My Goings On in April:
- We went to lots of track meets (my middle daughter is in track).
- I volunteered at Bernie’s Book Bank with my mom and packed books for kids.
- I planned a trip to LA in August. We’ll be going on a family vacation and then I’ll be sticking around a few extra days for an SCBWI conference. A perfect blend of business and pleasure!
- Things I watched:
- I rented A Star Is Born and The Miseducation of Cameron Post. I liked them both but didn’t love them (which inspired me to write post that will go up in a couple of weeks).
- I continued watching Umbrella Academy with my mom.
- With all the buzz around Game of Thrones, I started watching it again. (I had stopped near the beginning of season three for some unknown reason). I love getting to watch the whole series almost straight through!
Features & Discussions:
The 2019 Book Counting Challenge (and Sad News about the Discussion Challenge) – My annual April Fools Post!
April 2019 Discussion Challenge Link-Up & Giveaway – A few days left to link up & enter the giveaway!
Smoke and Key by Kelsey Sutton: Sutton’s Top Ten Addictions
Spotlight on Author Danielle Hammelef: Danielle’s Top Ten Addictions & Info About Her Books!
I’m Addicted to Exclamation Points!! Let’s Discuss.
Reminiscing: The First Ten Books I Reviewed
I Want to Post It NOW! (AKA One Reason I Almost Never Blog Ahead.) Let’s Discuss.
April 2019 Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up & Giveaway
My 2019 Reading Progress:
As of writing this, I’ve read 63 books, which puts me 15 books ahead of schedule.
April 2019 Reviews
- Slayer by Kiersten White | Review | Rating: Absolutely Addicted!
- Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc by David Elliott | Review | Rating: Devoured It
- Mera: Tidebreaker by Danielle Paige, Stephen Bryne | Review | Rating: Fed My Addiction
- You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn | Review | Rating: Fed My Addiction
- Smoke and Key by Kelsey Sutton | Review | Rating: Fed My Addiction
- The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G. Drews | Review | Rating: Absolutely Addicted!
- Hurricane Season by Nicole Melleby | Review | Rating: Fed My Addiction
- Release by Patrick Ness| Review | Rating: Fed My Addiction
- Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd | Review | Rating: Fed My Addiction
- Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere) by Lisa Cron | Review | Rating: Devoured It
April Best of the Bunch:
(Best of the Bunch is hosted over at Cocoon of Books. We link up our favorite reads of the month!)
I’m cheating and choosing two YAs instead of a YA and a MG this month. I couldn’t decide between these two books, which I loved for very different reasons!
2019 Reading Challenges/Goals Progress:
Progress: 8/21-30 Discussions (Chatty Kathy)
Two discussions posted this month puts me right in line with where I want to be.
I Want to Post It NOW! (AKA One Reason I Almost Never Blog Ahead.)
I’m Addicted to Exclamation Points!!
The Challenge of Running a Successful Meme (or Challenge!)
How Much Is Too Much? Sometimes Life Is Stranger Than Fiction.
Why Audiobooks Are Important.
Bookworm Confession: Swag Isn’t My Thing.
Why I Love the Book Blog Discussion Challenge (Even When I Fail)
Things I Learned About Fairy Tales By Reading the Grimm’s Versions
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Feed Your Fiction Addiction & It Starts at Midnight
Progress: 1/12 Classics Read
I’m reading Catcher in the Rye with my daughter right now (she’s reading it for school), but I haven’t finished it yet. I wasn’t really expecting to read all 12 classics, but I was hoping to do better than this! Oops!
19th Century Classic
20th Century Classic – Catcher in the Rye
Classic by a Woman Author
Classic in Translation – Grimm’s Fairy Tales
Classic Comic Novel
Classic Tragic Novel
Very Long Classic
Classic Novella
Classic From the Americas (includes the Caribbean)
Classic From Africa, Asia, or Oceania (includes Australia)
Classic From a Place You’ve Lived
Classic Play
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Books and Chocolate
Progress: 31/48 Library Books Read
As usual, I haven’t reviewed all of these on the blog yet. Some of these link to my Goodreads reviews.
These are the books I read from the library this month:
Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels by J. Warner Wallace
Slayer by Kiersten White
Oblivion by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release by Patrick Ness
The Whispers by Greg Howard
Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd
Solo by Kwame Alexander & Mary Rand Hess
Earlier books for this challenge:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Twilight by Joss Whedon, Brad Meltzer, & Georges Jeanty (reread)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Retreat by Joss Whedon, Jane Espenson & Georges Jeanty (reread)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Last Gleaming by Joss Whedon, Scott Allie & Georges Jeanty
Peasprout Chen, Future Legend of Skate and Sword by Henry Lien
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: No Future for You by Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, & Georges Jeanty (reread)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wolves at the Gate by Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard, & Georges Jeanty (reread)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Time of Your Life by Joss Whedon, Jeph Loeb, & Georges Jeanty (reread)
Winter by Marissa Meyer (audio)
Stars Above by Marissa Meyer (audio)
Far From You by Lisa Schroeder
Rebound by Kwame Alexander
The Color of Lies by CJ Lyons (audio)
A Friendly Town That’s Almost Always by the Ocean! by Kir Fox
Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Cinder by Marissa Meyer (audio, reread)
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (audio, reread)
Cress by Marissa Meyer (audio, reread)
Fairest by Marissa Meyer (audio)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home by Joss Whedon & Georges Jeanty (reread)
The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Story by Marie Kondō & Yuko Uramoto
We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan & Brian Conaghan
The Lonely Ones by Kelsey Sutton
The Language Inside by Holly Thompson
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Angel’s Guilty Pleasures
Progress: 3 (~1 Connect 5 per month)
My April Theme: Complicated Sibling Relationships
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home – If you know the TV series, you know that Buffy and Dawn didn’t become sisters in the typical way. In fact, Dawn wasn’t really human, and she appeared suddenly as a teenager (though everyone thought she had been around forever). In this first volume of the season eight comics, Buffy and Dawn’s relationship is strained, but it’s not because they don’t feel like sisters.
Solo – Storm and Blade have a complicated relationship because of their dad. Storm always defends him, while Blade has gotten tired of his antics, even though he knows he can’t always control himself because of his addictions. You find out midway through the book that their relationship is even more complicated than they thoughtView Spoiler ».
The Boy Who Steals Houses – Even though Sam is only fifteen, he’s spent much of his life taking care of his older brother Avery, who is autistic.
Slayer – Buffy isn’t the only Slayer with a complicated relationship with her sister. Nina and Artemis are identical twins, but they couldn’t be more different. Nina has lived her life in her sister’s shadow and doesn’t know what to do with herself when things change between them.
Grim Lovelies – Anouk thinks of Beau as her brother since they were created by the same witch (who she viewed as her mother). But Beau sees Anouk as anything but a sister, and the relationship gets complicated fast!
(NOTE: I haven’t reviewed Solo or The Long Way Home on the blog, but they are 2019 reads!)
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Book Date
Progress: 2/12 Books Read
I didn’t manage to read any of these this month, but I’ll be reading Truthwitch soon!
- Truthwitch by Susan Dennard (2016)
- The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner (2016)
- Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab (2017)
- Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (2015)
- Winter by Marissa Meyer (2015)
- Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (2015)
- UnBound by Neal Shusterman (2015)
- Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes (2016)
- Geekerella by Ashley Poston (2017)
- History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera (2017)
- Every Last Breath by Jennifer Armentrout (2015)
- Alienated by Melissa Landers (2014)
Alternates:
- The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis (2016)
- The Princess Bride by William Goldman (1973)
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Roof Beam Reader
Goal: 12 TBR Books Read
My bookish resolutions for 2019:
- Write the first draft of new MG. I’m working on it! Slowly.
- Read 1 review book for every 1 that I receive. Uh oh! As per usual, as soon as I get a little ahead on a resolution, I go and ruin it. I got NINE books for review this month!! Yikes! (Mostly due to requests on NetGalley, but there were also a couple of surprises sent to me). Which means, so far in 2019 I’ve received 26 books for review. I’ve read/reviewed 25, so I guess it only puts me 2 behind, but still, why do I do this to myself?
- Read at least 6 books on the craft of writing. I’m way behind on this. I’ve only read 1!!
- Read at least 12 books written in verse. (Since I’m writing my next book in verse.) I read 1 book in verse this month, for a total of 7 so far!
Query 50 agents. Or get an agent. ? (I was a wimp and I only queried 12 agents in 2018. At that rate, I might get an agent in like 2050.)Crossed this one off in February when I signed with East/West Literary!! Will I leave it here, crossed-off, for the rest of the year? I just might.
Non-bookish resolution for 2019:
(This one doesn’t count for the challenge, but I’m putting it here so it’s with my other stuff and I’ll hopefully pay attention to it.)
- Work out 3 times per week. Believe it or not, I actually started doing this again in April. Mostly because you all started raving about Game of Thrones and I decided to watch it while doing the elliptical. For me, the key to being consistent about working out is having a show that I really want to watch and only allowing myself to watch it when I’m on the elliptical. Sad but true. (Since I stopped watching at the beginning of season three, I now have plenty of episodes to keep me working out!!)
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Because Challenges Make Reading More Fun
Wrap-Up Round-Up!
Don’t forget to link your April wrap-up posts up to the Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up. And enter the giveaway!
The upcoming trip to LA sounds fun. And nice on getting to watch GoT straight thru. Because the wait had been agonizing. LOL I’m excited for The Boy Who Steals Houses but it didn’t exactly seem like a vacation read so I’m holding off a bit.
No agonizing waits for me! See? There are benefits to everything.
Glad you’re getting back into GoT, but whhyyyyy did you stop previously? Lol. That’s awesome that it’s getting you working out too! Woot woot!
I honestly have no idea. I’m back, though, and now I have plenty of episodes to keep me busy!
That’s great you guys volunteered. Your trip sounds like fun! GoT!! Yay. Hope you love getting back into it.
I’ve been loving it so far. I’m on the final episode of Season 3, so I still have a long way to go!
Complicated sibling relationships – now thats a great connection, I love it. You are doing really well with this challenge and thank you for joining in.
Thanks for hosting it! It’s been fun to think of how my books can be tied together!
That’s a lot of challenges! And I like the way you review your yearly goals, every month. I used to do that, but somehow fell off the bandwagon. Love the volunteering event you did, it sounds fun.
If I don’t review my goals at least monthly, I just forget about them. LOL!
Binge-watching GoT is probably more fun than waiting forever between seasons. The wait between the current season and the last one was way too long. Congrats on being ahead of schedule with your reading.
Yes, but now I have to avoid spoilers, and it’s HARD!
I’ve never watched Game of Thrones, but I’m glad you’re enjoying it. A lot of my friends watch and love it! I’ve started watching iZombie and I’ve been loving that. Yay for your upcoming trip to LA. I hope you have a blast. 🙂
-Lauren
I wasn’t sure about it at first–it’s definitely a bit much, but it’s exciting, that’s for sure.
Oops forgot about monthly wrapup. maybe i’ll get it up later.
Hope you can manage it!
Hope you’re enjoying GOT and umbrella academy! I wasn’t blown away by A star is born either. So glad you liked the boy who steals houses!! And I really want to read slayer as well!!
A Star Is Born was good, but … I don’t know. I think I just have issues with connecting to the characters in movies lately.
I just finished watching Umbrella Academy with Chana last week! It was so good! And that’s a really smart way of motivating yourself to exercise! Now that the weather is getting nicer and the day is longer, I’ve starting taking long walks in Central Park to keep myself active. I’ve found that the only exercise I’ll willingly do is walking, swimming, and yoga, so I usually stick to one of those 3 activities.
Yeah, I pretty much stick to the elliptical or walking—I can’t manage to get myself to do anything else. LOL!
I read Slayer even though I’ve never watched Buffy. However, I decided to start Buffy after reading and enjoying Slayer, haha. I do remember being annoyed that people were constantly being interrupted RIGHT BEFORE saying something of importance. I keep hearing about The Boy Who Steals Houses, so I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for that one. It looks like you had an awesome April reading month! I hope May is even better. 🙂
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? ?
I hope you love Buffy now that you’ve jumped into it!!
It’s exactly what I expected it to be! Although, Giles is a little creepy, haha. He’s always hanging out with teenagers, staying late with Willow, or leaning in too close for comfort.
Oh, funny. I never thought of Giles as creepy, but I guess I can see what you mean…
I binge-watched Umbrella Academy in April and I enjoyed it. Klaus is my favourite. 🙂 Grimm Lovelies has such a creepy cover – I will probably take a look at it.
Happy readings! 😉
Tânia @MyLovelySecret
I really love Klaus too!
The Bernie Book Bank sounds really cool!
I stopped watching Game of Thrones around season 5 because it got too violent. My husband gives me the highlights so I feel like I’m still watching it!
It is definitely violent. Some episodes are fine, but then sometimes I’ll watch one that’s really disturbing and wish I hadn’t seen that part (same with some of the sex in it, to be honest).
ooh, LA will be a fun trip! We’re super busy with sports this Spring, too.
Wehn you have kids in sports, it takes up a lot of your free time, but at least it’s fun to watch!
I’ll be interested to see your post about A Star is Born. I walked out after the first 30 minutes of this in the theater, bored and not impressed with the acting. I think I need to give it a new try on video at home.
Oh, wow–that’s extreme. I don’t think I’ve ever walked out of a movie before. I’d be too stressed over the fact that I paid for it. LOL! I don’t talk super specifically about the movie in the post–it’s more about how I have trouble connecting with characters in movies these days.
You are doing well on your challenges. Keep up the great work. Love to see the Library Love!
Have a wonderful May
It’s been fun to keep track of my library reads for this challenge!!
Okay, you convinced me. I am going to be reading The Boy Who Steals Houses this month! Also, yay for that planned trip to LA and some fun in there with the work trip too. That sounds promising. It sounds like a very track meet filled month, but like there was some fun there too. I really enjoyed A Star is Born!
I hope you love The Boy Who Steals Houses!!
It looks like April was a very good month for you, Nicole! Both with reading, and everything else 🙂 I hope May will be a good one, too 🙂
Have a wonderful weekend and happy reading.
Thank you, Lexxie!!
Glad to see The Boy Who Steals Houses is so good. <3
YES!!
What do you think of Umbrella Academy? I finished it a little while ago and enjoyed it, although wasn’t sure at first. I have only seen the first season of Game of Thrones. Someday perhaps I’ll watch that one again and the rest of the series. Right now I am anxious to catch up on Supernatural and watch the 14th season now that its dropped on Netflix! I am so glad you liked Slayer! It does sound good. And now you have me wanting to read The Boy Who Steals Houses. I hope you have a great week! Happy reading!
I haven’t finished The Umbrella Academy yet, I am enjoying it, but I’ve been watching it in spurts, which probably isn’t the best way. I’m not a huge fan of superhero shows usually, but this one is definitely different than the typical.
YAY for planning a vacation! If you need beach or food recommendations for Orange County or San Diego area just holler. My husband is from Laguna, his sister went to college in SD and one of my best friends lives right north of SD in Del Mar, plus we travel down there a few times a year.
Ohhhh I always wanted to choose two when it’s from different genres. How can I chose between a dystopian and a romance that I love with all my heart, it’s brutal lol!
Thanks!! Not sure if we’ll make it far out of LA, but I’m still planning out everything we’re going to do. I’ve got the house we’re renting booked, though, so that part of it is all set. I’m excited—I’ve never been out there!
Ahh yay for upcoming vacation, this is great and I love it so much when you have a little trip like that to look forward to!! 🙂
I’m so happy you loved The Boy Who Steals Houses, I really can’t wait to read that one <3
I hope you will have an amazing May <3
Yes, it’s nice to have a vacation in the works!
I really enjoyed The Umbrella Academy. I’m really looking forward to the next season. I hope you end up enjoying the rest of the series. Slayer sounds really good and I love complicated sister relationships. Happy May!
I still haven’t finished the season, but I definitely plan to keep watching!
You’re vacation to LA sounds like fun. Helps to get through the routine of life with a planned trip on the horizon. April’s theme of complicated sibling relationships is a great way of reading about family and the things we will do for no one else. I need a show to help me exercise too; I watch my K-dramas. ❤️❤️
One of these days I’m going to watch some of your K-drama recommendations. I don’t find much time for TV these days, but I think I’d really like them.
The Boy Who Steals Houses will be a book for me. It sounds amazing and emotional=fun! I have always hoped that someday I’ll get to the LA conference too, so I can’t wait to hear about it and take lots of photos. I wish the winter conference was in LA and the summer in NY for weather.
Oh, you make a good point about the weather—they really do have that backwards, don’t they?
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