I feel I have a bit of a reading slump. None of the novels this month has resulted in more than 4.5 stars.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, Dominic Hoffman (Narrator)

I wish I had liked this one more. This book had some well written elements. It had a diverse cast of characters and interesting focus about African American and Jewish communities before World War II. The main characters were good when they were there but not enough characterization with them. The slow pacing, large cast, and parable aspect let it down. The two villains were caricatures; the second one was like a bogeyman. They get their comeuppance which made it feel like a morality play. I should have checked content warnings as the book had a couple of my doghouse items i.e. child endangerment and s*xual assault. It was a tad over the top even though these kind of things did happen in a historical setting but so much in one book felt excessive. I doubt I will read more from the writer as I did not like the style. The narrator was great though. I listened to 30% of it.

1.5x. May 16-21, 2025.

The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan (Narrator)

This was my fourth bird book of the year. I have become a casual birder the last couple of years. Birds are relaxing. I read this in tandem with the audiobook as I prefer memoirs on audio. The print copy was necessary for the impressive bird illustrations.

2.0-2.7x. May 18-25, 2025.