Five books that made me feel this month

May 2025 reading roundup

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There is something spectacularly divine about adopting a practice for oneself that turns into something others find meaning in.

For me, it began in 2020, the year everybody loves to forget. (Myself included, minus the fact that I grew and birthed an entire human that year.) As 2020 came to a close, I found myself searching for beauty; something to cling to aside from my child to remind me that it was not solely a year of darkness and fear. That there were beautiful things, too.

It was in books that I found what I was looking for. I had read many great books that year and thought it would be cathartic to find the 20 most beautiful lines I’d come across. I scoured my bookshelves and flipped through everything, re-reading my underlines and dog-ears. In this way, The 20 Most Beautiful Sentences I Read in 2020 was born. I have done it every year since.

I had no publishing cadence, no audience, no reason to publish anything aside from the desire to capture what I’d read. This month I read a collection of short stories, and in it is a perfect explanation for why I rounded up those 20 sentences:

“It’s hard to survive in this world sometimes,” he told Elena. “But you always have to leave space for beauty.”

In mining all the books I read in a year, I am making space for beauty. Now I do it at the end of every year.

Another practice that began as personal record-keeping has turned into a miraculous way to connect with readers: month’s end roundups of the books I read. Showing up for myself in this way, I’ve been able to find connections between books I’ve read that I wouldn’t have realized had I not written about them. Discerning readers have pointed out connections I didn’t identify myself. It’s such a lovely thing, being in community like this.

And so I continue with my monthly roundups of everything I’ve read, even though they are almost never themed and the books are usually random. Through the act of recording my month’s reading and sharing it with the world, I find meaning.

Perhaps best of all, my readers find meaning, too.

May was a month of broad reading. I seldom read collections of short stories or spicy romcoms, but I read both this month. I also read a short mind-exploding novel, a craft book, and a feminist story about a dead artist and her epic revenge. The books are all stand-alones, but, as is frequently the case, they found ways to be in conversation with one another.

Here are five books that made me feel in May:

I Watched You From the Ocean Floor by Erin Cecilia Thomas

May is Short Story Month, which I found out — quite serendipitously — the day after I started reading this collection of short stories. The collection is an exploration of grief and the many ways we overcome it. The writing is lovely and the narrative voice changes from story to story while maintaining a hopeful resilience throughout.

Given the chance, I will almost always opt for a novel versus a collection of short stories. It can take me awhile to get into a story, and when they’re short, I sometimes feel like they end before I really get into them. Not with these ones, though. Shortly after beginning each one, I had a good idea of who the protagonist was and what they were up against. There is much to underline in this collection, too.

Here, from the story Washington Avenue, a description of the violin:

“The sound of the bow sliding over the strings was so raw that it almost bled. It was alive; it crept under Elena’s skin.”

From the same story came the quote I shared above: “It’s hard to survive in this world sometimes,” he told Elena. “But you always have to leave space for beauty.”

My favorite story in this collection was of a grieving widow who embroiders pillowcases with the faces of those who have died. Obviously, things get weird, just as I like them.

I Watched you From the Ocean Floor comes out in July with Modern Artist Press. (Thank you Kathryn at Modern Artist Press for the advanced reader copy of the book.)

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

I dedicated a whole essay to this tiny book. It’s the Booker Prize winning novel spanning 24 hours as six astronauts and cosmonauts circle the earth 16 times. It is relatively plotless, but the writing is as exquisite as anything I have ever read. If you’re intrigued by a book that takes place on the International Space Station but are on the fence because of the lack of plot, read through the comments in this post.

Most commenters have the best things to say about it. A few think it was a waste of time and money. If you read Orbital, I want to know what you think.

Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez

This was a recommendation from my step-sister, who is a huge reader. She is also Guatemalan, so when she recommended this book featuring a Cuban artist and a Puerto Rican art history student, I knew I had to read it. The novel focuses on the gaping discrepancy between the way society celebrates male artists versus their female counterparts. It’s about who will be remembered after they die, and why.

It’s 1985 and Anita de Monte is a Cuban artist whose work is just beginning to get noticed when she dies tragically. Her husband, an artist himself, is world-renown and collects more accolades than perhaps he should.

It’s 1998 now and Raquel is an art history major working on her thesis on artist Jack Martin. When she comes across the story of Jack Martin’s late wife, artist Anita de Monte, Raquel does some more digging and uncovers parts of Anita’s story that the world has not yet become privy to.

The book is haunting, funny, and way too relevant, considering we are no longer in 1985.

Along Came Amor by Alexis Daria

When I got an email from the publicist about the final book in the Primas of Power trilogy, I responded saying it sounded great but I hadn’t read the first two — would it be worth reading anyway? Her response was an enthusiastic yes, and she mailed me a copy. (Thank you, Avon Books!)

This is a spicy romcom about the newly divorced Ava Rodriguez and the sexy hotelier, Roman Vázquez, she spends one night with. Except of course one night turns into many others, and next thing you know, the two no-strings-attached lovers find themselves entangled in an untangleable family event.

I loved reading about the different family dynamics and how they aren’t always as rigid as we think, which was something I noticed in Anita de Monte Laughs Last as well. I read Along Came Amor book over Mother’s Day weekend. It happened to be a beautiful, sunny weekend and I spent the whole time sitting on my deck reading this 512-page book. It was the perfect book for the occasion and a great read for romcom fans. Also, I’m definitely going to go back and read the first two books in this series.

The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jaouad

Hello from my twenty-seventh consecutive day of journaling! After seeing

Suleika Jaouad

and Jon Batiste on The Alchemy Tour, I re-launched my journaling practice and am happy to say I’ve stuck with it. This book is the reason why. It’s a collection of 100 essays and prompts by creatives in every field. You can read it straight through as one big inspirational book, or you can read one essay and prompt at a time as you prepare to journal.

I did both.

I first read the book straight through, and now I open it first thing every morning to read an essay and writing prompt before I journal. The process has helped me dig up some memories I forgot I had. It’s for anyone anywhere in their journaling practices, whether they have a steady routine or want to begin journaling.

I write at length about The Alchemy Tour and how to approach the book here.

Did you read any good books in May? Have you read any of these? Please share your thoughts!

What are you reading? What are you underlining?

What I’m reading: Better: A Memoir About Wanting to Die by Arianna Rebolini

What I’m underlining: [From Better]: “Grace burns when you’re certain you don’t deserve it.”

Love, Kolina

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