WHAT I READ IN MAY 2025

What a solid month of reading! I love reading in cozy months– curling up on the couch under a blanket or in bed with a quilt when the sun sets early. But… there is just something about summer reading that really sparks my excitement. There are so many books releasing now and I actually find myself with more energy for reading (the longer days!). I don’t remember having this vigor for summer reading requirements in school but… I digress…

Here’s what I read last month:

SAME AS IT EVER WAS by Claire Lombardo

3.75/5 Stars

I had been looking forward to reading Same As It Ever Was and was on a long wait at the library. This is a family drama, emphasis on the drama. I think especially since I’m 35 with small children living in the suburbs, a lot of the book resonated with me. Even though the characters could be unlikeable and complicated (and there were times I wanted to scream at the page to persuade them), I found myself engrossed in the pages of the story. It was a bit long and drawn out, but Claire Lombardo covers a lot within the pages– the transition into motherhood, multigenerational friendships, love, mother-daughter relationships, etc.

PLAYWORLD by Ross Adam

4.5/5 Stars

If you’re someone who likes a long character driven book that you can sink your teeth into, read this. I used to be steer clear of long books out of intimidation and now I really prefer a long book. Especially when I want to be completely swept away in a story. It’s a coming of age novel about a 14 year old child actor in NYC in 1980. A snapshot of the city, timeless growing pains. I thought it was so brilliantly written and tackles a lot of complicated topics through the perspective of a naive, but learning, young teen.

CARELESS PEOPLE by Sarah Wynn-Williams

4.5/5 Stars

Whew, what a memoir. Sarah Wynn-Williams recounts her time working at Facebook under Mark Zuckerberg. If you want the juicy, often unbelievable, scoop of behind the scenes of building Facebook, you have to pick this book up. Some things irritated me (like I felt like she was unable to accept any blame or responsibility and always had a reason for why she couldn’t leave….), but overall, I was hooked from the first chapter. I listened to the audiobook during two long drives and the drive went by so quickly listening to the book! Would be a great summer roadtrip audiobook to listen to with your partner.

THE BOOKCLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN by Marie Bostwick

4/5 Stars

I started this book and stopped at first thinking it would be kind of cheesy and ended up picking it back up when I didn’t know what else to read one day. I ended up really enjoying it. It’s a little predictable, but a nice feel good story about feminism and breaking barriers in the 1960s. It’s about a group of neighbors who form a book club in the 1960s– they all bring something a little different to the table and all have their unique paths in life they’ve been given and are choosing to follow. Apropos of the name, I think it’d be a great bookclub choice! Lots to discuss!!

GOOD MATERIAL by Dolly Alderton

4.5/5 Stars

A friend and I both had Good Material at the top of my reading list. It took me a while to get into, but then found myself really attached to the characters… and I loved how it wrapped up in the end. Most of the book is told through the perspective of Andy, who is going through a breakup from his girlfriend. Some of his choices were… questionable and slightly annoying, but I felt like it was a pretty “real” read. He’s a bit of a lost soul, piecing together jobs to follow his passion of being a comedian all while trying to parse out what went wrong with his relationship. It is a great book to read this summer!!

LITTLE GREAT ISLAND by Kate Woodworth

3/5 Stars

This was hands down one of the books I was most looking forward to reading this summer. Maine! (Side note: so many books out right now set in Maine!) Love! Cults! Fighting climate change! I was so disappointed by how flat it fell for me. There was so much promise and I really wanted to love it because the premise was so good– a woman returns to her beloved Maine island with her son after escaping a religious cult. There she sets off to help the island set itself up for long term financial success. It was just a little predictable and laid things out too plainly instead of letting the plot drive home points. (If you’re looking for an excellent novel that also talks about climate change, I loved Wild Dark Shore.)