may's reading wrap*up
welcome to our collection of may’s weekly reading book reviews!
(they appear every monday morning on my instagram, if you’d like to follow along.)
but i also like to share them here where i can post links on each title i read (or thought about reading) so you can learn more about each book on its page at bookshop.org*— where each purchase supports an independent bookstore.
enJOY and happy reading!!
xo,
*hallie :)
✨ weekly reading book review may 2024: episode one!! ✨
this week i read {or finished} :
❤️ ON THE EDGE OF THE DARK SEA OF DARKNESS, THE WINGFEATHER SAGA, BOOK ONE by andrew peterson (not for me; scary middle grade fantasy adventure; multiple moms told me the books get way scarier, even, so FYI!)
❤️ 101 THINGS I LEARNED IN FILM SCHOOL by neil landau & matthew frederick (all forms of storytelling essential reading!! title link takes you to barnes & noble; it’s not listed on bookshop.org right now.)
❤️ THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY by patricia highsmith (1955 thriller, "psychopath" classic, content warning of two scenes of violence)
❤️ TOKYO UENO STATION by yu miri (read only if you like saaaaaaaaddddddd booooks)
❤️ PLAIN JANE & THE MERMAID by vera brosgol (i loooooooooooved it!!! INCREDIBLE folktale graphic novel; the antithesis of the girlie needs to be pretty AND rescued!!)
sorta currently reading :
❤️ SORCERER TO THE CROWN by zen cho (adult fantasy = alternate regency historical fiction x british magic? i’m a little lost. again, booklink to barnes & noble for ya.)
❤️ ART + FAITH by makoto fujimura
miiiiight read next:
❤️ STARS & SMOKE by marie lu
what stories are YOU loving right now?!
❤️xo,
*hallie
✨❤️ weekly reading book review may 2024: episode two!! ❤️✨
here’s what i read this week:
❤️ STARS & SMOKE by marie lu
yep. that was it… ;D
almost done with, & currently reading & loving:
❤️ THE WRONG WAY HOME by kate o'shaughnessy
miiiiight read next:
❤️ HULA by jasmin ‘iolani hakes
❤️ THE TATAMI GALAXY by tomihiko morimi
❤️ THE RETURN OF ELLIE BLACK by emiko jean (thanks, simon books!!)
returning to the library because i didn’t get to ‘em:
(*le sob*)
❤️ HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER by kristen perrin
❤️ 888 LOVE & THE DIVINE BURDEN OF NUMBERS by abraham chang
podcast rec:
❤️ THE WRITER FILES with kelton reid, his latest conversation with jeff goins….!!! not just for writers!!
& currently watching:
❤️ RAYA & THE LAST DRAGON !! (the disney animated film; imdb page here.)
what stories are you loving right now?!
with all my blueberry compote love,
❤️xo,
*hallie :)
✨📖 weekly reading book review may 2024: episode three!! 📖✨
here’s what i read this week:
🌸 THE WRONG WAY HOME by kate o’shaunnessey (signed from @booksincstores !!)
💜 THE TATAMI GALAXY by tomihiko morimi (i liked THE TATAMI TIME MACHINE BLUES better, but part four was weird and great.)
in picture books:
🧡 LENNY & LUCY by philip c. & erin e. stead (what a find @malapropsbookstore downtown books & news!!)
✏️ THE GRIFFIN & THE MINOR CANNON by frank r. stockton & illustrated by maurice sendak (you can find used copies on ebay, etc.)
watched:
🎬 PARIS WHEN IT SIZZLES (1963; imdb page here)
currently reading :
🌟 THE DOG STARS by peter heller
📽️ MAKING MOVIES by sidney lumet (my purse book)
mayyyybe reading next:
💥 DO NOT DETONATE WITHOUT PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL: a portfolio on the subjects of mid-century cinema, the broadway stage and the american west, inspirations for wes anderson ‘s ASTEROID CITY edited by jake perlin & wes anderson (@pushkin_press )
❤️ REFLECTION, A TWISTED TALE by elizabeth lim
what stories are you loving right now?!
🤩🎹🎭📺🎞️🩰🎬🎧📝
on the hunt for birthday carbs,
🥯🍰xo,
*hallie 🤓
✨📖 weekly reading book review may 2024: episode four!! 📖✨
for better or worse, this week i read:
🌟 THE DOG STARS by peter heller (brutal dystopian survivalist adult fiction)
☂️ STRANGE WEATHER IN TOKYO by hiromi kawakami (a modern adult novel; much preferred —to my taste— her surrealist short stories in PEOPLE FROM MY NEIGHBORHOOD)
😳 THE RETURN OF ELLIE BLACK by emiko jean (adult thriller; think page-turning cold case true crime in real time!! 🔎🫣📖🎧👏🏽)
currently reading :
☕️ TALES FROM THE CAFE by toshikazu kawaguchi
miiiiight read next:
💙 FUNNY STORY by emily henry
❤️ A STROKE OF THE PEN: THE LOST STORIES by terry pratchett (my edition a 2024 indie bookstore day exclusive from @malapropsbookstore !!)
✒️ THE WIFE by meg wolitzer (brought to my attention by the story nerd podcast)
💔 IN COLD BLOOD by truman capote (with mad research props to harper lee, of course.)
📖✒️💖
what stories are you loving right now?!
🥰🎭🎨🎬🎧📺🎥📝
💜xo,
*hallie 🤓
coming later this week in the halthegal marker re*cap:
* may’s favourite reads
* some of may’s adventures
* a sneak peek at what’s coming to the crayon box in june!
subscribe (for free, or opt*in for subscriber support) at https://halthegalstoryart.substack.com
*bookshop.org: supporting the local indie bookstore of your choice. you know, instead of evil corporate space colonizers who want our government to be ruled by inhuman machines. (all i’m saying is, people and your community and freedom of thought and speech and print is way more important and 2-day shipping. see also: danny caine’s HOW TO RESIST AMAZON & WHY…) :)
🌟 after all that, here were my personal favourite reads of may 🌟
☕️TALES FROM THE CAFE by toshikazu kawaguchi (adult “cozy japanese fiction” in translation; a basement café in japan where if you wait for the ghost to leave a certain chair, you can travel back in time. you can’t change anything in the present, but you can meet with someone who’s been to the café before. but only for as long as it takes for your cup of coffee to get cold. emotional, moving, sweet; the second in the series.)
💙 THE WRONG WAY HOME by kate o’shaughnessy (middle grade contemporary fiction; a girl and her mom escape a cult and must settle into a new city; but the leader wants them back. tough topics covered sensitively.)
🎨 PLAIN JANE & THE MERMAID by vera brosgol (upper middle grade/YA graphic novel; all the folk tales and faerie tales turned on their heads with an amazing story and intense, lovely artwork.)
🎬 101 THINGS I LEARNED IN FILM SCHOOL by neil landau , with matthew frederick. (adult nonfiction; LOTS of great insight not just for filmmakers, but authors and visual storytellers, too!) barnes & noble link HERE
✏️ THE GRIFFIN & THE MINOR CANON by frank stockton, illustrated by maurice sendak. (i found a used, albeit prestine, copy @downtown_books_and_news . stunning work as ever from our late, beloved, mr. sendak accompanying the old school 1800s tale.)
🥹 LENNY & LUCY by philip & erin stead (picture book again a treasure FIND @downtown_books_and_news . AND it was signed by BOTH the author and illustrator, the dynamic book-creating married couple duo!! StuNNing Artwork accompanying a perfect story. came out 8 years before their caldecott-winning A SICK DAY FOR AMOS McGEE.)