April Reading Favorites

Plus, the rest of my Weekly What

May 04, 2024

Hello to all and welcome to new readers! Several of you found your way to my newsletter by way of

who featured me in her Let’s Talk About Books series earlier this week. If you haven’t seen it check it out! I’m honored to be featured and I had so much fun thinking through Katy’s bookish questions.

I try to publish this weekly newsletter on Saturday mornings, but this has been a bit of an off week; my 11-year-old gymnast had minor surgery on her elbow, she’s doing well, but my stress levels are just coming back to their normal, forever slightly elevated baseline.

Last night, when I was supposed to be finalizing my newsletter, my husband and I instead decided it was prime time to dismantle our neglected backyard playset. It feels impossible we’ve had it for more than a decade, it truly feels like just yesterday I was helping my now 14-year-old who has several inches on me, climb up the ladder. While the playset appeared on its last legs and an accident just waiting to happen, I can assure you the work it took to tear apart proves otherwise. BUT its removal makes way for an expanded garden - something to look forward to!

At the end of every month (or the beginning of a new one? Is this a glass half empty/half full situation?) I like to look over all of the books I’ve read and reflect on the month. I share a little highlight of favorites here while my full month in review can be found on Instagram. I’m also on Storygraph, which I update daily, and Goodreads, where I share reviews, if you’d like to connect there.

Without further ado…

I read 24 books in April! Here are my favorites of the month:

Tell me:

Have you read any of these?
What did you read/love in April?
Anything, let’s chat!

What I’m…

Reading

A Fire So Wild by Sarah Ruiz-Grossman. A wildfire in Berkley, California discordantly impacts the haves and have-nots. Recalled for me A Great Country in that it is a short, fast-paced read exploring deeper themes that would make for great discussion; a perfect book club pick.
How to End a Love Story by Yulin Quang. I loved this love story as I shared above. This is the debut novel of a screenwriter who adapted Emily Henry’s Beach Read for the big screen. Quang is obviously a writer with her own voice, but I do see how her style vibes well with Henry’s.
City Spies by James Ponti. Middle grade fiction I read aloud with my kids. I can see why this is such a popular series. Fast paced, cinematic, cliff hanger-y chapter endings that keep the pages turning.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. Releasing this Tuesday 5/7, this is one of the most buzzed about books of the year! This debut novel is fun, fresh, and crosses genres. A full review will be posted to my Instagram and Goodreads this week!

Listening

Birth: Three Mothers, Nine Months, and Pregnancy in America by Rebecca Grant. This is a good overview of pregnancy and birth in America. It’s an excellent look at birth center birth in an out-of-hospital friendly state (Oregon) as that’s where all the people whose stories are being followed intend to give birth.
The Ezra Klein Show: Salman Rushdie Is Not Who You Think He Is. Rushdie talks about his decades spanning career, his new book Knife, and The Satanic Verses, but he also talks about the disparity between who and what his work is vs. that which the public has created. This conversation about private vs public perception, the reputation of art vs its actual merit, and how the methods of modern discourse are especially good at warping reality, and the consequences of such is broadly thought provoking.

Watching

An Officer and a Gentleman (Max). An enduring classic. I love Debra Winger.
Anyone But You (Netflix). This had fun classic rom-com vibes. Though I loved Sidney Sweeney in Euphoria, I’m not sure she would have been my ideal pick for this role.
Felicity (Hulu). We are a few episodes in on my very first watch. Love the 90s vibe, Keri Russell is flawless always, though jury is still out on my opinion overall.

Eating & Drinking

Grilled Sausages and Funeral Potatoes (I make mine with cream of potato soup, the only time I use “cream of” anything and potato is superior to chicken or mushroom in this application.)
Grilled up some Lemon and Garlic Chicken for a make your own salad night. This chicken was perfect along with strawberries, blue cheese, pecans, and avocado. I tried Marzetti’s Simply Strawberry Poppyseed dressing, which was good, but a little on the sweet side for me. I prefer the Simply Balsamic.
Trader Joe’s orange chicken and potstickers, plus brown rice in the Instant Pot, and steamed broccoli per my daughter’s request pre-surgery.
I’ve been on a yogurt for breakfast kick. Two Good vanilla greek yogurt with some berries and just a sprinkle of granola is hitting the spot lately.

Links + Loves

I always appreciate learning about (and confirming my assumptions of) the publishing industry. The Problem with Giant Book Preview Lists (Lit Hub) is both interesting and illuminating.
The Great Felicity Reckoning (Slate). Relevant as I just started watching.
Love, love this story (NYT) about Tommy Orange visiting a Bronx high school at the invitation of a 12th grade English teacher.
16 books and movies to read and watch for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (Libby Life)

ICYMI

This week’s blog posts:

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