At first I thought my reading for May was terrible. This is an actual conversation I had two days ago.

Me: “Ohmygosh, I have barely read any books this month. I have literally barely been reading at all.”

Sister: “Really?”

Me: *flips through book log* “Okay I have actually read more than 2 ½ books a week this month.”

So maybe it’s not so bad. I wish I could say I read fewer books this month because they were in some way more difficult or challenging or lengthy than the YA I’ve been gulping down for the last three months, but they really haven’t. All I can say is that school is out and I have watched more than my fair share of Netflix, and also spent much more time with friends throughout the month of May than I have in a very long time. I may have socialized more in May than I did January-April. I don’t regret it a single bit, but my little introverted self is going to need some time to recover…

It’s honestly really hard to choose a Top Pick for this month – I’m keeping track of all the books I read this year in a notebook, with author, title, brief summary and my initial thoughts, complete with a rating from one to five. I realized this month that this system is definitely flawed, as my thoughts immediately after finishing a book greatly impact the rating, and then I think about the book for awhile, go back and say “What? Only a 3? But it’s so good!” or “I gave that a 3.5? It certainly wasn’t as good as” … you get the picture.

For instance, my first thought for Top Pick was Becoming Maria; Sonia Manzano’s memoir of her childhood in the Bronx, leading up to her audition for the life-changing role of Maria on Sesame Street. It has made me think so much, about poverty, education, opportunity, racism, reading, domestic violence, family dynamics, and more. It’s a hard book to read. The more time I have to reflect on it, the more crushing her childhood reality becomes. Look back at the rating – 3.5, even with the simple-but-popular thriller The Girl on the Train, and a full half-point behind Mindy Kaling’s Why Not Me? Which I presumably gave a better score because I thought it was really funny. But honestly, I’d recommend all three of the books listed above, depending on the reader and what genre (s)he likes. I also feel compelled to mention Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott – which I got from the library but now plan to purchase – and If You Come Softly, which may be the last Woodson title I read for awhile. And there you have it – practically half of the 11 books I read this month…which isn’t actually that much fewer than some other months, and is two more than in January!

I’d like to say that this has inspired me to come up with a more well-rounded rating system, with a more accurate algorithm for deciding (and remembering) how good a book is, but it hasn’t.

I mean, I’m sure you’ll find this shocking, but: reading isn’t a numbers game. No matter how many books I read, or how good I thought they were, there will always be more books that I want to read, and people who disagree with me on quality. It keeps things interesting, and keeps me reading. I’ll be back in June. :)