• # of books read: 21
• audiobooks listened to: 5
• ARCs read: 1
• total page count: 4,538
• year total page count: 20,077

I got through the top four books in this stack.  I enjoyed House quite a bit, though it was somehow completely different than I imagined.  Dissected was also pretty good!  I thought I would like The Last Final Girl and Tape better than I did, but hey – you can’t like everything.   All of these were super quick reads.  I got House and Tape via Thriftbooks (along with most of the others in this stack!) and the others I got at the library book sale.  Last year I only found one book at the book sale, so I was quite pleased with the selection this year.

The Revenge of Analog was an interesting look at how people, after several decades of movement toward a digital world, are gravitating toward the analog.  Whether it’s music on vinyl, film cameras, or simply handmade goods, I have seen this trend emerging both for myself (I own a typewriter again!) and among others of my generation.  Sure, it’s convenient to be able to load up my Nook for a trip, but sometimes it’s easier (simpler, and easier on the eyes!) to read a physical book.  I was thinking this was more of a hipster trend, but honestly I’m seeing this everywhere.

I’m not a big fan of sci-fi, but the horror elements of Six Wakes (“Six crew. One ship. One killer.”) intrigued me when this appeared at the library.  I also really liked the cover, because sometimes that’s how I judge books!  I had the opportunity to read One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus as an ARC, and I enjoyed that murder mystery just as much.  Maybe I like murder mysteries now?

Because the weather has been far cooler than usual for May, I’ve been listening to audiobooks like mad (normally, I’d have my car window rolled down, which makes it hard to listen to an audiobook while driving).  My favorite audio of the month was definitely The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon.  It was a quirky kind of love story that takes place over the course of a day.  The alternating voices reminded me a little of Eleanor and Park – also the focus on music as a thing that brings the two together.  I also enjoyed Anna Kendrick’s memoir, Scrappy Little Nobody.

Three nonfiction books this month, WHAT?  I’ve had this on request for a while and it came in for me just as I was heading up to Acadia, Maine for the weekend.  It could not have been more perfect timing.  The Stranger in the Woods is the story of a man who lived alone and unnoticed in the Maine wilderness for TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS.  As the author of the book pointed out, most people don’t go more than a few hours without speaking to another human being.  Even me.  I enjoy my time alone, but I also have the outlet of talking to people via the internet, even if I don’t leave the house at all, which is rare.  Usually I at least go to the gym or grocery shopping.  So while it sounds lovely to be alone for so long, I’m sure not even I could do it.

The complete list!  (links take you to my Goodreads reviews)

1. The House by Christina Lauren
2. Day 21 (The 100 #2) by Kass Morgan (audiobook)
3. I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid (ebook)
4. Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
5. The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter by David Sax
6. Dissected by Megan Bostic
7. The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (audiobook)
8. Tape by Steve Camden
9. The Last Final Girl by Stephen Graham Jones
10. One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus (ARC)
11. The Grownup by Gillian Flynn
12. Bang by Barry Lyga
13. Insanity by Susan Vaught
14. The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave #2) by Rick Yancey (audiobook)
15. The Gathering (Shadow House #1) by Dan Poblocki (audiobook)
16. Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
17. Ten Count, Volume 1 by Rihito Takarai
18. The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel
19. Blood on My Hands by Todd Strasser
20. Deadly Attraction (Nightmare Hall #3) by Diane Hoh
21. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick (audiobook)