know in the comments or tag me on Bluesky!
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Notes from the Shelf 
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