A selection of quotes and pictures to represent May’s reading:

commonplace book
noun
a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.

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‘I know,’ I admit. ‘But it’s how I feel. I can’t rationalize it. The truth is, I’ve always thought that if you can explain why you love someone, then you probably don’t.’

Earth by John Boyne (2024)

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But with maturity comes the understanding that a woman must absorb the difficulties and trials of life. They will always be there. Happiness is not a gift that comes to us without pain.

A Court of Betrayal by Anne O’Brien (2024)

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To remember a person is the most important thing in the novels of Alexandre Dumas. The worst sin anyone can commit is to forget.

The Black Count by Tom Reiss (2012)

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When one looks back upon one’s time on Earth – across the span of years and decisions that have carried one from birth to wherever one is now – it is nigh impossible to point out a single particular moment and say, ‘Yes, here. This is where it all began to go wrong.’ But still one tries. One inspects the tapestry for the pattern, for the loose thread.

Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis (2024)

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‘A fish and bird may fall in love, but in whose world can they live? Air or water, whichever they choose, one will surely drown.’

A Plague of Serpents by KJ Maitland (2024)

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Joy always surprised her, peeking as it did through the cracks in her life. She didn’t know pleasure well enough to call it by name.

The Angel Makers by Patti McCracken (2023)

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It was something that had never occurred to me before: we all had the power to change our pasts, our beginnings – or our perception of them, at least – but none of us could determine how our stories would end.

The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng (2023)

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‘Do you not know, my friend, that each one of us is a dark mystery, a maze of conflicting passions and desires and attitudes? Mais oui, c’est vrai. One makes one’s little judgements – but nine times out of ten one is wrong.’

Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie (1933)

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‘There’s no use knowing how to speak Latin if the language of friendship is beyond you,’ observes the countess. ‘And you cannot profess to understand poetry, or literature, if you have not experienced the emotions that inspired the words.’

The Nightingale’s Castle by Sonia Velton (2024)

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‘She is coming home. It’s a year since I saw her last, but really I find that nobody ever changes – that we all contain ourselves from the day we are born.’

Enlightenment by Sarah Perry (2024)

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Finished with his task, he glanced back at her. ‘You cannot shape the world, Miss Symonds. It will always shape you, instead. How many like what remains, when the world is done with them?’

The Puzzle Wood by Rosie Andrews (2024)

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Favourite books read in May:

A Court of Betrayal and The Angel Makers

Authors read for the first time in May:

Carmella Lowkis, Tom Reiss, Patti McCracken

Places visited in my May reading:

England, Ireland, France, Saint-Domingue, Hungary, Malaysia

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Reading notes: I spent May catching up with books on my NetGalley shelf and also managed to fit in a Christie novel for the Read Christie challenge. In June, I’ll be focusing mainly on reading books from my 20 Books of Summer list and there’s also Mallika’s Reading the Meow week to look forward to.

How was your May? What are you planning to read in June?