April Reading Wrap-Up

This was an odd reading month. Very up and down, both with how much I loved the books and how much I read. Some weeks I read loads and then very little. Life was messy (not in a bad way!) and so my reading was as well.

I read the worst book of the year probably, but quite a few good books as well. A couple stood out. I finished ten books, which I am happy with. I had hoped to finish one more, but that one will be my first book of May I think.

So, as usual, let’s start with my worst rated book and work my way up:

BOOKS READ

• Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad) – 2.43 / 1.5* – classic (audio/paperback) – I am not even sure I can express how much I disliked this book. I only finished it because it was on my 2024 TBR and it is super short. As far as I can see it was just a lot colonialist waffle that served no real purpose.
• Book Lovers (Emily Henry) – 6.71/3.25 – romance (e-book) – I think this was my confirmation that this author’s books are not for me. There was too much non-communication in this one and although I liked the second half well enough, it was just ok overall. Very average.
• Euphoria (Lily King) – 6.79 / 3.5* – historical fiction (hardback) – This had such a good premise, being about anthropology and being set in Papua New Guinea, but the characters pissed me off a bit. It definitely had interesting bits and the writing overall was ok, but it couldn’t make up for the weakness of the characters.
• The Familiar (Leigh Bardugo) – 7.57 / 3.75* – historical fantasy (hardback) – I should have liked this more than I did. I love historical fantasy generally, but this one fell a bit flat. My main problem was that the the main character read very inconsistent to me. It was not a bad book, but I felt a bit disappointed in the end. I had expected more.
• Just The Way You Are (Beth Moran) – 7.79 / 4* – contemporary fiction (e-book) – This was a romancy women’s fiction novel that I think tried to do a little too much. I enjoyed the characters and I did enjoy the story overall, but it had so many plot points that juggling all of them ended up being a bit difficult. I still liked it, but it would have been stronger if it had done a bit less.
• The Woodlanders (Thomas Hardy) – 8.00 / 4* – classic (audio/paperback) – This one surprised me, because I thought I really did not get on with Hardy. Although I did not absolutely love this one, I thought it was a good read – if a bit tragic. The story overall was bleak, but the writing was beautiful.
• The Outlaw Noble Salt (Amy Harmon) – 8.07 / 4* – historical fiction (NetGalley e-ARC) – This was a really good read overall, but it was a bit on the slow side. This was a novel about Butch Cassidy, but though it took some facts, the story is completely fictional. It was a good story. It had a lot of heart without milking it for emotions, which I appreciated. It was just a bit longer than it needed to be.
• Horse (Geraldine Brooks) – 8.29 / 4.25* – historical fiction (hardback) – There was so much about this book that I liked, but it was let down by the contemporary timeline, which did not feel right. The part of the story set in the past was fantastic. This could have been a great book.
• The Last Murder at the End of the World (Stuart Turton) – 8.36 / 4.25* – dystopian mystery (hardback) – This was really quite a good read. There was just something that stopped me from loving it. It was twisty and turny, but something was missing. The ending was great though.
• What Kingdom (Fine Gråbøl) – 8.93 / 4.5* – Contemporary fiction (NetGalley e-ARC) – This was such an interesting read. Being in the head of someone with psychiatric problems definitely makes for a different kind of read. I thought this was very well done.
• English Pastoral (James Rebanks) – 9.57 / 4.75* – memoir/nature non-fiction (audio/paperback) – I loved this one. I am very interested in how the farming practices influence nature on a farm. The author does a fantastic job taking the reader on a journey, explaining how farming has developed over the decades and how and why he chooses to farm the way he does.

REFLECTING ON MY READING MONTH…

I read a nice variety of books. I did not read all the things that I wanted to read. I did not pick up any of my fantasy series for example… However, I am learning to be ok with that and that there’s always next week, or next month. I also unhauled three of the books I read (The Familiar, Heart of Darkness and Euphoria) as I have no plans to re-read any of those in the future or to recommend them.

I read Euphoria and Heart of Darkness from my 2024 TBR. Unfortunately they both ended up being unhauled.

I had planned to read some newer purchases and I did end up reading two recent releases, so that’s good!

I meant to read some more Little Black Penguin Classics, but did not manage to do so in the end.

GOING INTO MAY…

I have two books on the go. The one I had hoped to finish today (but won’t) is Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw. I am about 70% in. It was my April ‘unlikely book’, but I just did not manage to fit it in. I am enjoying it. My audio book is Underland by Robert Macfarlane, which I am loving.

I would like to make some progress on my series and I need to get on with my 2024 TBR. I have a couple of NetGalley e-ARCS due next week, so I will need to get a move on with those first. I don’t mind – I am excited about both of those and neither are superlong.

I hope to read some of those Little Black Classics as well.

I am not putting pressure on myself, but in an ideal month…. However, we do have a busy week next week, so we will have to wait and see. I am hoping for some outside reading time this month!