And here we are in the merry month of May! The birds are chirping, the grass (ugh) is green again, the invasive garlic mustard is ev-ery-WHERE and needs to be dug up, and, of course, there are books to read! Hopefully your reading is going as swimmingly as mine has been lately.
April was a strange month, full of unexpected twists and turns for me, but ending pretty calmly. My computer is back and running, fortunately; I’m also taking on a bigger role at one of my volunteer gigs and am doing some extensive prep for that in order to ensure that I do the position and our clients justice. Temps have risen here, so I’ve been able to spend time outside, both in my own yard and neighborhood and at the garden where I volunteer (tis the season where I begin to come home absolutely filthy every time, which, honestly, is pretty awesome). But more about real life later on.
Let’s get this recap started, shall we?
Books I Read in April 2024
The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People & Communities by Will Allen and Charles Wilson
2. Ten Rules for Living with My Sister by Ann M. Martin (read out loud to my daughter)
3. The Woman in the Dark by Vanessa Savage
4. How to Make Friends with the Dark by Vanessa Glasgow
5. Housewife: Why Women Still Do It All and What to Do Instead by Lisa Selin Davis
6. Koya DeLaney and the Good Girl Blues by Eloise Greenfield (read out loud to my daughter)
7. The Aliens Among Us: How Invasive Species Are Transforming the Planet – and Ourselves by Leslie Anthony
8. American Girls: by Jessica Roy
9. Tiny House Basics: Living the Good Life in Small Spaces by Joshua Engberg and Shelley Engberg
10. How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls by Zoey Dean
11. The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
12. If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann
13. Double Felix by Sally Harris (read out loud to my daughter)
14. Missing Max by Karen Young
15. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman
16. The View from Alameda Island by Robyn Carr
17. One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School by Scott Turow
Not a bad month, considering. I’ve been doing my best to stick to reading from my own shelves as much as I can, which has been interesting. Some of the books on there I picked out, others were given to me, some I won randomly, some I have zero clue where they came from, so it’s been kind of a crapshoot in terms of reading things I enjoy, but it’s definitely been keeping me on my toes. How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls ended up being a really great lighthearted chick-lit-style novel; I would definitely read Zoey Dean again. And oh, Fredrik Backman! I have loved everything I’ve ever read from him; he’s a master storyteller and I hope he never stops writing. I’d never read Robyn Carr before The View from Alameda Island; what I ended up liking about this book was how low-stakes it felt. Even when she was writing about something traumatic happening, she writes with so little urgency (which I very much enjoy!) that I didn’t feel that edge-of-my-seat panic that I sometimes do when bad things happen to characters. It was just chill all around, and while this wasn’t my favorite book of all time, it was a lovely read and actually kind of exactly what I needed at the time, so I can definitely see myself reading her again as well.
NUMBER of books total; 12 fiction, 5 nonfiction. TWELVE of these came from my own shelves! There’s a huge gap on my shelf across from my chair downstairs, which I LOVE. I’ll eventually refill this with books from my stash upstairs, but not until it’s much emptier. And eight of these books have been donated to local Little Free Libraries. : )
State of the Goodreads TBR
Five last month; six this month. I’m actually reading one from the list right now. I added one that comes out at the end of this month. I did peek around at a local library for some of the books from my TBR, but they weren’t in the day I was there. This won’t get much larger, I swear!
Bookish Things I Did in April 2024
Hmm…I don’t think I did anything in particular? Does donating to Little Free Libraries count?
Current Podcast Love
When my computer went down, I was so worried about my unfinished manuscript being trapped in a bricked computer forever that I couldn’t bear to listen to anything book-related, and instead switched over to listening to Dateline as a podcast, which…There’s just something about the narration of Keith Morrison and company that puts me almost straight to sleep…and for the times when I can’t sleep, the content is super interesting, so it’s a win-win all around.
I’m still listening to Teach Me About the Great Lakes when I do my volunteer work and sometimes walk (although I’m kind of starting to get obsessed with bluegrass music and have been enjoying that a lot when I walk alone; it’s so happy and upbeat, which is a good thing for being physically active!), so that’s fun!
Stephanie’s Read Harder Challenge
Oof. No move on this front. It’s been a really busy month. Passover this month meant a TON of cooking and time in the kitchen, so some relaxation and study time was definitely sacrificed, but it was all for the greater good. : )
Real Life Stuff
April went by in a flash, y’all. I cannot believe it’s already May.
We just finished Passover last night, so bring on all the leavened grains once more! I ended Passover by enjoying a slice of homemade bread with pickled garlic mustard (yes, that noxious invasive weed!), made by one of the leaders at the garden where I volunteer, and it was AMAZING. Passover was really meaningful to me this year, and the dietary restrictions weren’t that tough, mainly because I’ve had a lot of other things on my mind. Hopefully I’ll have some good updates in a few months, but we’ll see what happens. : )
The school year is almost over! My youngest daughter has approximately 17 school days left until fourth grade is over. Her first year back to in-person public school hasn’t been without its ups and downs, but sending her back was definitely the right choice (even though I’ve absolutely missed homeschooling here and there, and there have been times, including last week, when she was begging to be homeschooled again). I’m grateful for all her growth this year, both academic and emotional, and am hopeful for the growth that fifth grade – her last year in elementary school! – will bring. I’m also VERY MUCH looking forward to summer break!
I’ve taken on more work at the virtual nonprofit where I volunteer, so I’m going through some back stuff for them so that I’ll be better prepared, and it’s intense, but the people I’m serving deserve no less than my best. New roles can be intimidating, can’t they? This is definitely a period of growth in my life, and I’m trying to lean into it and not be bowled over by self-doubt.
That’s really about it! Despite it being a really busy month, it was also fairly quiet in general, nothing huge and showy. May is somewhat shaping up to be like that as well, so we’ll see. I *will* be back soon with a review of a NetGalley book I’m reading now, so keep your eyes peeled for that one. It’s incredible so far.
Wishing you a lovely spring, with flower-scented air, soft breezes, gentle rains, and sunshine that feels like a hug when you need it. And, of course, amazing books. Be well, friends.
She's probably at the library... 