Here are the titles I gave five stars in the month of May 2026. A list of all the titles I read this month is at the end of this post. 

In May 2026 I read 29 books, 6 of those were picture books and 7 were audiobooks. The top genre I read was cozy mystery followed by historical fiction. The longest book I read was The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett at 656 pages, and the shortest book was A Letter to My Best Friend by Yangsook Choi at 32 pages. 

Mrs Tim Christie by D.E. Stevenson

I wish I could remember how this ended up on my tbr because I am so thankful. What a delightful and gentle book. This is a series of four books originally published beginning in 1932 (later, books 1 and 2 were reissued together which is what I read). The books feature the diaries of Hester Christie, wife of army officer Tim Christie. Hester is funny and thoughtful and it’s a slice of life kind of story that I could easily just sink into. The entries are on everything from running a household to the gossip around her.

The Mountains We Call Home by Kim Michele Richardson

This is book three in the stories of the Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and as the publisher blurb says it is “gritty, heartbreaking, yet infused with hope.” I couldn’t put this down even when it was so hard to read. And throughout every page is a love of the written word. 

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum

A coworker recommended this as a page turning mystery/thriller that was a must on audio. I put a request on Libby, saw that it was an 18 week wait and didn’t think much else…until I got a skip the line copy last weekend. I quickly hit play and did everything in my power to keep my earbuds in because woooweeee the unraveling of this mystery is intense. I was giving side eye to every character, not sure who to trust. While it’s a totally different story, it gave me the similar vibes and reading experience as when I read Gone Girl. A fun buzzy summer novel.

You Deserve to Know by Aggie Blum Thompson

This was such a page-turning work of domestic suspense. I could not put it down and oh my gosh, the twists! I read this so quickly, ignoring all sorts of things just to find out of what happened. This would be a great summer read.

All Titles Read In May 2026:

• A Letter to My Best Friend Yangsook Choi
• Campingland Ame Dyckman
• A Round of Robins Katie Hesterman
• Itty Bitty Betty Blob Constance Lombardo
• The Black Mambas Kelly Crull
• Sydney and Taylor Explore the Whole Wide World Jacqueline Davies
• Murder Under A Bitter Moon Abigail Keam
• Sconed to Death Betty Hechtman
• Every Day I Read Hwang Bo-Reum
• Chocolate Covered Murder Leslie Meier
• English Tea Murder Leslie Meier
• The Pink Marshall Thornton
• Heroes Alan Gratz
• The Dry Grass of August Anna Jean Mayhew
• Wicked Witch Murder Leslie Meier
• Enormous Wings Laurie Frankel
• Among the Mad Jacqueline Winspea
• First and Forever Lynn Painter
• You Deserve to Know Aggie Blum Thompson
• Birding With Benefits Sarah Dubb
• Gimme Shelter Libby Klein
• The Chowder House Murder Lee Hollis
• This Story Might Save Your Life Tiffany Crum
• London Falling Patrick Radden Keefe
• A Duke Never Tells Suzanne Enoch
• Mrs Tim Christie D.E. Stevenson
• The Mountains We Call Home Kim Michele Richardson
• Beth is Dead Katie Bernet
• The Calamity Club Kathryn Stockett