Looking for something to read this month of May? Why not let the power of celestial bodies decide? Below, we recommend books to read based on your May forecast. Check your star sign for some reading inspo!

Aries

As the first sign of the zodiac, you’re known for being a pioneer, always eager to kick off things or try the new. But the Sun is touring your second house of security this month, and you may find yourself craving some stability. How about starting a book series that will give you a sense of continuity? We recommend Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti novels — available together as a single book, these stories follow the intergalactic journey of the eponymous character whose kickstarter personality will certainly resonate with yours.

Taurus

Happy birthday month, Taurean! You’re coming off a new moon in your sign last month which was conjunct Uranus, the planet of surprises, and you’ll be feeling the effects of this for the rest of the year. So, how to handle the changes — possibly good, possibly bad — that Uranus might bring? We recommend finding inspiration in Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone, a novel in which the protagonist, Zélie, learns how to cope with the many twists and turns to life thrown her way.

Gemini

Gemini, you’re known for always being on the move, but with the Sun in your twelfth house of healing, rest, and transitions until May 20, your boundless energy is best spent…recharging it. Pick up Bassey Ikpi’s I’m Telling the Truth But I’m Lying, a memoir which, in recounting Ikpi’s navigation of the challenges of bipolar II, holds nuggets of wisdom on how to manage anxiety and take care of yourself.

Cancer

Even though you’re famous for being the sign that loves to stay at home, you might still be feeling a little antsy nowadays, with Mars traveling over your ninth house of travel, both physical and mental. In fact, this period would’ve been perfect for a vacation, but since travel is not on anyone’s cards right now, how about expanding your mind instead with a little fantasy? We recommend delving into Namwali Serpell’s multiple-award winning novel, The Old Drift, a book that offers at once a speculative history and future of Zambia sprinkled with a fair dose of the fantastic.

Leo

Leo, Venus retrograde in your friendship zone and Saturn retrograde in your committed-relationships zone may not only be making you reevaluate all your relationships, but also cause someone from your past to reappear. How to deal? Irene Sabatini’s The Boy Next Door, a novel about two people who are drawn together, separated, and then reunited years later under changed circumstances, might offer some points of inspiration.

Virgo

Taurus season is a metaphysical one for you, Virgo, and invites you to connect with your higher mind while getting in touch with nature. Why not pick up Wangari Maathai’s The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience? Maathai’s account of this environmental movement’s origins, philosophy, objectives and challenges will surely shed light on what it means to be connected to the natural world in a hands-on yet ideological way.

Libra

Libra, three planets retrograde throughout the month of May may mean that cabin fever could reach unprecedented heights. What to do with the urge to break free from the claustrophobia at home and in your relationships that you might be feeling? Perhaps check out Koleka Putuma’s Collective Amnesia, a poetry collection which fearlessly challenges ideas of authority that may offer you, through resonating with your restlessness, some solace.

Scorpio

Jupiter is taking a backspin through your third house of local relationships, Scorpio, and that means navigating community relationships is now of some importance to you. For that reason, Chuma Nwokolo’s The Extinction of Menai might seem resonant at this point: it’s a novel that follows the quest of a spiritual leader to preserve the soul of his people and settle the consequences of a centuries-old betrayal.

Sagittarius

This month, Mars enter Pisces, your fourth house of domesticity, for the first time in two years, and with Mars being the planet of energy and action, you may find yourself focusing on your home and family. J.J. Bola’s No Place to Call Home may be apt for this particular moment in time — the story it recounts about a family of refugees from the Congo trying to build a new life in London will perhaps give you cause for reflection on what home means.

Capricorn

Capricorn, you’re usually so serious and focused on your career, but in the month of May, the Sun is shining on your fifth house of fun and creativity. So why not, for once, pick up a book that is an easy, humorous read? We recommend Angela Makholwa’s The Blessed Girl, a novel about the opulent, luxurious lifestyle of a “blessee” whose sense of ambition will yet resonate with your own.

Aquarius

This month, discipline-master Saturn hovering near your first house of self may be making you feel overwhelmed by new responsibilities. Perhaps you’ll find some inspiration on how to handle your tribulations in Aida Edemariam’s The Wife’s Tale — a portrait of the author’s grandmother as she courageously lives through and copes with challenges in her personal life and changes in the political landscape of twentieth-century Ethiopia.

Pisces

Jupiter backspinning in your eleventh house of groups and friends this month may give you cause to rethink some of your friendships. But it may also be a period to reflect on what friendship can mean and what it means to you. For a book that explores the power of friendship, try Dinaw Mengestu’s The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears; ostensibly a book about an immigrant trying to make his way in Washington D.C., it is at once a book about the capacity of friends to act as anchors in times of uncertainty.

 

Star sign images via astrologyzone.com.