Books are small universes—affordable and easily carried, yet filled with endless possibilities to expand and enrich the mind. Through their pages, I explore new experiences and worlds, meet unforgettable characters, and deepen my understanding of humanity.
These are the books I read in May 2025, listed chronologically, and graded by recommendation (highly recommend, recommend, and do not recommend).
West With the Night
Beryl Markham was an extraordinary woman, who, among other feats (of daring), was the first person to complete a transatlantic east-to-west solo flight.
But here’s the rub: she’s an incandescent writer. You’ll be as in awe of her sentence structure as you are her harrowing tales of hunting and flying; highly recommend.
Nightwood
As thick as underbrush, this novel will obstruct without attention and perseverance. This is my third attempt (and only completion) of Nightwood.
Considered the first modernist novel, the prose is winding and a bit…overwrought. (Yes, the plot revolves around a loveless woman and her narcissistic tendency to chew and spit out her lovers, but still.)
But it *is* beautiful. I’ll recommend Nightwood, but more as an attention exercise than pleasure cruise.
Confederates In The Attic
Southern people *are* weird about the Civil War, as the one of the title page quotes points out. I might not have believed this before reading the book, but my mom and sister lived in Georgia for a bit, and boy, do they have stories.
And this penetrating work explains why. It’s an easy tic (an obsession with the “War of the States”), as an outsider, to make fun of or write off. But we shouldn’t, as that’s how regressive populist movements start; highly recommend.
The Feeling of Meaninglessness
Hey, man, we all have them. What do we do with them? Attach meaning to suffering and empower others, argues Frankl, in this collection of lectures about (in a nutshell) logotherapy.
His advice and coping strategies are timeless, highly recommend.
Recollections
Frankl recalls moments of his life that shaped him and his professional practice; recommend if you’re a Frankl fan, otherwise you won’t much care.
Dream Count
The year is 2020. The Covid lockdowns are in full effect. It’s a bad time to be a travel writer, and Chiamaka has a lot of time on her hands. So she broods on her past relation(situation)ships. Stop the creeping disinterest!
A whole novel of romantic rumination can sound, at best, navel-gazing, and, at worst, boring, but Dream Count is gripping.
Her broodings are fascinating to follow, indictments and celebrations of society, herself, and those now suddenly missing from her orbit.
The Bluestockings
Know who was more badass than you’d think? A group of late eighteenth century women who gathered in English parlors to yap.
Ok, much of the talk concerned keeping the lower classes in their proper place, but at least they wanted that place to be hygienic!
The eighteenth century was a hard time to be a woman (ask me how those conditions bled through the decades!), and these ladies did their best, cultivating lives of the mind when popular culture said doing so could literally kill them; highly recommend.
Reporting Civil Rights
This is the saddest book I’ve ever ingested, which is saying a lot, as upsetting books are kinda my thing.
This collection of articles regarding the Civil Rights movement (early ‘40’s to early ‘60’s) hits harder than any novel.
The crisp, matter-of-fact accounts will bludgeon you. These things happened. And our relatives read them in their newspapers every morning. Highly recommend, unless you’re some kind of coward.
Age of Revolutions
A collective heuristic of humanity is that each generation thinks it lives in unprecedented times.
That’s why it’s important to read books that span hundreds of years, to study the cycles and remember there is nothing new under the sun, only re-naming.
Though I didn’t appreciate the author’s Whig History Fetish (nor was I surprised to learn that he helms a CNN show), I appreciated his attempts to discuss liberalism and conservatives with less cultural shorthand; recommend.
Conclusion
In the quiet company of these April reads, I found stories and echoes of the human experience: resilience in the face of despair, the enduring power of connection, and the timeless wisdom woven into words.
I hope my May 2025 bite size book reviews open up new literary adventures for you. What literary landscapes are you currently exploring? I’d love to hear!
Want More?
Check out these articles for more bookish content:
- Bringing Book Covers to Life With Thom Stead
- Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner: Book Review
Happy reading!
Love,
