This month, I’m linking up with Kristin and Rachel for their Book by Book Link Up. It’s a way to share all the books we’ve read and get new ideas for new books to add to our lists. Below, you’ll find the books I read in May and what I thought about them.

★★★★★ – All time favorite, there aren’t many of these in the world.

★★★★☆ – Loved this book, held my attention and made me want to keep reading.

★★★☆☆ – Good book, I liked it.

★★☆☆☆ – It was fine, definitely won’t be recommending it to my friends.

★☆☆☆☆ – I finished it, but it wasn’t that great.

☆☆☆☆☆ – Didn’t bother finishing it. There are too many books on the shelf to finish one that isn’t grabbing my attention.

Capturing Light: The Heart of Photography

by Michael Freeman

Non Fiction – Photography | ★★★★☆

In almost all photography it’s the quality of light that makes or breaks the shot. For professional photographers, chasing the light, waiting for it, sometimes helping it, and finally capturing it is a constant preoccupation ― and for some an obsession. Drawing on four decades of doing just this, Michael Freeman takes a simple but practical approach to reacting to, and capturing photography’s most important commodity.

I received this book as a gift for Christmas and have been reading it on and off ever since. I really got a lot out of naming the light forms and patterns and the effect that each one has on a photograph. Being able to identify the source on a photo helps to be able to know how to recreate an image or how to improve on your photography in the future. Personally, I think I got more from reading this book slowly and allowing myself to try out some of the lighting techniques as opposed to just reading it all at one time. I’ll definitely be using this as a reference and it’s a beautiful coffee-table sized book to keep around.

Ruth’s Journey: The Authorized Novel of Mammy from Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind

by Donald McCaig

Fiction | ★★★☆☆

“Her story began with a miracle.” On the Caribbean island of Saint Domingue, an island consumed by the flames of revolution, a senseless attack leaves only one survivor—an infant girl. She falls into the hands of two French émigrés, Henri and Solange Fournier, who take the beautiful child they call Ruth to the bustling American city of Savannah. What follows is the sweeping tale of Ruth’s life as shaped by her strong-willed mistress and other larger-than-life personalities she encounters in the South: Jehu Glen, a free black man with whom Ruth falls madly in love; the shabbily genteel family that first hires Ruth as Mammy; Solange’s daughter Ellen and the rough Irishman, Gerald O’Hara, whom Ellen chooses to marry; the Butler family of Charleston and their shocking connection to Mammy Ruth; and finally Scarlett O’Hara—the irrepressible Southern belle Mammy raises from birth. As we witness the difficult coming of age felt by three generations of women, gifted storyteller Donald McCaig reveals a portrait of Mammy that is both nuanced and poignant, at once a proud woman and a captive, a strict disciplinarian who has never experienced freedom herself. But despite the cruelties of a world that has decreed her a slave, Mammy endures, a rock in the river of time. She loves with a ferocity that would astonish those around her if they knew it. And she holds tight even to those who have been lost in the ravages of her days.

This one automatically gets a decent rating for being a prequel to Gone with the Wind. I had high expectations when I started this one because it was written by Donald McCaig – the same person who wrote Rhett Butler’s People, which I enjoyed. Unfortunately, I almost put it down because the storyline had a hard time keeping my attention and was a little off put by a couple spelling errors I came across. My favorite parts were hearing Mammy’s side of the story – being Ellen’s mammy (something we don’t get to see in GWTW), young Scarlett, and Mammy’s first interaction with (and feelings about) Rhett Butler. Overall, I don’t regret reading it, but it’s not something I would recommend unless you’re a die-hard GWTW fan (like myself).

The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery

by Ian Morgan Cron, Suzanne Stabile

Non-Fiction – Christian | ★★★★★

The Enneagram is an ancient personality type system with an uncanny accuracy in describing how human beings are wired, both positively and negatively. In The Road Back to You Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile forge a unique approach―a practical, comprehensive way of accessing Enneagram wisdom and exploring its connections with Christian spirituality for a deeper knowledge of God and of ourselves. Funny and filled with stories, this book allows you to understand more about each of the Enneagram types, keeping you turning the pages long after you have read the chapter about yourself. Beginning with changes you can start making today, the wisdom of the Enneagram can help you get on the road that will take you further along into who you really are―leading you into places of spiritual discovery you would never have found on your own, and paving the way to the wiser, more compassionate person you want to become.

It didn’t take long for me to become obsessed – I love all things personality related (Myers briggs, birth order, etc) but this one takes the cake for me. I first learned about the Enneagram at the end of 2017 but because the online descriptions seemed a little vague, I decided I would hold off on the book and I’m so mad that I did. When I started reading this, I immediately determined my type and realized why it isn’t so cut and dry – because we all exhibit each of the numbers, but there is one we lean into the most. There is so much value in knowing about yourself and the way you interact with others, especially on a spiritual level. If you read this book and love it, I would also highly recommend Ian’s podcast, Typology.

The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life is Worth More than Anything You Can Buy in a Store

by Cait Flanders

Non-Fiction – Memoir/Self Help | ★★★☆☆