April Reading List

Happy April! We are well into spring, and my brain is definitely ready for a fresh start. Or at least some mental spring cleaning. I’m excited to jump into some new books and new projects. I have a fun reading experiment planned for this month, but I also want to concentrate on finally finishing The Count of Monte Cristo. I’ve been pretty bogged down with other reading, and I haven’t touched it in months. So my goal is to finish it by May.

That said, I did not keep this list short. Here are some of the books I’m hoping to read this month:

The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum

This month’s theme for the Buzzword 2021 Reading Challenge is “space words”. “Stars” is probably not the most creative interpretation, but I have been wanting to read a book by K. Ancrum, and this is the perfect excuse. I’m pretty sure this is actually YA romance, which is not really my cup of tea, but I’ve also heard great things about this one, so I’m taking a chance on it. I also know it’s a slow-burn, lesbian romance with some sci-fi elements, so I might actually really enjoy this one.

Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig

I came across this one very recently, and just had to add it to my reading list. It fits perfectly into the “space words” challenge, but this one is very different. It’s actually nonfiction about mental health, specifically anxiety. Which I really need, especially since I am starting to feel anxious about the fact everyone is “getting back to normal”. I know I’m not alone in that this whole pandemic has taken a massive toll on my mental health, and I need to get better at dealing with that. Especially since the idea of being around lots of people makes me super extra uncomfortable now, and I know that’s probably not something I can avoid forever.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

This has been on my TBR since it came out last year (I actually preordered this) and I somehow still haven’t read it. Which needs to be fixed asap. I have been trying to get to this all year, but with everything else on my reading list, I just haven’t gotten to it. But I’ve been trying to get better about listening to audiobooks, and this is one of them. Carey Mulligan narrates, and I honestly think it might just be the perfect book to chill and listen to when I want a nice self-care day (which is probably very overdue). So this might be the month I binge-read Matt Haig books, and I’m not mad about it.

Deacon King Kong by James McBride

Since I’m pretty sure this one seems like a random addition to this list, I will tell you that it is for a massive reading experiment post that is coming in like November (hopefully). I won’t tell you what it is, but it requires me reading like twenty books, of which I have only read three, so I need to get on this. This is one of those books that I probably wouldn’t pick up if it wasn’t for a post. But now that I’ve looked into it a bit more, I’m honestly pretty excited to read it. I’m even more excited because I picked up the audiobook, which is narrated by Dominc Hoffman, who did an absolutely brilliant job of narrating Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi. And now I kind of can’t wait to listen to this one.

Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife by Alison Weir

Last, but certainly not least, is one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I’ve been talking about this series for a while, and this is the final book in the Six Tudor Queens series. If I’m being completely honest, I haven’t really been into series lately, especially longer ones full of big books. But this is the exception. I just really love these novels. And I’m kind of sad it’s ending, but excited to see where Weir takes this one. It will be out in May, and I’ll share my thoughts in this month’s wrap up.

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That’s it for this post! This is a good third of what I’m hoping to get to this month, but I don’t want to ruin any upcoming posts too much. Hopefully April turns out to be a good reading month. I have some other books on my list that I am very excited to get to!

I’d love to hear from all of you: what’s on your reading list this month? Are there any new releases you’re excited about?