An Open Book: May 2026 Reads

June is here, so it's time to link up with An Open Book to chat about what I read last month. Before I dive in, though, I do have a prayer request: at the very end of May, moments after bouncing into a routine 16-weeks prenatal appointment, I learned that my unborn baby had died. As I continue to grieve and process, I may eventually put more here on the blog about this experience-but for now, please send up a prayer for me and my family. Thank you! And thank you so much to the many people who have already been lifting our family up in prayer for these past several days, I truly appreciate all of the prayers and support. 

Looking back on all the reading I did in May, I am grateful that I got to read a ton of fun and/or deeply insightful books, and I have many fond reading memories. I mostly read fiction, with some nonfiction sprinkled in there too. Let's dive in.  

The Retired Assassin's Guide to Orchid Hunting, by Naomi Kuttner

In this second installment of the Retired Assassin's Guide series, Dante's plans of a quiet life in New Zealand are thwarted once again when an orchid convention comes to town and someone unexpectedly dies. As Dante and his friends investigate the death-was it a natural death or was it murder?-he also deals with anxiety over his cat's health problems and goes on his first date...no ordinary activity for a former assassin. This cozy paranormal book was a ton of fun to read, and I think I even liked it more than the first book in the series! 

The Joy of Slow: Restoring Balance and Wonder to Homeschool Learning, by Leslie M. Martino

In this book, Martino offers encouragement and advice for parents (although its geared towards homeschoolers, I think much of her advice could be taken by parents who chose public or private school as well). Martino talks about the value of taking a slower approach to education, and how kids can still have a rich education and thrive even if we're not cramming information down their throats constantly. Martino offers practical strategies for tracking kids' progress and helping them pursue their passions, all while taking a slow approach. This book really resonated with me and I enjoyed it quite a lot. 

REREAD: Kristin Lavransdatter (full trilogy), by Sigrid Undset, trans. Tiina Nunnelly

I first read this classic, set in medieval Norway, over a decade ago and although it made me so mad, I knew that I eventually wanted to reread it. Well, I am so grateful that I picked it up again! This trilogy follows Kristin from her days as a young girl and all the way to her death as an adult. The prose is beautiful, and the story is riveting-I read one review that stated its a bit of a medieval soap opera, and I think that's probably accurate. The first time I read this book, I got really mad at how Kristin treated her husband. Upon reading it this time, seasoned by years of marriage and motherhood and life in general, I think I was a bit more compassionate to the characters-in part because some of Kristin's problematic tendencies are vices that I struggle with myself, even if they don't play out in the same way in my life. This trilogy follows a lot of broken, suffering people, but amid all of that brokenness there is beauty and mercy. This is an intense set of novels, but very good and I highly recommend it! 

Will Wilder: The Relic of Perilous Falls, by Raymond Arroyo (Will Wilder book 1)

I had heard about this children's book series for a long time. A relative recommended it to one of my kids, and after he read it, he insisted that I read it-so, needing much different reading material after Sigrid Undset, I picked it up too. This book follows Will Wilder, a twelve-year-old boy who is approached by a mysterious figure and asked to "borrow" a relic: the finger of St. Thomas the Apostle. Will then finds himself on an Indiana Jones-style adventure as he and his friend journey to find this relic. Along the way there are demons, a mysterious order of men in charge of keeping relics safe, and plenty of small-town drama. This book was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it!

My Family and Other Skaters, by Fiorella De Maria

I giggled, cried, and thoroughly enjoyed this delightful children's novel of a big family of ice skaters who live in England, as narrated by eleven-year-old Rosaria. This story was a ton of fun and it felt timeless, even though it's set in the modern world (some of the characters mention Brexit, and cell phones are referenced a couple times). Rosaria and her family are Catholic, but their faith is presented in a present way (characters may reference going to Mass or a specific prayer devotion) and not in a "let me beat you over the head with apologetics" way. Reading it honestly felt like watching an old movie, like The Bells of St. Mary's. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! 

The Second Skater of the Apocalypse, by Fiorella De Maria

This novel picks up where My Family and Other Skaters left off: a new year is beginning, full of promise and optimism for Rosaria-the year 2020. As she begins to see her life upended with the Covid-19 pandemic, Rosaria (and her family) manage to embrace the joys and craziness of everyday life as a big family. This book was a lot of fun and I appreciate how it managed to convey the weirdness of life during Covid without getting wound up in politics. 

My Son, the Priest: A Mother's Crisis of Faith, by Kristin Grady Gilger

This memoir offers a raw portrayal of the struggle a fallen-away Catholic woman had when her son announced that he was going to become a Jesuit priest. As the author conveys the impact of her son's decision, she also dives into her own family-of-origin stuff and how the brokenness of her past impacted her life in the present. Alongside all of that, she shares about the Jesuit order--about St. Ignatius of Loyola and his principles of discernment, about the process of becoming a Jesuit, and about the struggles and joys of Jesuits today. Although I definitely disagreed with the author on a number of things in this book and we have very different perspectives, I really appreciated getting to read her story about coming to terms with her son's decision, and with her journey of stumbling back to Catholicism. 

Thanks so much for joining me this month! If you have any recommendations, please drop them in the comments.