Well, it only took a month to get from March to April’s Rearview Mirror so… holding steady, I guess!!
Favorite April Read
My favorite read this month was a little bittersweet because it saw the conclusion of a series I’ve absolutely fallen in love with – the final Swallows & Amazons book, Great Northern? This book was the same delight I’ve come to expect from the rest of the books. I can’t believe there were only 12 books and I’ve read them all!! I’ll definitely be revisiting these, perhaps sooner than later.
Most Disappointing April Read
Even though I read a couple of books I ranked lower, I actually think I’m putting London Under, a nonfiction book, as my most disappointing because it sounded so interesting but ended up being so boring.
Other April Reads
- 2*
- I’ll Take Forever by Barbara McMahon
- North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
- 3*
- Big Jump for Robin by Suzanne Wilding
- Flowers on Main by Sherryl Woods
- The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
- 3.5*
- The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren
- The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow
- The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan
- Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
- Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon
- 4*
- A Dance With the Fae Prince by Elise Kova
- Kilmeny of the Orchard by L.M. Montgomery
- Nine Lives by Peter Swanson
- Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
- The Toll by Neal Shusterman
- 4.5*
- Divots by P.G. Wodehouse
April Stats
- Total Number of Books Read: 20
- Total Pages Read: 7001
- Average Star Rating for March: 3.55
- Longest Book: The Toll (625 pages)
- Shortest Book: Kilmeny of the Orchard (134 pages)
- Oldest Book: North and South (published 1854)
- Newest Book: Nine Lives (published 2022)
- Top Genre: Romance (6 books)
- Top Format: Paperback (9 books)
- Top Source: Owned (7 books)
March Challenge Updates
- New states visited: Kansas, Maine, New Mexico, and Wyoming
- Chunksters read (800+pgs): 0
- Almost-a-chunksters read (450-799pgs): 4
- Classics read: 1
- Nonfiction read: 1
TBR Update
This is current as of today, not the end of April.
- Standalones: 480 (down two!!)
- Nonfiction: 130 (holding steady)
- Personal (which includes all books I own (fiction and nonfiction), but lists any series I own as only one entry…): 623 (down three!)
- Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 250 (down two!!!)
- Mystery Series (each series counted separately, not each book within a series): 111 (holding steady)
- New Arrivals – (I have a lot of books that I have been gifted or that I pick up somewhere and they get put on my “oh I’m so excited about this shiny new book” shelf… and then of course don’t actually get read.): 169 (up three!!)
Current Reads
- Ocean of Storms by Christopher Mari and Jeremy Brown – This one is part of my effort to read the 22 oldest unread books on my Kindle, but like most of the books I’ve slated for this challenge, it’s probably going to be a DNF. I’m at 28% and am vaguely interested in what is actually on the moon but am starting to doubt that we are EVER going to get there – the set-up for this one is desperately boring and taking FOREVER!
- The Secret World of Weather by Tristan Gooley – This is my current nonfiction read, and although I’m only a couple chapters in, I’m finding it so interesting! Gooley looks at the causes and signs of immediate weather around us – i.e., is it going to rain at my house today? – by talking about what causes shifts in clouds, temperature, humidity, etc. Basically, a study of microclimates with practical application.
- The Hidden Hand by E.D.E.N. Southworth – This is an reprint of a book originally published in 1859. It’s delightfully dramatic and ridiculous but actually still a great story.
- Nudges by Loren Anderson – A friend of mine actually knows the missionary who wrote this book telling his story of serving in Guatemala throughout most of the second half of the 20th century. It’s not the best-written book I’ve ever read, but it’s interesting and I have a special love for the mountains of Guatemala as I have visited there myself and would absolutely love to go back.
Last Time on “Up Next”
Did I actually read my probable next five reads from last time?
- The Color of Dragons by R.A. Salvatore – Yes! Well, mostly. I skimmed the final third. It was honestly super boring.
- The Hidden Hand by E.D.E.N. Southworth – Current!!
- Excellent Women by Barbara Pym – Yes!! And I enjoyed it more than anticipated!
- A Tangled Web by L.M. Montgomery – Yes!! It was fun to revisit this one after quite a long while – I enjoyed it more now than I did in high school.
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde – Yes!! Five for five! This one was interesting. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it, and it was a very thoughtful kind of book.
Up Next
The probable next five(ish) reads –
- The Railway Children by E. Nesbit – this is August’s Children’s Classic Read on Litsy and since it’s been on my TBR forever, and I absolutely love Nesbit, I’m pretty confident I’ll read it!!
- Pat of Silver Bush by L.M. Montgomery – This is August’s Kindred Spirits Buddy Read, and it’s one of the few Montgomery books I have never read. Along with the Emily books, these were classified by my mom as “too depressing” when I was growing up, and since I hate depressing, I took her at her word and never read them!!! I have to say, since I read the Emily books this spring, she was spot-on about those, so I don’t have high hope for Silver Bush and its sequel, which will be September’s read.
- The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens – This is the next classic on my list, a Dickens book that I happened to pick up somewhere along the line but have never read and honestly never heard of anyone else reading LOL
- Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield – This will be my August Traveling Book Club book and my first venture into the world of Delafield. I’ve been meaning to try one of her books forever, so I’m looking forward to this one!!
- The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan – I only have one Percy Jackson book left!!!
Well, that’s the latest update here – on to May books!!! Happy end-of-July!! :-D
The Aroma of Books 