Spell the Month in Books // May Linkup 2021

Happy Saturday, and welcome to another Spell the Month in Books! Sorry this post is up a bit later than usual; next month we’ll be back on track with the linkup opening on the second Saturday of June. It’s hard to believe May is halfway over; it feels like the spring semester just started a few days ago, and here I am waiting for final grades to be released.

Here’s the rundown of how this linkup works:

As the title implies, the goal is to try to spell the name of the current month by using the first letter of book titles (skipping articles like A, An, and The). This can be done with books you have on hand, creating a physical bookstack, or by building a virtual bookstack. I’ve recently started sharing themes a few months in advance to focus your book search, but following the theme is entirely optional. Once you have your stack, you can share it whatever way is convenient for you. Most bloggers do this by creating a post and adding their link to the linkup toward the bottom of this page (click on the blue button that says “Click here to enter”), or sharing their link in a comment. You can also share the list in a comment (without a link) or share a picture of your stack/list with the hashtag #SpelltheMonthinBooks on your preferred social media site. Regardless of how you participate, feel free to grab the button from the bottom of this page to include with it. This is a new button as of February 2021! Other than aesthetics, the only difference with the new one is that it links to all of my posts tagged #SpelltheMonthinBooks rather than one specific post.

So, are you ready to take the challenge? Can you Spell the Month in Books? The linkup will be open for the duration of the month, so there is no rush if you need some time to ponder your options.

I don’t think I set a theme for this month ahead of time. With the end of the schoolyear being so chaotic, I’m going to take an easy route this time and pull from my to-read list.

May – From My TBR List

Mum's the Word (A Flower Shop Mystery, #1)

M – Mum’s the Word (Flower Shop Mystery #1) by Kate Collins; Cozy Mystery; published 2004

Abby Knight is the proud owner of her hometown flower shop, but a new low-cost competitor is killing her profits-and a black SUV just rammed her vintage Corvette in a hit-and-run. She’s determined to track down the driver, but when the trail turns deadly, the next flower arrangement might be for her own funeral.

A – Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; Fiction; published 2013

Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland.

You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World

Y – You Are Not Your Own by Alan Noble; Nonfiction – Theology/Christian Living; expected publication late 2021

“You are your own, and you belong to yourself.” This is the fundamental assumption of modern life. And if we are our own, then it’s up to us to forge our own identities and to make our lives significant. But while that may sound empowering, it turns out to be a crushing responsibility–one that never actually delivers on its promise of a free and fulfilled life, but instead leaves us burned out, depressed, anxious, and alone. This phenomenon is mapped out onto the very structures of our society, and helps explain our society’s underlying disorder. But the Christian gospel offers a strikingly different vision. As the Heidelberg Catechism puts it, “I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.” In You Are Not Your Own, Alan Noble explores how this simple truth reframes the way we understand ourselves, our families, our society, and God. Contrasting these two visions of life, he invites us past the sickness of contemporary life into a better understanding of who we are and to whom we belong.

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My library’s Summer Reading program starts on June 1, so for Spell the Month in Books let’s do books set in summer or ones that give off summery vibes. In July, I’m going to try to find books that match the American flag – use your own country’s flag for that one, if you want. As always, themes are completely optional, and I’m open to suggestions for future themes, too!

Happy Reading!

Until the next chapter,

Jana