Monthly Wrap-Up May 2026

By Leah's Books on June 4, 2026 • ( Leave a comment )

May was a really eventful month in my house. I started out the month getting T-boned by a car that came flying out of a parking lot. The car was totaled but I am mostly okay, just some shoulder issues but I started physical therapy today, and hope to feel some relief soon. I’m really glad that my mother wasn’t in the car, because she would have taken the brunt of the impact.

The temperature is rising faster than I would like it to. We’ve seen temps in the high 80s, but they’ve been going down at night, at least. I’m sure they’re only going to increase in the next few months, which I’m dreading, but I have to go through the summer to get to fall and winter, right? At least we have central air, so I can just admire the summer from inside where it isn’t hotter than an inferno.

All month long, it felt like I was playing a big game of whack-a-mole. First dealing with the car accident and getting to a rental car agency, since that was the only car we had on the road. I’ve got a friend from elementary school, and she brought me to the rental place so I could be mobile. Then we had to deal with the insurance companies and finding the time to get to appointments that we had to reschedule for the few days we didn’t have wheels at all, only to find out that the Chevy Malibu they gave me wasn’t big enough for my mom’s Rollator to fit in the trunk and she had trouble getting in and out, even though I really loved driving it. I went back to the rental company and wound up with a Hyundai Kona, which worked really well for us, aside from the fact that it was neon yellow/green and made me feel like I was driving a traffic vest with wheels. But, beggars can’t be choosers, and between my efforts and my brothers helping out, we wound up with a new Chevy Equinox, which is absolutely gorgeous (and not neon). It’s a dark, sparkly gray and it’s so pretty and fun to drive. I was a little scared about having to learn how to drive a car with paddle shifters and a push button start, but everything worked out well and it was easier than I thought.

Now that we have a car, I can bring my dogs to the vet for their annual checkup. Luckily they’re healthy and just need vaccination boosters and refills on their monthly parasite prevention. There are a ton of things that I still need to get to, although I have made a lot of progress. I took on a proofreading job and I’m almost done, and it’s such a great, well-written story that it doesn’t even feel like work. But I’ve had to work on it around a bunch of other tasks, and I become anxious when my work starts to pile up.

A wonderful solution that I never expected crossed my timeline on Threads, and it pointed out how you can use ChatGPT to help with executive dysfunction and other symptoms that make it hard to work on tasks, stay focused, and manage time most effectively. I decided to try it out after I shared this with another ADHD friend and she reported how amazingly it helped her get organized and prioritize tasks. I first tried a weekly schedule, and discovered that seeing that much at once made me feel very overwhelmed. Instead, I asked it to make a daily schedule for me. The app asked me to list any appointments, top priority tasks, and tasks that would be nice to get done but I might not have enough time to, so they kind of turn into extra credit. It points out what I’ve accomplished, which is easy to overlook, and plans my day around my energy levels—I have a huge dip in energy that typically hits between 4 and 6pm, so it lists really easy tasks I can get done with a minimum of energy. At night, I get a chance to work on blogging while Mom and I watch an episode of her newest favorite, High Potential on Hulu.

[Scene with Morgan in front of a murder board and Detective Karadec asking if this is what her brain is like and she tells him not even close]

Continuing to read my way around the world, I made sure to include both fiction and non-fiction set in various places around the world. I love seeing literature from other countries and cultures, because there’s so much to learn and experience, and there are some places I would love to visit, but can’t because of finances and safety risks. Instead, I read books from that place. Kind of like how I am unlikely to have enough money to travel to Antarctica, plus I don’t know how well that would go for me, since cold air can trigger asthma symptoms, so I can safely visit by immersing myself in books set there. I got through a bunch of publisher ARCs and a couple of NetGalley ARCs, while making my way through the Pacific, Asia, North America, Europe, Africa, and the SWANA region (Southwest Asia and North Africa).

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Here’s some of my May highlights:

My reading took me to the rural town of Gapun, Papua New Guinea; Camp 14 in North Korea; Lac-aux-Trois-Pistoles, Saskatchewan, Canada; Odessa, Ukraine; Madagascar; the Florida Keys; Lagos, Nigeria; Jerusalem, Israel and the Gaza Strip; Paris, France; and the Green Mountains of Vermont.
Even with everything going on, I still managed to read 12 books, which I am thrilled about.
I read the most incredible memoir, and it was moving in a way that’s hard to put into words. My review was the best I could do with the thoughts circling around in my head, but I’ve gotten great feedback about it. It was my favorite book of the month, not because it was an entertaining read, but because it was so powerful, which isn’t as easy to find.
There are some potential big changes in the future for me, and I am so excited but don’t want to share in case things don’t pan out the way I’m hoping. Once I get more concrete feedback, I’ll be more about