What are we reading in April?

Happy April, everyone! What are you reading this month? Continuing with my Lenten reading, I'm starting the month with To Know Christ Jesus by Frank Sheed.

Thanks for opening the thread, Christina. I have a number of books on the go right now, I am listening to Firmin by Sam Savage, and reading Killers of the Flower Moon, between these two I am also reading the following graphic novels: Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World, Step Aside, Pops, and Sabrina.

I'm trying to finish Educated by Tara Westover for my book club on Wed and The Quilter's Homecoming by Jennifer Chiaverini for last month's Calendar Cat. Then I'm going to try and read Mudbound by Hillary Jordan for my other book club on Sat. I'm not sure how I got to this state. Hopefully, things will even out in April. (Although I still have one more book I wanted to read last month that I never even started for the TBR Cat.)

On the bus I'm getting through Richard III (although this is going to be one of those "I need to read this again when I have brainpower" books). I've also begun Eric Idle's new book, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography.

I'm reading Not Dead Enough , the third installment in the Roy Grace series. This is a series that I've been meaning to get back to for a while, and the plot has me perplexed in a good way.

I've started Beneath the Mountain, which is so far fantastic. I'm only 60 pages in, and unless the book or the writing really jump the shark, this author has found a fan for life.

I'm also reading Red April, which I'm a bit less excited about. It's a really understated noir, and there's something about the pacing that's throwing me off. I'm getting flashes of creepiness, and moments where I feel really engaged with the main character... and then those things fade, and I'm left just reading along without near as much interest as I should have. I'm curious where it's going to go and how it's going to get there, though, as it doesn't seem to have as much focus as I'd expect from an award-winner (which it is), so I'll stick with it.

I've started Homes: a refugee story by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah that is excellent so far. I'm also underway with The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout. Today my library hold for Milkman by Anna Burns arrived. And I'm hoping to get to Something in the water by Catherine Steadman.

My friend from Perth, Australia is coming to visit later this month so my reading will definitely be less. I noticed on my calendar that the 26th is "Hug an Australian day" so I'll have to add an Aussie book to the reading pile in her honour.

I am finishing Amish Outsider for NetGalley, and Time Remembered by Miss Read.

I'm about half way through Brightness Reef by David Brin and took a break from it to read a volume of Locke & Key.

I picked up and devoured Saga, Vol. 3 (by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples) and;
now I'm closing on on finishing My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry (by Fredrik Backman,) followed by The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock #3 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with an Introduction by Mark Gatiss.)

I''m probably going to read more of the Saga series this month (trying to pace myself with one a week) and; continue on with the short story collection, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock #4 with an introduction by Steve Thompson.)

And one of these days, I should just really commit to finishing off The Reign of Edward III (by, arguably, William Shakespeare!)

I was very impressed with Homes: a refugee story by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah (mentioned above in #7).

Abu Bakr is an appealing boy whose family moved to Syria in 2010 when life became too dangerous for Sunnis in Shi'a dominated Iraq. When civil war erupts in Syria, his happy life shared with cousins and filled with the normal activities of a 10 year old is punctuated by gunfire, bombs and incessant danger. Somehow soccer, prayer, happy Friday night rituals mingle with the horrors of war to become part of life.

Eventually the family are delighted to be accepted as refugees by Canada and after a long journey arrive in Edmonton, Alberta. There are many difficulties to be faced in the new country too. He was introduced to a translation app to help communicate the briefest conversation. My heart went out to Abu Bakr and his family. The reader is happy that they found a safe haven, but we are reminded of the many who are still seeking refuge. When he told the story of his past to teacher Winnie Yeung, she offered to write it for him. His young voice comes through clearly in this captivating story about his family and his life.

I am now reading His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet and just starting The Color of Lightning by Paulette Jiles.

I'm trying to finish Upbeat by Paul MacAlindin and Educated by Tara Westover for this month's TBRCat. Also continuing to read The Lives Around Us by Dan Papworth as my Lent book for this year. And I'm about to start Vanity Fair which will be a 2 or 3 month project for me as it's a bit of a chunkster, and The End of Magic by Mark Stay for a rare diversion into fantasy.

Finally finished my first book of April! I was getting worried there :-/ Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography, by Eric Idle.

I've finished Educated by Tara Westover for one book club and Mudbound by Hillary Jordan for another. I've decided to start Edward Adrift by Craig Lancaster for the Calendar Cat (Autism Awareness Month) and Speaking From Among the Bones by Alan Bradley for one of my Alpha Kit books.

Starting out with the Witch Elm for Scaredy-Kit, but an not liking it.

The Power of Habit is due back at the library tomorrow, so I'd better get cracking and finish it tonight! I like it enough that I might pick up my own copy if I happen to see it.

>17 rabbitprincess: Fascinating book!! But I read a library copy, so I haven't really tried to apply. You may be on to something.

I am reading The Bishop's Daughter by Patricia Johns for NetGalley.

>18 NinieB: I surprised myself by applying it right away! I've been doing vision therapy to correct amblyopia and have slacked off on the homework exercises, so I used the habit-loop thinking to remind myself how accomplished I feel when I get the exercises done and can check them off in my book. I've already done two exercises this evening and feel GREAT :)

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On the bus I've been reading Across the Plains, by Robert Louis Stevenson, but my copy is an old hardcover and the spine portion of the cover is starting to fall off, so I'll leave it at home. Instead, I'll switch to In the Wet, by Nevil Shute, which I'm reviewing for the Go Review That Book! group.

I'm halfway through Milkman by Anna Burns, which is quite an accomplishment because this is not an easy book to read. It has long complicated sentences and paragraphs, every page is densely packed with text, and there are few chapter breaks - or breaks of any kind.

Reading Circe by Madeleine Miller at the same time has provided some relief but now that I'm almost finished I'm looking forward to something easy. My latest ER book is waiting but doesn't look like it will fit the bill.

I'm still reading Edward Adrift by Craig Lancaster for my Calendar Cat, The Book of Aron by Jim Shepard for the Random Cat, and I'm picking up We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter for my RL book club.

I am having such an excellent reading month! Currently I am reading When Will There Be Good News? which is outstanding and I have started Legend by David Gemmell which looks to be another very good read.

Finally, a changeover in my Serial Reader reads! Yesterday I finished At the Earth's Core, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and today I started The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair.

At work I finished reading A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman (translated by Henning Koch).

I finished reading My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry (by Fredrik Backman,) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock #3 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with an Introduction by Mark Gatiss) and; am continuing with the Saga series (graphic novels by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples)

Next I have The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock #4 with an introduction by Steve Thompson) and I've started Shadow of the Wind (Cemetery series #1 by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.)

I also just picked up a collection of essays about France's role and relationship to the world throughout history, France in the World (edited by Patrick Boucheron) which I am inexplicably eager to start! It's over 900+ pages long, but the editors encourage you to read essays out of order, and the way they've presented the material makes the prospect of reading the whole thing less daunting. Still, I wouldn't look to see if I've finished this one before the end of the year!

I got sidetracked from my reading plans when I picked up The Lost Man by Jane Harper. This was a bullet from @roro8. It might be my favourite Harper novel so far.

Another excellent novel from Jane Harper, this one set on a hot, dry, dusty cattle ranch around Christmas. Harper is superb at depicting the surroundings so as to transport the reader.

Started The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal. So far, so good!

Finished In the Wet, by Nevil Shute, and started Dark Road: A Play, by Ian Rankin and Mark Thomson.

It's been a slow reading month for me, but I'm now at the tail end of Son of Shadows, and sorry to see it ending. I'm also about halfway through Mouths Don't Speak, which isn't bad, but it's also not all I'd hoped for.

I'm rereading Pretty Face in preparation for Lucy Parker's new book, The Austen Playbook, which comes out on the 30th in paperback (and today in e-book form!).

I've just started The File: A Personal History, by Timothy Garton Ash, about his exploration of his Cold War-era Stasi (East German secret police) file.

I am reading The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See and about to start Logan's Run by William Nolan.

Stone Cold Heart by Laura Griffin.

I've just started Sophie Kinsella's I Owe You One, a fun read so far.

I recently finished a couple more books: Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis (very fun, and I'll look for the sequels) and One Day in December by Josie Silver (enjoyable, with caveats). Now I'm starting Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh.

Trying to stay awake on a dull Saturday afternoon. I'm hopeful that A Spitfire Girl, by Mary Ellis (as told to Melody Foreman) will fit the bill.

I just wrapped The Shadow of the Wind (by Carlos Ruiz Zafón ) last night and not quite ready to start another full length novel yet. For the next couple of days, I'll continue to pick through the essay collection, France in the World; the short stories that introduce Moriarity to the world, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes and; my year-long read, A Suitable Boy. By the time I'm ready to commit to another book, it'll be May!

I wasn't too happy with my last read, The Delivery Man, so I turned to authors that I know I can trust. I am reading Towards Zero by Agatha Christie and Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer.

Finally finished a book this month - Robert Jordan's Lord of Chaos, a 712-page chunkster that dragged until exactly page 418, when the impossible happened and then I blazed through the rest.

Going to start Flashing Swords #5: Demons and Daggers and see if I can finish it by the end of the month for the SFFKit.

I'm reading Jasmine Guillory's The Proposal, which is fun so far.

I'm working on The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown which is my book that was left from last year's Color Cat (Feb) and I'm going to start Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks for one of my book clubs.