Month in Review for May 2015: No More Mice, Author Retweets, and a Deluge of Daisies

During the construction of this post last month, I had a mouse run through my room and hide in my closet. The good news is, since I've gotten George, the mice have either run away or no longer haunt my room. In other words- (active) cats are the best mouse deterrent ever, because I had mouse boxes/catchers set up with plenty of aromatic bait, and never caught anything, and heard the mice partying all night long. Now they're either as quiet and well-behaved as church mice, or they got away while George wasn't allowed into the crawlspace.

My tomatoes have finally adjusted to life outside, but still look scrawny when compared with our plethora of flowers this year. We have what I call a "daisy invasion". I call it that because every year, they take over a little more of the flower bed, and generally pop up everywhere. Despite (or maybe because of) our sandy soil, they thrive and try to bully out all our columbines and roses.

Counterclockwise from the right: Daisy invasion, veggie garden, and porch flowers.

And, last but not least, my review of The Shadow Revolution was retweeted by the authors, which always makes me do a little blogger happy waltz.

Early Critique: "The Shadow Revolution (Crown & Key #1)" by Clay Griffith and... http://t.co/W5MiLkE0a7 on @bloglovin

— Talitha Nelle (@victorian_soul) May 29, 2015

Statistics:
 Total Posts: 15
  Total Critiques: 9
  Genres:
    Fantasy Preview Review: 1
    Fantasy Graphic Novel: 2
    Historical Romance: 1
    Never Again/Classics: 1
    Out-of-Orbit: 1       
    Part of a Series: 7
    Sci-fi/Dystopia: 1
    Steampunk: 1
    Urban Fantasy: 1

Most Popular Posts of May:
Confessions: I Hate You, Clickbait
In Other News... (Non-Bookish Post)
"Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman
"The Hedge Knight: The Graphic Novel (The Hedge Knight Graphic Novels I)" by George R.R. Martin, Ben Avery, and Mike S. Miller
NQAC: Biweekly Update #10: Playing With Design, Sprucing up the Yard, and Seething at Gouache
SFF: The 5 Excuses for Not Reading That Just Don't Cut It Anymore

Pageviews for the Month: 1004!
Comments: 20!

Reading Challenges Updates:

Snowflake and Spider Silk Bingo Challenge

Applicable Books:
From January:
Song of Blood and Stone (Earthsinger Chronicles #1) by L. Penelope (POC main character)
Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) by Gail Carriger (New to me author)
Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2) by Gail Carriger (2nd book in a series)
Blameless (Parasol Protectorate #3) by Gail Carriger (female author)
From February:
Unseen (Unborn #2) by Amber Lynn Natusch (published 2015)
Written in Red (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop (Urban Fantasy)
From March:
Stardust by Neil Gaiman (written before 2000- it was first published in 1998)
Anthem by Ayn Rand (Novella/Short Story)
Moxyland by Lauren Beukes (Dystopia)
From April:
The Princess Bride by William Goldman (Humorous SF/F)
"The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil #1)" by Soman Chainani (fairy tale retelling)
From May:
"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley ("classic" SF/F)

I may do some rearranging later in the challenge, since that's allowed.

Travel the World in Books Challenge

Applicable Books:
The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal by Vicki Constantine Croke (China)

Reading Stats:

Books read in May: 7

Book Stats:
Has a Diverse Main Character: 1
Doesn't Have a Diverse MC: 6
Female Main Character: 1
Male Main Character: 4
Pair and/or Group of Female/Male Main Characters: 2
Genre:
 Biography: 1
 Urban Fantasy: 1
 Paranormal Romance: 1
 Fantasy Graphic Novel: 2
 Science Fiction Dystopia: 1
 Steampunk: 1
Published in 2015: 2
Published in 2000-2014: 2
Published in 1990s: 1
Published in 1900-1950: 1
Self-Published, Small Press, or Other: 1
Traditionally Published: 6
Series Books: 4
Standalones: 2
Ebook Version: 4
Paper Version: 2
Favorite of the Month: The Lady and the Panda by Vicki Constantine Croke (because I learned a lot)
Least Favorite of the Month: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (but to be fair- it was a 'good' book- I've just been liking others more)
From the-pile: 2
From the-invisible-pile: 4
Recently acquired: 6
Added to the-invisible-pile in April: 6 ebooks
Books bought: 5 ebooks
Pages Read in 2015 Thus Far (according to Goodreads): 12484

Ratings:
5 Stars: 0
4-4.5 Stars: 5
3-3.5 Stars: 2
2-2.5 Stars: 0

Author Stats (1 = 1 book read by x author):
Male: 4
Female: 2
Male/Female Team: 1
Diverse: 1
Not-so-Diverse: 6
Living: 6 (Technically 7)
Deceased: 1

Planning to Read in June (All About Relaxing):

The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastards #1) by Scott Lynch
Since Kritika at Snowflakes and Spider Silk is hosting a readalong of this book, I decided I'd join in. It's been on my the-pile list a little too long for comfort.

The Undying Legion (Crown & Key #2) and
The Conquering Dark (Crown & Key #3) by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith
I always try to read and review 'review' copies long before they're published and have my thoughts on them well organized and structured. Otherwise, if we go traveling someplace, I may forget the dates to read and review these by.

Upcoming Post(s):

An Out of Orbit Critique on The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal by Vicki Constantine Croke
I was surprised at how well this book covers a) Early Zoology, b) China circa the 1930s, and c) the biography of a truly remarkable female explorer. Plus, it has a lot of panda 'glamour shots'. The heroine may not be perfect (which some Goodreads users were irked about) but she was a trailblazer as far as testing the limits of what a woman's place would be back then.

                    Until Thursday,