Book of the Month
It’s hard to ignore the pull of Jane Steele, Lyndsay Faye’s vivaciously dark riff on a theme from Jane Eyre. Reader, I loved it!
But there was a lot of other great reading this month as well, not to mention two fun blogging events, one online and one in person. Read on to discover more of my adventures…
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Reviews
- From my new favorite author Frances Hardinge, The Lie Tree was a delicious treat.
- For an author event at First Impressions Reviews, I talked about my first Georgette Heyer, False Colours.
- I took a brief look at Four 2016 releases I liked but didn’t love.
- For my Reading New England focus this month, I was delighted to discover a real hidden gem: the 2015 novel Hidden View from Vermont author Brett Ann Stanciu.
Other Books Read
- The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman – Reading New England
- Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter – Reading New England
- Ah, Wilderness! by Eugene O’Neill – Reading New England
- Idyll Banter by Chris Bohjalian – Reading New England
- A Man of Genius by Janet Todd – Review to come
- The Summer Guest by Alison Anderson – Review to come
- Lost in A Good Book by Jasper Fforde
- Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
- Soup by Robert Newton Peck – Reading New England
- Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher – Reading New England
- The Children by Ann Leary – Review to come
- The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
- Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson – Reading New England
Other Features and Events
- My discussion question for the month was How do you deal with comments?
- I participated in Armchair BEA for the third time with daily topic posts; my personal favorite was Beyond the Books, in which I posted about some of the theatre productions I’ve enjoyed over the years.
- I interviewed Dede Cummings of Green Writers Press, an exciting new Vermont publishing company with an environmental mission.
- The long-anticipated New England Book Blogger Meetup took place, and was a lovely event. Let’s do it again sometime!
Shared in the Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer, the Month in Review linkup at The Book Date, and the Monthly Wrap-up Round-up hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction
The Emerald City Book Review Archive 
I missed your post on how to deal with comments. Myself, I aim to respond to everyone, but sometimes I don’t get there. I have been known to put a disclaimer during NASCAR season that I won’t respond to every comment except for those with questions or if I feel they deserve a response. With new commenters, I do, like you, attempt to find a post of theirs to comment on. I know it’s hard starting out as a new blogger and I certainly don’t want to discourage anyone.
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Haha, I believe we all do have seasons in our lives when non-blogging activities take priority! I think everyone can understand some omissions here and there.
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You had a fantastic month in books and book-related things. This is the first time I didn’t participate in ABEA. Too much work this year for me. 🙂
Happy June!
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Yes, I was glad the timing worked out this year. Next time I do hope to be there in person! 🙂
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I am always so impressed with how much you read, it sounds like another great month of reading and some fun events/meet-ups too. I really like the sound of The Lie Tree and, as you know, I am super excited to read Jane Steele.
I wish you health, happiness and more great reading in June 🙂
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Thanks, Jessica, same to you! And do check out The Lie Tree — I think you’d enjoy it.
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I shall go and check your comments post, I always get hopelessly behind on my commenting!
Have a great week!
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That can easily happen, and then it’s hard to catch up. Thanks for stopping by!
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What a busy month! I’m interested in the Jasper Fforde book that you read. I read the first book in his popular series and then didn’t continue on, but his concepts are always fun and interesting!
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Honestly, I liked The Eyre Affair much better than Lost in a Good Book. There were some fun ideas in the second book but they didn’t grab me quite so much this time. But I think it’s worth a read to see if you like it better than I did.
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I wish we had a book blogger meetup in my city, I don’t know how many other bloggers there are out here, maybe I should look at starting something!
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I think it’s definitely worth a try. I’m not sure what “rain city” you are in (Vancouver? Seattle? Portland?) but I bet there are some book bloggers to be found somewhere.
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I’m glad your meet-up went well – it’s so much fun to get together with local bloggers! I should try to arrange something like that around here in a few months (since we all just saw each other for BEA).
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I hope you do, and let us know about it.
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Your meet-up sounds like a lot of fun, I definitely want to plan one (I’m in the DC area). How was Inn at Lake Devine? I just saw a recommendation for that one. Sorry you didn’t love the second Jasper Fforde. I’ve read them all but can’t really differentiate among them any more.
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I liked The Inn at Lake Devine – it was a light read that touched on some deeper subjects.
Hooray for book blogger meet-ups in all corners of the country (and world)!
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Hello from a fellow New Englander! I actually think I’m pretty near you (I’m in Keene).
Loved your Wrap Up post – looks like you had a pretty good May. I also absolutely loved Jane Steele.
Hope June is treating you well so far.
Happy Reading!
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Well, hello there, neighbor! Maybe we could meet up at a Toadstool reading or something. (I’m ashamed to say I’ve not yet been to one.)
June is terrific so far. Finally I can sit outside and read without my mittens on. 🙂
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I loved Jane Steele too! Definitely a book I want to recommend to everyone 🙂
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I’ve seen it recommended many times – so glad it did not disappoint.
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