Reading Roundup: May 2026

I got through a lot of books in May, mostly thanks to some brilliant audiobooks (which were also good for my motivation for cleaning and exercise!). I’m also nearly finished with re-reading Adrian Mole.

8 books – 5 audio and 3 print books!

This was aprox. 1,128 pages read and 602.25 hours listened (of finished books).

Adrian Mole The Wilderness Years (Adrian Mole #4) by Sue Townsend ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Now a full-grown adult, but living in Pandora’s Oxford box room and driving her crazy, Adrian is struggling to figure out his future. This is a big transitional period for Adrian, and I felt for him!

Nona The Ninth (The Locked Tomb #3) by Tamsyn Muir ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wow! The third book is yet again something very different, which takes a bit of adjusting to, but I grew to love Nona and, more importantly, we get to find out more about the background of God and the Nine Houses. Now I have to wait for the fourth book!

I Shall Wear Midnight (Tiffany Aching #4; Discworld #38) by Terry Pratchett ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Back to Tiffany, and I was shocked by the change in tone! This book is much darker and heavier, and Tiffany feels all the weight of her responsibilities. There is some great writing and character moments, but it is definitely lighter on the jokes.

The Shepherd’s Crown (Tiffany Aching #5; Discworld #41) by Terry Pratchett ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The final Tiffany book and the final Discworld book. It does show the signs of being an unfinished book; it is definitely not polished, but it is a good ending, and I enjoyed the return of my old favourites. I will definitely dip back into Discworld and explore another series, especially as these Audible Audio books are so brilliantly done.

Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years (Adrian Mole #5) by Sue Townsend ⭐⭐⭐

I remember this one being a low point the first time I read this series. It struggled to get through it in places. I think the difference is that Adrian is truly aimless, and his sons are the only good thing he has in his life, and even that isn’t without a lot of sadness. It is good to see him step up to being a single father, even if this book is the only one where he has them with him.

Isobar Precinct by Angelique Kasmara ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a surprise gem I found from lucky dipping in my library’s available audiobooks by NZ authors! I thought it was great, and the more I think about it afterwards, the more I like it. It’s a bit of crime mystery blending into speculative fiction, even a dash of magical realism. Very well crafted and impressive for a debut.

Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction (Adrian Mole #6) by Sue Townsend ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this one and read through it as quickly as I could! A return to form with a clearer narrative focus and themes, and I think the zeitgeist was well captured with Adrian’s spiral into debt, his parents swept up in the barn conversion craze, anxieties of the Iraq war (is Tony Blair lying about the WMD?), and he also gets himself trapped in a messy relationship. Maybe I should have given it 5 stars…

Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl #1) by Matt Dinniman ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I’ve observed all the hype around this series, but I was not sure I would like it. The Audible 2-for-1 sale gave me the prime opportunity to try it…after a little bit of a rocky start, I loved it! So much fun… and gives me a little bit of thematic action to chew on too. A very impressive audiobook performance from Jeff Hays, too!

Marvel Unlimited: 8 issues of Astonishing X-Men

I think I might have run out of X-Men writers I enjoy (by which I apparently just mean Chris Claremont)? I don’t know. I read 7 issues, and I was bored to death, and I thought the art was also hideous. The only thing I liked was the Scott and Emma Frost coupling. I don’t have anything else to really say about it!

I’m thinking I might try Uncanny X-Force because Husband is keen for me to read it. I might also pick another series to try out… though I’m still tempted to go back and re-read Carol Danvers’ appearance again and her Ms Marvel series.

Currently Reading

Currently, I am reading Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years (the final Adrian) and Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (on audio). I’m looking forward to getting back to reading standalone books again! I feel like I’ve been stuck in Series Land for ages, and I’m missing my weird lit! For Law of Fives, I still need to read some Philip K Dick and Angela Carter, so one of them might be next.

I did make good headway with the London Review of Books backlog; I finished 3 issues, but then 2 more arrived… and so I now have 8 waiting, and I’m reading 2 months behind!

Adding to TBR

May was definitely not a non-book buying month.

99p eBook deals

1. Murderland – Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser (non-fic, which I heard about in the LRB)
2. Slade House by David Mitchell
3. Sourdough by Robin Sloan
4. Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
5. Picnic At Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

I went to Buxton, and it would have been rude not to buy something in Scriveners, the charming (if musty) multi-level second-hand book shop. I found some interesting non-fiction to feed my slowly returning Lit brain:

6. Literary terms: a practical glossary by Brian Moon
7. Ways of Reading by M. Montgomery
8. Divine Invasions by Lawrence Sutin (biography of Philip K Dick)

As mentioned, I got Dungeon Crawler Carl on a 2-for-1 credit deal… and then, since I enjoyed it so much and wanted to read the next book, I ended up just going all in and getting all 8 books in the series…. which hopefully I won’t regret.

9. The Will of the Many By James Islington (2 for 1)
10. Dungeon Crawler Carl By Matt Dinniman (2 for 1)
11. Carls Doomsday Scenario By Matt Dinniman
12. The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook By Matt Dinniman
13. The Gate of the Feral Gods By Matt Dinniman
14. The Butcher’s Masquerade By Matt Dinniman
15. The Eye of the Bedlam Bride By Matt Dinniman
16. This Inevitable Ruin By Matt Dinniman
17. A Parade of Horribles By Matt Dinniman

My thinking was that if I get them all now, it gives me a fighting chance at 3 more non-book-buying months! (Though honestly, it’s the 99p eBook buying that is more of a problem for me than audio!).

I would like to get away from Audible and try LibroFM for anything I can’t get through my Library (DCC is not available at my library), but I keep finding everything I want is bloody Audible Exclusive, like the Discworld books!