April was a decent reading month for me. I read 8 books, evenly split between fiction and non-fiction. Year-to-date, non-fiction has accounted for about 40% of my reading and I think this has to be above average for me. I almost exclusively read ebooks from the library, so I read what is available, and much has been non-fiction so far this year. But I must be putting more non-fiction on my request list, too!
Non-Fiction:
My favorite non-fiction reads were The Anthropocene Reviewed (5 stars!) and The Gratitude Diaries. I listened to The Anthropocene Reviewed and it was really delightful. It's a collection of essays about a random assortment of topics and he concludes each essay by rating what he talked about. The reason for that is that he talks about how recent a phenomenon the 5-star rating scale is. If I remember correctly, it became popular when amazon came on the scene. I ended up telling Phil about a lot of the various essays since he shares a lot of really interesting nuggets of information in an engaging manner. I appreciated the perspective of The Gratitude Diaries, which is a memoir about the author's year spent focusing on gratitude. It inspired me to start a gratitude practice but I haven't quite decided what exactly I will do but it will probably be done in my Wonderland222 planner.
Fiction:
Paul's Reads:
These were the hits of the past month. "Delicious" and "A Pipkin of Pepper" are follow-ups to "Pumpkin Soup" which is a much-loved book in our house. Both of the follow-ups were excellent and were read multiple times! "The Rabbit Listened" and "Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend" were very sweet books written by a local author. The Rabbit Listened is about how to support someone who is having a bad day, and Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend! Is about endings and beginnings. Anatole was my personal favorite. It has Ratatouille vibes as it's about a mouse living in Paris. It was delightful!
What did you read this month?
11 comments:
You were productive. I got five in (plus half the huge Julia bio but I won't count it till I finish it!) I guess I painted more than read in April! I'll do my post, probably later this week.
I've had such a rough streak of books lately. Several that I DNF and several more that were such a slog. Even kids books have been a bit of a dud.
I'm currently reading Ann Patchett's latest book of essays though and am LOVING IT!
Lauren Groff has consistently been a miss for me and I'm super nervous that Matrix going to come up as a suggestion for our next book club. I need to have something more appealing for everyone in my back pocket as a counter-suggestion!!
I haven't read anything by Lauren Groff - Fates and Furies had such mixed reviews and I just don't think I would enjoy it. I have Matrix on my TBR because somebody on a book podcast raved about it, but if you hated it so much, I doubt I will enjoy it!
I read 9 books in April and my favorite was a tie between Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson and Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake.
I'm glad you liked the Gratitude Diaries! That was one I really enjoyed. You didn't say anything about 4,000 Weeks! What did you think? I've heard so much buzz around it, and I have it on hold at the library (not my turn yet). I'm looking forward to reading it if only to know what everyone is talking about. I've heard the author on a podcast, too, and he sounded very likable and interesting.
My reading month was pathetic!!! I didn't officially finish a single book. OOF. Seems like several others also had a slow reading month in April, though maybe not as slow as mine! I think some of my mental energy was taken up with doing this little diet overhaul, actually. I wrote those longer blog posts, did more grocery shopping and spent more time meal planning/ prepping etc. So maybe that was part of it. I'm feeling an itch to read more now, especially with good weather on the horizon. I'm looking forward to being able to sit outside and read! That One Two Three book sounds really good- will have to add to my master list!
First off, even though I vowed not to compare myself to other bloggers, I'm fighting off a sense of inferiority here- my goal is always to read four books a month. How are you getting through eight, with your job and two small kids? Sheesh. ANYWAY... I haven't read any of these, although I've heard a lot about 4000 Weeks and No Cure for Being Human (apparently you were lukewarm on those though!)
I'm apparently on Round 2 of my JK Rowling kick- after re-reading all the Harry Potter books over the summer, I just read The Casual Vacancy and am now on the fifth book in the Cormoran Strike mystery series. Since this one is 900 pages I may not get through four books this month- we'll see.
I think I put No Cure For Being Human on my list because of you! It hasn't come in yet, also I have several books I need to read first. But I'm looking forward to it.
I liked One Two Three but didn't LOVE it. I think she's an excellent writer though.
How did you like 56 Days? It was a rollover read for me during the New Year. I started sometime in the fall of last year and finished it in January. It kept me on my toes, but I felt like I was being yanked around by all the twists and turns! Especially toward the end. I couldn't decide how the ending landing for me. I have mixed feelings about it still!
@ Lauren - I liked 56 Days, but not as much as "The Nothing Man." There were a lot of twists and turns - the author definitely kept you on your toes but overall, there were too many twists for me, too.
You're getting so much reading done... I am currently on a "weekly rollercoaster" when it comes to reading. One week I read a lot, the next not so much LOL (but since I am still working on the Outlander series and it'll take me a while to get through these long books, I am letting the goal of reading x number of books this year go anyway!).
Hmmm...might have to check out your non fiction reads! I do love them and try to fit them in, but sometimes I'm just tempted by the lighter stuff... :)
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