What I read in May 2025

In May, I read ten books, which is slightly less than usual for me (I know, I know). I did, however, read widely, taking in historical fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, and non-fiction.

Writing did not end up happening at Orford Ness this time, alas, but I have been practising reading out the story that came out of my previous trip for Emotional Madness on 5 June.

The Fox Wife, Six Days in Bombay, A Hat Full of Sky

The Fox Wife, by Yangsze Choo - 5*

Six Days in Bombay, by Alka Joshi - 3.5*

A Hat Full of Sky, by Terry Pratchett - 4.5*

Ithaca, The Martian, The Original Daughter

Ithaca, by Claire North - 4*

The Martian, by Andy Weir - 4*

The Original Daughter, by Jemimah Wei - review coming soon! 4.5*

Fruit of the Lemon, The Midnight Hour, The Children of Hiroshima, Greenteeth

Fruit of the Lemon, by Andrea Levy - 4*

The Midnight Hour, by Eve Chase - 4.5*

The Children of Hiroshima, by Sadako Teiko Okuda - review coming soon! 4*

Greenteeth, by Molly O’Neill - 4*

Looking ahead…

This Is How You Lose the Time War, Named, Monk and Robot

Another month of reading adventures beckons… I’ve been wanting to pick up This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone for ages, and this month I should finally get to it <mumbles>because it’s 99p on Kindle</mumbles>. I’ve had Becky Chambers’ Monk and Robot omnibus on pre-order since February and can’t wait for it to finally come through the door!

I’ve just started Named: A Story of Names and Reclaiming Who We Are, by Camilla Balshaw, and I can already tell that a) it’s exactly the type of non-fiction I get really into, and b) I’m not going to struggle for things to say about it in my blog tour review. You have been warned!

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About Alice Violett

Writer of blogs and short stories, reader of books, player of board games, lover of cats, editor of web content, haver of PhD.

Colchester, UK https://www.draliceviolett.com