April: What Are You Reading?

[Julie]

4 !! The Distance Between Us, Love Letters from Ladybug Farm, What if I'm an atheist, and Now is the Time: 170 says to seize the moment

[Maggie]

I recently read Canada, the memoir/ode to Canada by Mike Myers. I absolutely adore him, so to learn more about one my favorite comedians and learn more about Canada was a double treat. Highly recommend to other Austin Powers fans.

Currently reading A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki -- courtesy of pinch hitting for Barbara's Quirky book group. So far, it's ok, but I'm only at 16% so it's hard to say for sure. It's definitely not a book I would have picked out for myself, but I do really like the author's writing style, so that's good. Nice to read something different!

I am looking for a play to read for my personal book bingo. Anyone have any recommendations? I've never read any Eugene O'Neill....I'm interested in possibly reading The Iceman Cometh.

[Ame]

Maggie wrote: "I am looking for a play to read for my personal book bingo. Anyone have any recommendations? I've never read any Eugene O'Neill....I'm interested in possibly reading The Iceman Cometh."

UBU ROI! It's a parody of Macbeth and the play was so disastrous that it's opening night was also its closing night. Check out The Paris Review's article about it: https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2...

If you're interested, I totally have a copy. It even has an exploding clown!

[Ame]

Lindsey wrote: "The last thing I read with my eyes was Terese Mailhot's fabulous narrative nonfiction Heart Berries, a propulsive recounting of love, obsession, instability, and complex family and community bonds. I particularly enjoyed the afterward, which is an interview with the author. It guided my reflection on the book without telling me what to think, and I really enjoyed that extra level of engagement."

Heart Berries is on my TBR list, and I'll make sure I read it this year based on your feelings about it. The audio is on hoopla, so I'm leaning in that direction.

[Ame]

I'm currently reading:
A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare, a historical, bodice-ripper of a romance. I honestly bother with romance until I noticed When a Scot ties the Knot, also by Dare, and I've been smitten with her work ever since. It's steamy, but it's also funny. Listening to this one through Libby.

Currently have Dread Nation by Justina Ireland checked out in print. I've been looking forward to this one coming out for awhile since it's alternate history about zombies rising at the Battle of Gettysburg and marginalized folks have to attend combat schools in order to battle these new armies of the dead. Even if it's alternate history, it makes me think about more historical narratives from the POV of POCs (speaking of romance, I need to start reading Alyssa Cole's work).

Book I own that I've started reading - The Not-Quite-States of America by Doug Mack. This is a travelogue/history nonfiction combo about the U.S. Territories, so if you know little-to-nothing about American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, etc. etc. (like me, since I can't even name them all off the top of my head), then this is an easy-to-digest book.

[Kimberli]

I'm starting off the month outside of my normal reading of thrillers and suspense novels. I started a book challenge to broaden my reading horizons, and I feel I'm making great progress with that! I'm currently reading Beautiful Bastard, which I'm being extra careful to make sure it doesn't show up in my email signature (lol), Rich People Problems, and listening to Party of One - a Memoir in 21 Songs by Dave Holmes.

I chose Beautiful Bastard as my "romance" (and I use that term lightly) novel to read for my challenge. I found it by looking for books similar to the 50 Shades series. It's okay, plot is weak, but honestly.....should I have expected anything different?!

Rich People Problems is by the same author that wrote Crazy Rich Asians, which I heard is supposed to be a movie sometime this year. I seem to gravitate to books that will become movies, because, heck.....it's gotta be good, right? Also, we all know the book is always better than the movie, so at least I feel it should be a decent choice for a read.

I came across Party of One as I was finishing up another audiobook, and have now become addicted to them.....thanks Maggie Allbee! I was specifically looking for a short audiobook, as I'm on a short waitlist for Her Nightly Embrace, which was recommended to me by Kareemah Hamdan. I didn't want to put myself in a bind on having too many books available at one time. I've only listened to 5 minutes of Party of One, but I think I'm going to like it. Again, it's out of my normal reading genre, so I was taking a chance.....but I'm finding that I am enjoying this new book exploration journey that I'm on!

[Maggie]

Ame wrote: "Maggie wrote: "I am looking for a play to read for my personal book bingo. Anyone have any recommendations? I've never read any Eugene O'Neill....I'm interested in possibly reading The Iceman Comet..."

That would be perfect! Sounds hilarious and wacky. Also checks off one of my other squares on my bingo -- "Shakespeare-Related"!
Thanks, Ame!

[Ame]

Maggie wrote: "Ame wrote: "Maggie wrote: "I am looking for a play to read for my personal book bingo. Anyone have any recommendations? I've never read any Eugene O'Neill....I'm interested in possibly reading The ..."

Remind me and I can bring you my copy so you can take a closer look. No pressure! One play I remember really enjoying back in the day was Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello. It's very meta! Heck, maybe I should just bring in a stack of plays and see if any catch your interest.

[Barbie]

Ame wrote: "I'm currently reading:
A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare, a historical, bodice-ripper of a romance. I honestly bother with romance until I noticed When a Scot ties the Knot, also by Dare, and I've..."

I am so excited about Dread Nation! I'm still really behind on what I want to read but I recently started the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb and I like it a lot. It is a good readalike for Game of Thrones or Patrick Rothfuss. In fact I'd say it is a much better pick that Rothfuss because the protagonist is much less insufferable.

[Ame]

Barbie wrote: "Ame wrote: "I'm currently reading:
A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare, a historical, bodice-ripper of a romance. I honestly bother with romance until I noticed When a Scot ties the Knot, also by Da..."

I am so stoked that you mentioned Robin Hobb because she is on my TBR list. I used to follow a Patrick Rothfuss/NOTW fandom group on Facebook, but my goodness every single "What should I read next?" post in that group is a bunch of white male authors, and they don't seem to know that there's a vast wide world of glorious fantasy authors out there who don't look exactly like Patrick Rothfuss! And I like his books immensely, but I think it's perfectly fine to fall in love with the world he built and not necessarily like the protagonist.

[Lisa]

Lost in the Beehive by Michele Young-Stone begins in a 1960s facility that promises to "cure" homosexuality and unspools from there. Gloria proves resilient, though; the bees help her.

[Barbie]

Ame wrote: "Barbie wrote: "Ame wrote: "I'm currently reading:
A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare, a historical, bodice-ripper of a romance. I honestly bother with romance until I noticed When a Scot ties the K..."

I love Rothfuss's writing so much, enough to not mind reading about Kvothe. I keep meaning to start on the second book, but I have so many other books to read first.