Monday, April 19, 2021

April Reading, Thus Far

Well, our province is under yet another stay-at-home order and we had our delayed March Break last week so I've had a lot of time to read lately and this post sure shows that! I almost don't need to participate in the readathon coming up this weekend, but you know I will :) So here's what I've been reading thus far.


I said I was potentially spending the Easter weekend with Feyre and the gang and well... I did. I didn't do much else, including sleeping or spending much time with my family (ooops) but I had an excellent reading weekend :) And let me just say that reading these the second time around, they were just as good as when I first read them about three years ago.
 
Hello, Friends!: Stories from My Life and Blue Jays Baseball
If you aren't a baseball fan, or a Toronto Blue Jays fan, then this likely isn't the book for you. However, I am both and, after listening to Jerry Howarth call baseball games on the radio for a few years, I LOVED this book. I loved learning more Blue Jays history. I loved reliving the 2015 and 2016 seasons. I loved it all. It also made me sadder than ever that the Jays don't have specific radio announcers anymore -- they're just using the TV feed but reporting baseball for TV is very different than reporting it for people on the radio who don't have access to any visuals.

Jewels
Danielle Steel was one of the first adult authors I ever started reading, around Grade 9. I know, I know. But when I saw this book in a Free Little Library I couldn't resist picking it up. I don't know that I need to read another Daneille Steel book but it was sure fun to remember back to my high school self who couldn't read these novels fast enough :)
 
Homegoing
After I'd finished this book, I realized it was really a book of short stories. Normally I don't like short stories, but these ones sucked me in and I couldn't read them fast enough. I liked this even better than Transcendent Kingdom, Gyasi's second novel. I highly recommend this book of family history about two half-sisters and their families who live separate stories and then come back together.
 
Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself
My best friends lent me this book and I loved it. I devoured it in one sitting. I loved how honest Dr Biden was about her reluctance to get into a relationship with President Biden and how she knew that she needed to have work outside the home. This book, along with Vice-President Kamala Harris' book, made me want to institute a special Sunday night dinner no matter what! I really do love getting a behind the scenes look at the lives of these women.

Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake, #1)
I started this book before bedtime and stayed up way too late reading it. It terrified me and I was frozen in place for a couple of hours, unable to put it down to go to sleep or go to the bathroom. I didn't sleep well after reading about two-thirds of it and had to finish it in broad daylight so I wouldn't be as scared. It's been awhile since a book has scared me this much. It's not that it's that violent but it's more of a psychological thriller which I can't handle. There are four more books in this series (thus far) and I WILL NOT be checking them out.
 
Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
It seems funny to put these two books together but they are both books I got for free, and they are both books about not taking things too seriously.

The Library of Lost and Found 
This is a book that I think Dave bought at Costco for my birthday a couple of years ago. And I still hadn't gotten around to reading it. However, I devoured it in a couple of sittings last week. It was a fun story of an older woman (probably around my age -- yikes!) breaking out of the defined norms of her life and learning to be happy. I really loved this book and would recommend it for an easy read about life.
 
The Duke and I (Bridgerton #1)
Well you know that I jumped on the Bridgerton bandwagon. Since we don't have Netflix, the only way I was going to be able to take advantage of this craze was to read the books, which are always better anyways :) This was a perfect Friday night read and I read it in one sitting. And now I have to wait for ten other people to be done with the next book before my library hold comes in. Boo :(
 
The Girl with the Louding Voice
This book was so good. I highly recommend it. Adunni has a "louding voice" and her story is one I will not soon forget. And I like Adunni's updated version of Scarlett O'Hara's famous line: "Tomorrow will be better than today" is how Adunni reminds herself that life will improve.

There are twelve days left of April and I still have a few library books which are overdue so I have to get back to reading. Hahaha! What have you read thus far in April? Do you have any recommendations for me? I prefer "not terrifying" but other than that the bar of what I'll read is set fairly low these days :)

9 comments:

  1. Louding Voice was so good. And I liked Homegoing more than Transcendent Kingdom too.

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  2. I'm so sorry you're back on lock-down, but it looks like you are making great use of the time. I wish I had more time to read, but that's just not the season that I'm in right now. I'm taking notes from your posts for the time that I am able to set aside reading time again!

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  3. We have to get Emily to read A Court of Thorn and Roses series - I don't think she'll like it like the rest of BFBC does though haha. Have I told you my Jewels story before? My aunt had the movie version which is AWESOME and my sister and I used to watch it ALL THE TIME. It was honestly the first time I learned about the King abdicating the thrown to marry Wallis Simpson haha. Let me see if I can get any Julia Quinn books faster for you to read on my Kindle. I checked them out on my H.S. friend's account and they are always readily available.

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  4. I keep seeing the Library Lost and Found book. I'm really wanting to read that one!

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  5. Danielle Steel has so much staying power- she never gets old- love her books- thank you for sharing!

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  6. Several of these titles have piqued my interest. Would like to know more about Dr. Biden. Will save that one to Goodreads along with Unglued. Have the The Girl... and The Library... on my to-read list already. Have you read or heard of Yeah, No, Not Happening by Karen Karbo? I have soooo enjoyed listening to it. So much food for thought.

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  7. I felt the same way about Stillhouse Lake and yet I kind of wanted to read the other just to see how they finally overcome and get safe but it really freaked me out too. I too discovered Danielle Steel books back in high school (maybe even upper middle school??) and my friends and I used to read them ALL. I still pick one up every now and then when I'm looking for a quick/ easy read.

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  8. Added "homegoing" to my list. I got Transcendent Kingdom after being waitlisted forever and... I don't think I got past the first page. I knew it would be heavy and I just couldn't commit to it. Added Jill Biden's book too. At this point I've read Michelle & Kamala and am working through Obama; once I get Jill, I feel like I'll have them all LOL. Also added "The Library of Lost and Found"

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