Books Read in April

Note that I also have a video of my April Reading Wrap-Up, but it's not posted on YouTube yet (I've recorded it but not yet edited it). I will upload it next week, and you can find it at my YouTube channel. It's not the same as this post but complements it, with a brief summary of each of the books I read in April.

April was an excellent reading month for me! Here's what I finished last month:

• One Way or Another by Kara McDowell (AZ) - YA fiction on audio
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (Russia) - adult fiction

• Forest Dark by Nicole Krauss (Israel) - adult fiction on audio
• Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote (NY) - adult novella & short stories
  

• Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick (NJ) - middle-grade fiction
• Flamer by Mike Curato - middle-grade/teen graphic novel

 

• Nature's Best Hope by Douglas Tallamy (DE) - nonfiction
• Astray by Emma Donoghue (UK, US, Canada) - adult fiction/short stories 

 

So, I finished eight books in April. Seven of them were fiction, with one nonfiction book (thank goodness for book groups!). I included one YA novel, one middle-grade novel, and a graphic novel that straddled the middle-grade/teen age group. I listened to three of my books on audio. All eight books were good, and I enjoyed them all. My favorite was A Gentleman in Moscow, which I rated a 10! I laughed, I cried, and my book group gave it an unprecedented average rating of 9.6. On the middle-grade side of things, Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick similarly brought me both laughter and tears. The best kinds of books are those that make you feel.

Progress in 2021 Reading Challenges:
You can see all of the reading challenges I am participating in and full lists of the books read for each at the challenges link above. I have some fun ones going this year!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2021 - Only three of my eight books in April were from my own shelves: I need to step up my TBR game! I'm losing the battle for shelf space.

2021 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - April was Books on the Menu, so A Gentleman in Moscow fits well, since food was central to the main character and the story.

Back to the Classics 2021 - I read my third classic of 2021, Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote, which I put into the category A 20th century classic.

2021 AtoZ Reading Challenge - I filled in D, G, and O, though I missed the April Mini Challenge, a book with an autistic main character.

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2021 - this is a unique one, with 50 quirky categories. I added another 3 categories to my list this month:

1. A book where the main character works at your current job - Forest Dark (writer)
2. A book that discusses body positivity - Flamer
3. Pop Sugar prompt from a previous challenge: A book published in 2020 - One Way or Another
   

2021 Nonfiction Reader Challenge - I added one more nonfiction book, Nature's Best Hope, for a total of three so far this year.

Diversity Reading Challenge 2021 - Four of my books were diverse last month, and for the April mini-challenge, Forest Dark was set in the Middle East (Israel).

Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge - I traveled to Russia, Israel, and Canada through my books last month.

2021 Literary Escapes Challenge - I added four new states: Arizona, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York.

And finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month! Stop by to print out this month's Bingo card and play along. In April, I filled 17 spaces on my bingo card:

Spaces Filled:

One Way or Another - outdoor activity, fear or anxiety

A Gentleman in Moscow - baked goods, library book, beard

Forest Dark - free book, audio book

Breakfast at Tiffany's - not in a series

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie - in a series, shelf love

Flamer - read a physical book

Nature's Best Hope - book club read

Astray - revenge, murder, jilted lover, alternate mode of travel (horseback)

Free Space

What was your favorite book read in April?