May in Review

I read 19 books in May, which was very impressive considering I went on a trip and graduated from university this month. At the beginning of the month, May was looking like my worst reading month ever, but I am glad that it turned out to be a good reading month after all.

First up, I don't like my reviewing method for books, so you will likely see a change in my review style when I write my next review. I have a very hard time putting a rating to a book, so I think I might just skip them all together. I am one of those people that hated being graded in school and thought that your future should not be decided by a bunch of numbers. It is the same with authors. I will talk about their books, give a indication of my feelings on them and what did and did not work for me, but no more numbers.

My first read for May, which I did not decide to review was Over the Falls. This was a touristy book that I picked up in Ontario in the hopes that it would answer some of my questions about the Falls. Instead I seem to now know a fair amount about the Daredevils of the Falls, and still have questions. I have since picked up Niagara by Pierre Berton in the hopes that it will off aid.

The book I counted for the Back to History Challenge was The Invasion of Canada by Pierre Berton. It also counted as my O'Canada Read because it is a book about the history of the War of 1812 which occurred on Canadian soil.

Fantasy books that I read this month:
The Briar King by Greg Keyes. Book one in a recent trilogy.
Clockwork by Philip Pullman. I had to buy this for school one year, but then we never read it, so I did just to get it moved off the TBR pile. Review to come sometime.
Magician:Apprentice by Raymond Feist. Book one in the Riftwar Saga, Feist may be one of my new fantasy favourites. Have to see what happens when I read another book by him.
The Dream-Maker's Magic by Sharon Shinn. I FINALLY finished this young adult trilogy by Sharon Shinn. I think this book was probably my favourite, but I enjoyed the whole trilogy.
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddon. Another new trilogy, no wonder my list of series/trilogies is so long, I started a bunch this month alone! Book two will be out in October.
Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny. Yes, another series, but it seems to be my curse. I won this back during Buy a Friend a Book week, so I could not resist picking it up. I also read book two in this series at the very last minute.

Non-fiction Reads for the month:
I did not join the Non-fiction Five challenge, but I seem to be reading a lot more non-fiction than I have in previous years. This month, the non-fiction books that I read are:
The Invasion of Canada by Pierre Berton, which I have reviewed.
28 Stories of AIDs in Africa by Stephaine Nolen, which I have reviewed.
Scribbling the Cat by Alexandra Fuller. I read this book because the author received an honourary doctrate at my graduation.
Always Fresh. The story of the man behind Tim Hortons, which is seriously a Canadian icon. It was a very interesting look at the coffee shop that people visit daily.
Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home. I think EVERYONE should have this book. I learned a lot of things that I did not know, and about something that people use daily.

I read two Newbery Award winning books in the spirit of the challenge circulating around the blogosphere:
Caddie Woodlawn and Sounder. Both have been on the reading pile for a very long time.

I also read Witch Child by Celia Rees, All in Together Girls by Kate Sutherland, Loyalty in Death by J.D. Robb, and A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly.

The best read, for me, of this month was 28:Stories of AIDs in Africa. My least favourite read was actually Sounder. I know it won a big award, but I just did not like it. Other than that, I really liked everything I read this month.