April was a much better month than March – I got my dad settled in a new home, my sisters visited, and life is starting to feel a bit more normal. I didn’t get much reading done, but I’m feeling good about what I’ve accomplished. My family, and my work, have been really supportive which helped a lot.
I’ve been reading a lot from the 2023 Women’s Prize longlist (the shortlist was announced this month). This includes Memphis, Stone Blind, and Fire Rush, which I just started. I’d already read Pod, Demon Copperhead and The Marriage Portrait.
Here’s what I read in April:
- Ocean’s Echo by Evarina Maxwell (audio)
- Justice is Served by Leslie Karst
- Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (audio)
- Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake (audio)
- Memphis by Tara Stringfellow (audio)
My favorite reads:
I didn’t read a lot this month, but I loved what I read. My favorite was Remarkably Bright Creatures, a recommendation from Modern Mrs. Darcy. The audio narrators, Michael Urie and Marin Ireland, were wonderful and I enjoyed everything about the story and characters, especially Marcellus, the Giant Pacific Octopus. Ocean’s Echo was every bit as good as Maxwell’s first book, Winter’s Orbit (my only complaint with these books are the names, which I find forgettable). I love the blend of science fiction, romance, and deep character development. I also thoroughly enjoyed Delilah Green Doesn’t Care.
Disappointing reads:
Not really disappointing, but I’d heard so many good things about Memphis, and it didn’t resonate with me as much as I wanted it to. It had a lot of different narrators and jumps in chronology, which I found distracting, though as a generational family saga dealing with trauma and racism it was certainly compelling.
On the blog:
I wrote reviews of Lone Women and Justice is Served, and I also wrote about the passing of my dad’s wife of nearly 20 years, Lily.
Books for challenges:
- Nonfiction: Justice is Served
- Nature/Environment: Remarkably Bright Creatures
What I’m reading now:
I just finished Natalie Haynes’ Stone Blind (a retelling of the Medusa/Perseus myth), and I’m also reading Hala Alyan’s The Arsonists’ City and T.J. Klune’s In the Lives of Puppets.
What’s coming up:
In May I have ARCs of Sally Jane Smith’s Unpacking for Greece, which comes out June 1, and And Then He Sang a Lullaby by Ani Kayode, which comes out June 6. I also joined Jenny Lawson’s book club, Fantastic Strangelings. The April book (I’m a month behind) is The House is on Fire by Rachel Beanland, about a fire in Richmond, Virginia in 1811. It looks fantastic. This is more of a book of the month club than a book club – there’s no formal discussion and it’s all virtual. The downside to this book club is I have to read hardback books, but I’ll give it a try and if I find I’m not reading them, I’ll at least have supported a great indie bookstore and an author I love.
That’s my April wrap-up. I’m looking forward to the summer heat, traveling, and planting my garden. Hope you’re enjoying spring (and not suffering too much from allergies) and reading something good.
