April Reading wrap up!

 April was a great month for reading, for me! I finished 23 books!  Almost all of them were on audio, so that is also a record for me.  Lately I have been wanting to read actual physical copies of books, but, the audiobooks are so very convenient and have now a lot of amazing narration as well. Still, sometimes, seeing the words in print and being able to go at one's own pace is really nice. 

  I haven't really tallied things up - but I feel like I may have read a little less diversly this month, which is NOT my goal at all. I have been enraptured with what is available on NetGalley lately  and that seems to have taken over. So I've been making friends with books.  A lot of friends.  And also, if you've read a good book by a diverse author, please drop the rec in the comments. Bonus if it is available at many libraries. 

Make friends with books November 13-19 , book week. , 1949. [United States: publisher not identified] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2015646092/.

Let's get into it! 

Statistics!

Books in Translation: 1/23  I do not have a particular goal of reading a lot of works in translation, but I do find it interesting when I read them, as the story is affected by both the author, the translator and the reader.  This month  I read Not a River by Selva Almada.  I am unsure if it fell flat somewhere in the translation, or if it just wasn't for me, but it did fall into my water theme nicely and I had never read anything by Almada, so now I have. 

Books by Diverse Authors: 19% of my reads were by diverse authors. Definitely a drop from February 57% . Al ot of this was that I was offered books that I wanted to read that weren't by diverse authors. Hopefully in May I will up that a  bit, I am really slipping.  So I've got 5-6 that I'm already starting in May which are by diverse authors, we will see.  I do kind of do a lot of DNF. 

TOP Read for April?  So hard. April was full of amazing reads, some very unusual for me  (Upon a Starlit Tide) and others that were kind of expected, like A Sorceress comes to Call). 

In the end, I'm  going with 

The River Has Roots By Amal Al-Mohtar

The writing was what clinched it.  The story itself was fine, but the musicality of the book really leant itself to reading aloud and thinking about things and overall the entire reading experience was wonderful.   I liked it so much I even made an entire video about it.

I'd recommend this to pretty much anyone. It's one I'd recommend for aspiring writers, just to look at how the author uses words throughout. 

A close second would be  If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga  

This short novel was quite a surprise for me, I read it and found it to be a little bit on the nose, and sort of off putting in some ways and then boom, the ending was chaotic and wonderful.  I will look for more from this writer. 

Hugo Awards: I made progress on my goal to read the Hugo award wining novels, and finished off Fahrenheit 451  by Bradbury.  This one was a winner especially after The demolished man, which was NOT a winner.  It took me a long time to acquire the next one - apparently another weak one- The Forever Game-  in which a feminine appearing robot is named "Bossy"  so hopefully, I finish that in May. 

Buddy Reads: 

  I finished off  Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings  with my Book Buddy and we both thought it was really fun.  Eddings writes a well paced romance with tension, diverse characters and a lot of relatable and funny moments! 

This one was overall just an enjoyable read (Thank you NetGalley and SMP!) 

Book Club Reads:  This is a bit shameful for me to admit, but even though I lead the Stabby and Smoochy Bookclub... I DNF the last two books!  We choose books by vote and I was outvoted. Since I had so many books from the library and Netgalley, those two just had to go- to me they weren't that great, and I had Noor Naga and Amal El Mohtar competing, as well as the great Ruby Dixon. 

I did read some Ruby Dixon this past month-  Bad Guy  Where readers continue in the Risdaverse, and meet who we think is Crueldon the Ruiner  and Mina, another brave human female. YES... it was as always fantastic, and Narrated by Mason Lloyd, I've audiobooked so much by Mason that the Dog recognizes his voice. 

I recommend Ruby if you are looking for a little Monster Romance. Everyone is always surprised at the quality of  her work.  

What else made up the bulk of this month's reading?

    Looking back I seem to have indulged a bit too much into the romance genre, as well as some Science Fiction- as I'm moving through the Hugo Nominees.  Can't say I recommend that path as "Hitched to the Gunslinger" was OK, but...I think it may have rotted my brain.  I like romance, but I need it to be... better? 

 So.  Let's see if I can do better in May! 

I want more Diverse authors for myself, "better" romance, and I dunno, maybe not to get swayed by every single thing on offer with Net Galley!