How is it that we are already in the fifth month of the year?! It is pretty dry here in our area. We had below average snowfall for the winter, so when that melted there was no standing water. Usually, the back corner of my yard is a small pond with the water and I actually have a mallard pair that returns each year to swim in my yard, LOL! Or in my ditch. This year, no standing water! I guess that bodes well for a mosquito-free (fingers crossed!) summer but we are in need of rain. No April showers here for us.
FROM MY BOOKSHELF:
2 stars
by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
4 stars
by Laura Lee Hope
(Original Bobbsey Twins, Book #2)
4 stars
by Courtney Summers
(This is Not a Test, Book #1)
5 stars
by Courtney Summers
(This is Not a Test, Book #1.5)
3 stars
by Richard Matheson
4 stars
by Peter Clines
by Alice Sebold
by Wayne Simmons
(Flu, Book #1)
5 stars
by Jack London
5 stars
by Erin Hunter
(Warriors, Book #4)
by Kathryn Lasky
(Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Book #1)
FROM THE LIBRARY:
4 stars
by Eliza Knight
(Highland Bound, Book #2)
4 stars
by Sandhya Menon
FOR REVIEW:
4 stars
by Brendan Reichs
(Project Nemesis, Book #2)
There were a few stand-out favourites this month:
Rising Storm by Erin Hunter: I am still loving the Warriors series, which I'm reading aloud to my daughter. She continues to read on ahead of me on her own at school, which is perfectly fine by me because I just love that she has found a series that she enjoys reading! There are also a couple of classmates that are into the series as well, and they have even made their own clan. My daughter is Deputy 😊
White Fang by Jack London: I'm not sure why we never read this in school, but this is a fantastic book! I'm an animal lover...okay, more cats than dogs, but I still loved this one. This is a classic that I'd definitely read again.
Please Remain Calm by Courtney Summers: This is the sequel to This is Not a Test. This novella was so intense and scary that it blew me away. For a zombie book, This is Not a Test wasn't scary at all. It was more about the group of survivors. This one was all about survival! Fast-paced and intense.
14 by Peter Clines: I love creepy house/building stories. This is classified as horror, but it is more sci-fi. It wasn't what I expected (I was hoping to be scared to turn the lights off), but I really enjoyed it anyway and want to read more from this author!
I read a couple of duds, unfortunately. Carmilla was a huge disappointment, as was Flu. For two books with great creepy covers, the stories didn't hold up to my expectations. Although I was less than thrilled with Flu, I purchased the audiobooks for both Flu and it's sequel, Fever, at the same time. I'm not really inclined to continue the series, but I did buy it so...yeah, I'll probably listen to it someday.
I discovered nine new authors (including one Canadian, Summers), I started two new series (Simmons' Flu, Lasky's Guardians of Ga'Hoole), started and finished one series (Summers' This is Not a Test), got caught up on another series (Reichs' Project Nemesis), and I continued on in two series (Knight's Highland Bound and Hunter's Warriors). I also revisited a childhood favourite, Laura Lee Hope's Bobbsey Twins series, which I read aloud to my daughter.
I read 13 backlist books including three classics compared to one new release. My Goodreads goal of breaking 100 this year tells me that I'm currently 12 books ahead of schedule and should exceed my goal!
January Wrap-up: 7 books
[3 shelf-love, 1 library, 3 review]
February Wrap-up: 13 books
[10 shelf-love, 2 library, 1 review]
March Wrap-up: 12 books
[5 shelf-love, 3 library, 4 review]
April Wrap-up: 14 books
[11 shelf-love, 2 library, 1 review]
Year To Date Total: 46 books
[29 shelf-love, 8 library, 9 review]
So, how was your April? What was your favourite book? Least favourite? Please let me know in the comments! I'd love to add your favourites to my TBR :)
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Great job, Darlene! I saw the movie for The Lovely Bones but did not read the book. I imagine the book is better, even though the film was fantastic. :-)
ReplyDeleteHappy May!
Thanks, Freda! I still need to watch the movie, but I'm glad to hear how much you enjoyed it!
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