vivdunstan

Inspired by posts elsewhere by some fellow book readers I thought it might be nice to look back on what I read this month. I probably won't manage this every month.

Here are the 10 books I finished in May:

• Lord of Chaos (The Wheel of Time, #6) by Robert Jordan
• Stardust by Neil Gaiman
• Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American by Laura Gao
• Doctor Who The Return of Robin Hood by Paul Magrs
• Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordain
• Donald Duck, Duck in the Iron Mask by Disney (short comic)
• I am Oliver the Otter by Pam Ayres (picture book)
• The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas
• Raw Spirit: In Search of the Perfect Dram by Iain Banks
• Bowie on Bowie: Interviews and Encounters edited by Sean Egan (interviews collection)

It was honestly a relief to finish the first book, another long Wheel of Time one. But it's the best in the series for me so far, and really shakes things up. So looking ahead hopefully.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman was this month's book club choice for me, a lovely fairy tale book, albeit somewhat different from the movie. I have reread this several times over the years.

Messy Roots graphic novel was a recommendation from the paid TBR service I treated myself to a subscription of. It's really interesting, showing how a family adapted moving from China to the US. And then there's the spectre of Covid as well - they had come from Wuhan many years earlier. Recommended, though I think it was maybe a bit more light in places than it might be.

Paul Magrs' latest Doctor Who book is lovely, a melancholy tale of an older Robin Hood and outlaws, with a clever timey wimey plot. A little too many different character points of view in places for me, but overall it was a strong read.

Percy Jackson book 1 was a quick fun read. I'm not sure I'll read any more in the series, but this was breezy stuff. It reminded me in many ways of Neil Gaiman's American Gods, but aimed at a younger audience.

The Donald Duck comic book was a quick read in the Comixology app on my iPad. Very funny retelling of the Man in the Iron Mask.

We love watching Pam Ayres on the telly so when we chanced on a signed copy of her latest rhyming poem picture book in our local bookshop we snapped it up, even if we are way over the target age range! It's really sweet though, and educational. And gorgeous otter pictures!

The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas was a surprise. Given its very short length by his standards I didn't expect the depth and twists in store. A gripping historical novel set in late 17th century Holland at the time of Tulipmania. An absolute gem.

I'm Scottish but haven't tried too many whiskies over the years. I have my favourites, especially Balvenie Caribbean Cask. Iain Banks's book Raw Spirit is a sprawling travelogue around Scotland, going to lots of whisky distilleries with stories of history, the places and tasting notes about the drinks. I now have a very long list of whiskies I want to try! It was a bit too rambling in places, very political as well which even though I share his politics got somewhat exasperating. Probably also a bit long. But still a good read.

Alongside the Dumas book my other standout highlight of the month was the book of David Bowie interview transcripts edited by Sean Egan. I read this on my Kindle and it's very long, but a fascinating insight into his life and career. The interviews span the 1960s to the early 2000s, and seeing how things evolved for him was intriguing. I did not expect to be so gripped by this. And I now want to explore more of his back catalogue of music.

Craving a short and fun read after the epic 1000+ page plus Wheel of Time book, and given I'm flaring neurologically, I've picked Stardust by Neil Gaiman for my next read. This is a reread for me. It's not my absolute favourite of his, but I really enjoy it. Made into a great film of course, but it was an illustrated storybook first. This also is the month's read for a book club run by a YouTuber I back on Patreon.

As well as that I’m nearly finished the graphic novel Messy Roots, am most way through Iain Banks’ whisky trip around Scotland, and am slowly reading the rather long Bowie on Bowie interview book.