Music, Books, Miles, and Looks of May

This May recap is a little late as May got away from me.  I have to say, I am SO glad May is over and I am hopeful that June will be a better month.

Music:

 

Gone, Gone, Gone by Phillip Phillips - I think this song has such a catchy beat.

Books:

I actually read A LOT this month!  7 books!  Which is far more than I expected to considering I studied about 105 hours!  I guess that is what happens when you have very few social plans on the weekends and aren't into TV.  I really liked all of the books I read this month and would recommend most of them if you are looking for a summer read!

Still Alice by Lisa Genova - I reviewed this book in this post.  This is probably one of the best books I have read this year.

The Dinner by Herman Koch - This book is being marketed by the "Gone Girl" of Europe.  It is very messed up, so I can see why they are marketing the book that way.  The entire book encompasses one dinner between two brothers and their wives, with several flashbacks to previous times. The brothers are meeting to talk about a terrible thing that their sons have done and how they should handle it.  I will warn you - this book is dark and none of the characters are likable, so if you struggle with books like that, you might want to pass on this one.  But it was well written and engaging, and I enjoyed it.

The Keeper of Secrets by Julie Thomas - I will be reviewing this book next month for a TLC tour.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - I read Kite Runner years ago for a book club and loved it so much, I promptly bought this book when it came out.  And then I never got around to reading it!  6+ years after buying it, I finally pulled it off my shelf this month and am SO glad I did!  It was such a fantastic read.  It is very, very sad, but I think it's important to read books like this so we can understand the tragedies that are happening in other countries, like in this case, Afghanistan.  I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading Hosseini's 3rd book, which came out last month.

My Year with Eleanor by Noelle Hancock - I really enjoyed this book.  It tells the story of Noelle Hancock, a celebrity blogger that has recently been laid off from her job. She realizes that she has been letting her fear about various things in life hold her back, and was inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt's quote of "do one thing every day that scares you."  So she spends the year leading up to her 30th birthday facing her fears head on, and learns a lot about herself in the process.  I liked how she weaved in pertinent information about Eleanor Roosevelt in each chapter of the book.  It made me think about some the of the fears I've have and how I can combat them in the future.

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen - This was another fun, light read. It is set in my new home state of NC, but in a fictional city.  My favorite quote from the book was: "Happiness is a risk. If you're not a little scared, then you're not doing it right."

The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck - I would give this book 3.5 stars.  I read it because it was available for download through the Minneapolis library (I have yet to get a Charlotte library card...  I need to get on that). It tells the story of 4 different women who are connected by a wedding dress. I liked the way their stories were weaves together. There is a Christian element to the story, which I did not mind, but is something to be aware of if you plan to read this. 

Miles:
I was able to return to biking part of the way through the month, but did not keep track of my miles.  It's not the same as running but it's nice to be able to do some cardio. Here's hoping I can return to running in mid-June.

Looks:
I felt pretty uninspired when it came to outfits this month.  Having to wear the boot makes it hard to really want to put forth much effort as no matter what I wear, the boot is what draws the attention. Like it did when I wore this business suit...

I can't say I have high expectations for my outfits for this month either as it's hard to feel fashionable when you are rocking tennis shoes with work clothes...  but it is better than the boot!  Maybe by July I won't feel like fashion roadkill and will have blog-worthy outfits to post.