may tbr

with the weather warming up and only a few weeks left in the semester, the respite of summer is well within reach. for me, this means having more time to read.

usually, i like to follow my interests and inclinations as they naturally arise; last summer, i read a traditionally published omegaverse romance novel (bride by ali hazelwood, if you're curious) and binged a series of stoic texts (i was very pleasantly surprised). that being said, i am trying to read more intentionally. there are certain authors i want to get to know better and certain topics i want to be more well-versed in. curating a list is a way of keeping up with my own priorities.

here are the books to be read in may:

beauty is a wound - eka kurniawan

i have been meaning to get into indonesian literature for a long time. there aren't many english translations and if there are, they can be hard to track down. luckily, my local library has this novel. it has magical realism and post-colonial themes, which are up my alley.

transit - rachel cusk

this is the second installment to the outline trilogy. i was a big fan of the first book, outline, which was told solely through conversation, leaving an "outline" of the protagonist. i've never read a literary fiction series and i'm hoping this bodes well.

the shock doctrine - naomi klein

most of the news coverage i've seen in the past 90 days have highlighted this book as a guide to navigating these tumultuous times. the main premise is that those in power will take advantage of the public unrest to push otherwise unpopular policies. though it was written over ten years ago, it seems alarmingly relevant.

devotions - mary oliver

i am trying to read more poetry, and i really enjoyed mary oliver's a poetry handbook, which i had to read for class. this collection was curated by oliver herself and covers fifty years of her career.

flowers for algernon - daniel keyes

my friend's dad really likes this story. it exists as a short story and a novel. a lot of redittors said that the novel was more developed, so i'm opting for the longer version. i was also told to go in blind, so i don't know any more details beyond this.

good luck on finals!

– sputnik sweetheart ⋆˙⟡♡

[all images via pinterest]