We’re more than half way through May yet I’m only just getting around to posting a wrap up about last month. All my good intentions to have this recap ready in first week of May were scotched by some health dramas involving first one, then my other, parent. So getting them back on track has been the priority. But I didn’t want to get to the end of this month without posting something.
April Reading in Brief
My reading slumps of the past two months seem to be resolved. I didn’t have any DNFs in April and managed to read six books, two by authors I’ve not read previously. My favourite was Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan which is now a contender for book of the year.
His Excellency Eugène Rougon by Emile Zola: A novel about a politician and French politics might not sound all that exciting but this is a book that has tremendous contemporary relevance. Read for Zola Addiction Month hosted by Fanda@ClassicLit
The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel: A thoroughly absorbing piece of fiction based on intricate, interlocking narratives that jump around in time. I’m still not sure I understand the overall message however, beyond the Fragility of life.
She Who Was No More by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac: Read for the #1954Club, this is a psychological thriller about an adulterous husband who plans to kill his wife. Inevitably something goes wrong with the plan.
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan: Outstanding novella of one man whose conscience is troubled by the callousness of local nuns.
Pesticide by Kim Hays : the first in a crime procedural series set in Switzerland, involving a fraud concerning organic farming
Redhead By The Side Of The Road by Anne Tyler. This was one of the starting books in the Six Degrees of Separation chain a while back. I was wondering whether I’d enjoy this Anne Tyler more than the last one I read by her (A Spool of Blue Thread). I did.
On The May Horizon
One book I know I’ll be reading is Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason which is on the shortlist for the Women’s Prize For Fiction. It’s not one I would have chosen to read personally but it’s the book club choice.
Also on the horizon is The Beach House by Beverley Jones who featured in my Meet A Welsh author series in April. I’ll be reviewing Bev’s latest novel for a book tour with a group of bloggers from Wales. We decided to give a local author a boost.
Bookshelves Ins and Outs
The TBR is down by 12 from the end of March and now stands at 282. I somehow got through all of April without buying a single book (not sure that’s ever happened to me before). I also filleted out some titles that I knew I was never going to read. I’ve passed on a few to people in my walking group and the rest are sitting on shelves in a National Trust second hand bookstore.
How was your April reading? Were there any stand out novels that you would recommend? I would love to know what you’ve been reading, and what you plan to read in May.