Well what can I say, it’s about the same as last month and has wiggled around the shelves a bit. I took six print books off the shelf and read them (one of them a Three Investigators Mystery), and I have started one more (a review book). I didn’t take any of the oldest books off the TBR and read four more of my TBR Project books (27 read and reviewed, 114 to go). I set an intention to read Patrick Hutchinson’s “Everyone Against Racism” (reviewed here) and Christan Cooper’s “Better Living Through Birding” (to review) and did, so I’m pleased about that. The Liz and Emma Read Together books are in a separate pile (top shelf, to the left) because they don’t form part of the TBR project, and the book on the top left top is a review book.

I completed 15 books in April (two with reviews to be published). I am part-way through three more (including my current Reading With Emma Read and a read that will take all year). I read all but three of my April NetGalley books during April; one of the three was acquired in April, and my NetGalley review percentage remains at 91%. I read one ebook for Kaggsysbookishramblings and Stuck-in-a-Book‘s 1937 week, which I had bought earlier in the year.

Incomings

Only four print incomings, three from the Bookshop and one on subscription:

Huda Fahmy publishes the “Yes, I’m Hot in This” comic online and has a series of graphic novels. When I found out her story about a trip to the theme park, “Huda F Cares?” was out, a bit belatedly, I had to ask the Bookshop to order it in for me. “Free Loaves on Fridays” is an Unbound book I subscribed to a while ago which is about the care system in the UK as told by people involved. The Bookshop shared that they’d sold copies of Keith Boykin’s “Why Does Everything Have to be About Race” at someone else’s event and I asked them to put me aside a copy, as I want to have some up-to-date stuff as well as the BLM-inspired wellspring of publishing I’ve been reading recently, and while I was collecting it I spotted Clive Oppenheimer’s “Mountains of Fire: The Secret Lives of Volcanoes” and couldn’t resist it.

More NetGalley ships came in.

Joel Golby’s “Four Stars” (published April) is a non-fiction quest book in which he assigns stars/ratings to all his everyday experiences. Onyi Nwabineli’s “Allow Me To Introduce Myself” (May) is the tale of a girl who pushes back against her mumfluencer mother sharing every moment of her life on social media. I was offered Emily Houghton’s “Take a Chance on Me” (Aug) because I’d read and reviewed her “Before I Saw You” and this one’s an opposites-attract romcom with a travel twist. “Determination” by Tawseef Khan (June) is a novel set in an immigration lawyers’ office where the staff have all recently moved to the UK themselves and looked intriguing. Hooray – I got Abi Daré’s new one – “And So I Roar” (Aug) – I loved her “The Girl with the Louding Voice” and this is the continuing story of Adunni from that book which I hadn’t quite realised. Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar are well-known YA writers and their “Four Eids and a Funeral” (June) is a community novel and love story about saving the local Islamic centre. I’m a bit worried there’s a cat on the cover so fingers crossed nothing bad happens (the funeral is definitely a person’s). I read about P.J. Ellis’ “We Could Be Heroes” (June) in a NetGalley email and realised it’s partly set in Birmingham, so that had to be requested, right? And finally I will admit I hit the request button on Tessa Hicks Peterson and Hala Khouri (eds.) “Practicing Liberation” (July) while I was still looking at it: it’s about looking after yourself as a social justice campaigner, which I don’t feel I am massively, so not sure how relevant it will be but might be able to share its usefulness with others.

I also bought for Kindle Nathan Flear’s running book, “Puddings to Podiums” – well, I didn’t buy it as it was on a free promotion! The cover is a bit triggering around weight loss so I’ll have to see how I review it when the time comes

So that was 15 read and 13 coming in in April, which is a MASSIVE win, right?!

Currently reading

Zeinab Badawi’s “An African History of Africa” has turned out to be dense but readable and I have to take breaks between chapters so I don’t get it all mixed up. I will have my review in with Shiny New Books soon! Emma and I are about to start our new read, Raynor Winn’s third book, “Landlines”, as we’ve read the other two together. I’m also still reading my literary quotes for the year with Ali.

Coming up

I did well with setting my intention on my print books last month so am doing that again. Kehinde Andrews’ “The New Age of Empire” is the oldest book on the TBR. Michael Cunningham’s “Day” I bought on the day of publication so I’d beter get on and read it! Corinne Fowler’s “Our Island Stories: Country Walks Through Colonial Britain”, which is for a Shiny review, looks like it will pair well with the first of these.

I have six NetGalley books published in May, but three April ones hanging around. A romance, a communty novel, a non-fiction about mental health, another community novel, essays in Indigenous Canada and a satirical novel about living your life on social media beckon! The April ones are Emily Henry’s “Funny Story”, Rachel Kong’s “Real Americans” and

I don’t think I have any reading challenges to do this month! With the ones I’m currently reading, I have one books to finish (Emma and I are just starting our new read), a review book to finish and one to read and review and nine others to read at a minimum, which might happen!

How was your April reading? What are you reading this month? Are you doing any book challenges for the year or the month?