What I’m Reading this Month: April

After the longest March ever, we’ve finally made it into April. Time seems to have resumed a somewhat normal pace. At least in my house. We seemed to have settled into self-isolation/social-distancing/quarantine groove⎯as much as one can settle in.

As always, books are a source of comfort and escape during this harrowing time. Now I have almost endless time to sit down and devour a book. Last month was very much “nonfiction” month, but I missed my fiction. I’m a fiction lover. April seems to have brought a happy compromise between the two.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

I did see the movie before I started reading this. But that shouldn’t be held against me, for I’m quite enjoying reading this book. It was actually given to me as a gift by a family friend. After finishing my somewhat whacky self-help book, I wanted to stay inspired so I grabbed it off my shelf.

Now I’ll probably never hike the PCT, but reading about it has been a treat. I’d like to consider myself an outdoorsy person, but I’m certainly not THIS outdoorsy. But it’s nice to live it through someone else and travel with them on their emotional journey.

We all need a bit of healing sometimes.

The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer

This was one I saw highly recommended when I went searching for a book on mindfulness. Now is as good a time as any to become more mindful and delve into that realm of thinking. While it seems a bit “hippy-dippy” on the outside, it’s actually quite grounded.

My relationship with myself has always been a bit rocky, but I can’t help but feel hopeful as I start in on this book.

Howl’s Moving Castle (Wizard’s Castle) by Diana Wynne Jones

This edition is actually the first two books in the Moving Castle series in one book. Given to me by my parents a long long time ago. I’m a bit ashamed to admit I’ve only ever read Howl’s Moving Castle and never the second book. Maybe that will change this time?

My initial thought for picking this one off the shelf was to help me with my new novel that I’m working on. It has some similar elements and I wanted to read through to make sure my book wasn’t getting TOO similar. But I enjoy the story immensely, even without the practical reasons.

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

This is the second book in V.E. Scwab’s Shades of Magic series. The first made the cut as one of my favourite books that I read last year. I was trying to have discipline and get through other books I was reading before starting it, but this month I was finally able to start.

Obviously, the book was under a lot of pressure to wow me after the first in the series was such an amazing start, but it hasn’t disappointed so far. I’m immediately invested in the characters and excited to dig into the story.

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So that’s it for April. Obviously this doesn’t include the books that were started last month (or even earlier)! This is a good month for nice comforting books and hopefully you find some inspiration for your own reading list.

As always, I’d love to know what you’re reading. Leave a comment and let me know what’s on your shelf this month.