Welcome to our wrap up for April in 2023. How was your month? Tell us in the comments.
April Book Selection
I had a great reading month! Since I read so much, I am going to do a quick rundown with what makes each book unique.
- A Whole Song and Dance by Sarvenaz Tash | Goodreads | Contemporary Fiction – A lovely upbeat tale about a first year university student balancing the pursuit of her passion with her family’s career expectations
- A Death at a Party by Amy Stuart | Goodreads | Contemporary Fiction – a book I read in a day; a party gone wrong
- Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia Puigcerver and Francesc Miralles | Goodreads | Non-Fiction – an informative read that has been recommended to me by multiple friends; Non-fiction feature of this month, review tomorrow 🙂
- A prayer for the crown-sky by Becky Chambers | Goodreads | Science Fiction – When the robot meets the rest of humans and asks who humans want; a good follow up to A Psalm for the wild-built.
- The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne | Goodreads | Fantasy – the story of the witch who stole Rapunzel, explaining the events that led to her making
- Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells | Goodreads | Science Fiction – A quick read to immerse in the Murderbot series without committing to the next book (it’s 13 hours xD)
- The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton | Goodreads | Speculative Fiction – Set in a fictional town in Florida, explores changing life as it becomes inhospitable; I lived a lifetime in this book
- Girl in Ice by Erica Ferencik | Goodreads | Speculative Fiction – A speculative fiction a girl who got frozen in ice; some horror.
- Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton | Goodreads | Memoir – A graphic novel about the life in Alberta Oil Sands for a woman
- Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee | Goodreads | Fantasy – My first Fonda Lee book that I gushed about already. See here.
- Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak | Goodreads | Speculative Fiction, Horror – Casual horror fans will enjoy this one!
- From Chaos to Creativity by Jessie L. Kwak | Goodreads | Non-Fiction – A must-read book for creatives who want to build it into their routines
- The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop | Goodreads | Contemporary Fiction – A contemporary fiction about the lies we tell ourselves and the #MeToo movement
- This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone | Goodreads | Science Fiction – A love story across time through innovative letters; this has become my all time favorite book.
Total TBR: 336 (Apr 1) -> 338 (May 1)
This is probably the smallest change I have ever made to my monthly TBR.
Since finishing the Giller Prize finalists for last year, I have been on the lookout for other awards. Though I have not committed to any, here are some noteworthy books that I have found and want to read:
- When We Were Sisters by Fatimah Asghar [Goodreads] – This is on the shortlist for the inaugural Carol Shields Prize for Fiction.
- I found Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation by Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson [Goodreads] and Dying Wishes by Anitha Krishnan [Goodreads] from the Emerging Writer Prize. Valley of the Birdtail is in the shortlist for non-fiction this year while Dying Wishes was shortlisted for the speculative fiction category last year.
I enjoyed Jeannette Walls’s The Glass Castle [Goodreads] and Viola Ardone’s The Children’s Tale [Goodreads, blog review]. Their new/upcoming releases, Hang the Moon [Goodreads] and Unbreakable Heart of Oliva Denaro [Goodreads] are books I am looking forward to and am already in line for at the library.
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom [Goodreads] is a famous novel which I haven’t read yet and my friend, Varun, recently recommended to me. Have you read this book?
Writing
Updates on TBP (to be posted – reviews that I have written but not yet published to the blog) and TBW (to be written – books I have read but not yet noted down my thoughts about).
TBP: 18 (Apr 1) -> 21(May 1)
TBW: 7 (Apr 1) -> 7 (May 1)
Four reviews I enjoyed writing were for books: This is how we lose the time war, A prayer for the crown-sky, A Death at a Party and The Light Pirate.
Blogging
In case you missed it, the non-fiction feature of April was Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky.
For tours, I posted about A Whole Song and Dance by Sarvenaz Tash, Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick and Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee. I also shared reviews of Blind Spots by Thomas Mullen, Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells, We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies (last book in the Scotiabank Giller Prize 2022 Finalists) by Tsering Yangzom Lama, and Sofi and the Bone Song by Adrienne Tooley (long pending, finally posted!).
Three interviews I enjoyed sharing were with Leigh Russell, author of DI Geraldine Steel Series, Rachael Lennon, author of Wedded Wife: A Feminist History of Marriage and Thomas Mullen, author of Blind Spots.
I also collaborated with Zamil Akhtar about his Gunmetal Gods series and hosted Lili from Utopia State of Mind for a bookish chat.
Staging
April began for a cover reveal for P. J. Marie for her latest book, a dark fantasy detective novel about vampires: The Reborn.
I joined B2Wierd and Tor for two tours: The Mimicking of Known Successes (questions for readers in the posts!) and Untethered Sky (with quote). I joined Colored Pages Tours for A Whole Song and Dance and Forget Me Not.
While reading Becky Chambers’ A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, Mosscap’s urgency to talk to Sibling Dex about a book inspired this quote graphic.
I did a much-awaited interview collaboration with Dan Fitzgerald based on a full interview we had done about The Living Waters. Also joined Ann Gomez to share about our interview of Workday Warrior. Read the full interview on the blog.
I did a frst-thoguht-after-I-finished-the-book for The Light Pirate and shared longer reviews for Blind Spots, The Keeper of Night, Sofi and the Bone Song and We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies (I added a graphic to portray how long this book has been with me).
Fiona and Dantes had birthdays this month and they took over Instagram on their respective days. I also posted about a book challenge and my study bookshelf.
Lastly, my book stamp arrived!! I had fun making a reel to show the first stamping. 🙂
The Noteworthy: A random collection of findings
- Elizabeth Gilbert was in town and I had a wonderful time listening to her talk about Big Magic. She had many funny stories to offer around creative pursuits and I could relate to many of her experiences. I flip[ through her book when I am lacking inspiration. If you haven’t checked out this book yet, head to my review here.
- Clinton and I are watching Bone and Shadow on NetFlix. Have you read the books or watched the show?
- In the January wrap up, I had mentioned an impactful TEDTalk by Caroline McHugh, The Art of Being Yourself. I listened to it a few more times this month.
- Another art account that I am mesmerized by is Richard Lane who posts on Instagram as @ephellem. One of his recent pieces reminded me of Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan, a series I am slowly reading.
Ariel’s April
It’s a busy season for me, but I’m thankful for each of the moments I can get to read. Still keeping with my yearly theme of quality over quantity, I read seven books this month. I started a new series, The Drowning Empire, and I’m really enjoying it so far and all of the worldbuilding and suspense! I also was able to finish two series: The Gilded Wolves Trilogy and The Elements of Cadence Duology, and it felt nice to complete both!
Book Total: 7
Ebooks: 2
Physical Books: 2
Audiobooks: 3
Library Books: 3
Netgalley Arcs: 2
Physical Arcs: 2
Notable Favorites:
The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
Dragonfall by L.R. Lam
Not books:
Favorite TV Show this month: Spy X Family
Favorite Video Game this month: Cozy Grove
Thanks for being a reader of my blog. Happy May! Hope you have a great one!
Lofi Girl art downloaded from UDH Wallpaper
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