Mashed Potato May | May 2025 Reading Wrap Up
Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!
Can you believe we're already in June? That's wild. It feels like 2025 just started and we're suddenly almost half-way through the year.
I had been looking forward to May for pretty much an entire year, and that's for one specific reason: it's Mashed Potato May! For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Mashed Potato May (or MPM as I will be calling it for the rest of this post) is a month long reading challenge/readathon where you try and read those mashed potato books on your TBR. What is a mashed potato book? I'm so glad you asked!
The concept of the mashed potato book started with the podcast Books Unbound, hosted by Ariel and Raeleen. Raeleen suggested that reading books is a lot like eating a Thanksgiving dinner: there are some books that you want to read right away, some that you don't want to read at all, and some that you're trying to save for the exact right moment, like that last bite of mashed potatoes. However, if you wait too long, the potatoes can get cold and become really unappetizing to eat. The same is true for books--there are some books that you keep putting off and putting off for the exact right moment, but once you decide that moment is here, the book isn't what you wanted or didn't live up to your expectations.
The point of MPM is to tackle those books on your TBR that you keep saving, because maybe by the time you pick them up and read them, they've gone cold and no longer appeal to you. And sometimes by getting over that initial idea of "this book will be perfect when..." you'll end up finding a new favorite! I've always loved mashed potato books as a concept, and this May I was determined to get as many of my mashed potato books off of my TBR as possible.
This MPM I challenged myself to only read books from my physical TBR. I'd noticed that I was using my library a lot this year, and while that is the opposite of a problem (support your local libraries!) I had told myself at the beginning of the year that I really wanted to read down my physical TBR, and I just wasn't doing that. Well, I am proud to say that this month I did indeed read all from my physical TBR (aside from the manga)!
In the month of May I read a total of 9 books: 4 novels, 1 nonfiction, 1 poetry collection, and 3 manga volumes. I may have only reduced my physical TBR by 6 books, but they were all books that had been on my physical TBR for years at this point, some even going back to 2018. I have to tell you, it is such a relief to have these books off of my TBR. I wanted to read them, but they were so daunting!
Okay, enough yapping. Let's get into the wrap up!
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Novels
Translated from the Russian by David McDuff
Genre: Classic, Thriller, Literary Fiction, Adult
Means of reading: E-book
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4.5 stars/8.52 CAWPILE
Page count: 656 pages
Day(s) read: 5.01 - 5.09
Final thoughts: This was fantastic. I definitely enjoyed this much more than The Brothers Karamazov, which was my first Dostoevsky novel. Everything about it felt more approachable, from the writing to the characters to the plot. I can easily see why so many people in their 20s latch onto Rodya as a character even though he is literally a killer. Some of the things he says are just so relatable! There were definitely some moments that were entirely unhinged, but I feel like that's just expected with classics at this point (especially Russian classics. Don't ask me why, I've just noticed it most with Russian lit).
Translated from the Japanese by Rebecca Copeland
Genre: Mythology, Historical Fiction, Adult
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars/6.45 CAWPILE
Page count: 312 pages
Day(s) read: 5.09 - 5.12
Final thoughts: This is a retelling of the Japanese myth of Izanami and Izanagi, which are the Japanese gods of creation (Izanagi is the god of birth and Izanami is the goddess of death). We hear their story through our main character, Namima. Personally I found Namima's storyline far more interesting that Izanami's, and I was actually a little frustrated that only half of the book focused on her. The parts about Izanami and her story didn't feel all that strong. I had the feeling that what was written in this book barely scratched the surface of what her myth actually is. I haven't read many Japanese myths, but from what I have read, this book did not feel as strong or fleshed out. Considering Izanami is a very important deity, that seemed odd to me.
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy Romance, Adult
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars/7.77 CAWPILE
Page count: 592 pages
Day(s) read: 5.12 - 5.24
Final thoughts: This is a retelling of Shakespeare's history Henry IV Part I, which is a play I've never seen nor read, so I was going into this rather blindly. The only thing I knew prior to reading this book was that Owyn Glendower (of The Raven Cycle fame) is a character in the play. This book is actually a genderbent, sapphic retelling, which is actually fantastic. I continue to be impressed with Tessa Gratton's writing. Everything I've read by her I've loved. She writes such raw and visceral content, but somehow also manages to pull some of the most romantic stuff and that is the power of woman, truly.
Genre: Science Fiction, Adult
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars/7.01 CAWPILE
Page count: 328 pages
Day(s) read: 5.16 - 5.19
Final thoughts: Book three in the Wayfarers series. This book follows a brand new cast of characters, as all of her Wayfarers books do, but one of the characters is actually connected to a character in The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, so that was nice. It's basically a slice-of-life on a spaceship far, far away from Earth. I have to say, I wasn't expecting Sawyer's whole storyline, and it really threw me for a loop. Becky Chambers is known for writing feel-good, hope-punk science fiction, and while Sawyer's storyline didn't feel out of place necessarily, it definitely brought emotions I wasn't expecting to feel into the mix.
Nonfiction
Genre: Philosophy, Mythology, Adult
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars/7.10 CAWPILE
Page count: 520 pages
Day(s) read: 5.04 - 5.31
Final thoughts: This was a beast of a book and it took me forever to read. It was also my most mashed potato-y book out of this entire month, so I'm glad I finally managed to read it. I've had this book since 2018! Unacceptable. Essentially this book looks at a bunch of myths, folk tales, and fairy stories from around the world and breaks them down philosophically and through a feminist lens. Some of the analyses I agreed with, and some felt rather far-fetched, like the author really had to stretch to match the story to the lesson she was talking about. I enjoyed the writing, it was dense but very informative and you could clearly see the passion the author had for this project. Since this was written over 30 years ago (good God, a little part of me just died), I'd love to see an updated and revised edition that had more modern language and addressed modern issues.
Poetry
Translated from the Vietnamese by Timothy Allen
Genre: Epic Poetry, Classic, Mythology, Adult
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3.5 stars/6.56 CAWPILE
Page count: 166 pages
Day(s) read: 5.26 - 5.29
Final thoughts: I thought this was an excellent story, but goddamn it was so depressing! This poor woman, Kieu, was put through the wringer, experiencing horrible thing after horrible thing. I just wanted her to get a break! I felt so strongly for Kieu and her situation. I really appreciated the introduction that was in the beginning of my edition, because it outlined the historical and political contexts of not only the time period when the story takes place, but also the time period when the author was alive and writing the story. Since I didn't know much about Chinese and Vietnamese history, that gave me such a boost before getting into the actual poem. I highly recommend doing some research before reading the poem because it truly adds so much to the experience.
Manga
Genre: Comedy, Mystery, Shonen
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: N/A
Page count: 194 pages
Day(s) read: 5.22 (ONE DAY READ)
Final thoughts: N/A
Genre: Contemporary, Slice-of-life, Seinen
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: N/A
Page count: 208 pages
Day(s) read: 5.22 (ONE DAY READ)
Final thoughts: N/A
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Shoujo
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: N/A
Page count: 192 pages
Day(s) read: 5.22 (ONE DAY READ)
Final thoughts: N/A
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Total page count: 3,168 pages
Favorite book of May: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
No unfinished books this month
No DNFs this month
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And that's all I have for May! I'd love to know what your favorite book of the month was. Let me know in the comments below, or DM me on Instagram or Fable (links in sidebar under the heading "More Media").
Until next time, friends!
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