April was a month of transition. Not only did the weather start to change and become warmer and more spring-like, but it was also a month of stepping into a new part of the year, for me at least, and moving into different areas of focus.
I started off April running around trying to get everything done and together for the last few weeks of my winter semester. Between writing final papers, completing final assignments, and studying for exams – I would class the first two weeks of April as controlled chaos.
I made the decision earlier on in the year to take the spring/summer semester off when it came to school and try to recoup from everything that’s happened over the past year. It’s a decision I didn’t take lightly and it’s a decision I’m still coming to terms with.
Crazily enough, all the deadlines, discussions posts, and lectures kept me going and moving throughout the past few months. I had something to really concentrate on and something to accomplish. It feels weird not having lectures or deadlines or even weekly discussions to attend. I have this newfound freedom that I don’t really know what to do with. I’m trying to fill it with everything that I put to the side during the past few months – that includes more reading and writing, cooking and checking off my to-do list.
I’m still coming to terms with the fact that I now have a free day during the week to do whatever I want to do. It’s weird.
I read a total of six books in April. I enjoyed most of them, some definitely more than others.
I’ve been a fan of the comic series Monstress since its debut. The last three issues are the start of the next chapter of the story from Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda. Every single page of these three issues was breathtaking, from the art to the words that appeared across them. I’ve really enjoyed the journey that this story has taken and I am so excited to see where it goes. If you haven’t had a chance to dive into this series, I highly recommend that you do.
I also read my first Tessa Dare novel in April. I’ve been dying to read Dare’s books for a while, and I finally got a chance to do so, starting off with The Governess Game which is the second book in her Girl Meets Duke series. I really enjoyed the story and the characters in this book. It was the perfect book to kick start my deep dive back into reading and one of my favourite books I’ve read of hers so far. I also read two other books from her Spindle Cove series as well in April. I actually have a couple more of her books on my reading roster for May and cannot wait to dive into them. Dare has a really extensive backlist of novels, which is all the better for me.
One of the most profound books that I read in April was Hanna Alkaf’s The Weight of Our Sky. It’s a book that I think everyone should read, and arguably one that should be read in schools. For most of us, our history classes in school focused solely on our home countries and the two Great Wars. The majority of world history that I learnt when I was in junior and senior high school came from my own reading and interest in world history. I never knew about the conflicts in Malaysia, which is where The Weight of Our Sky is based until I read this book. While it is a fictionalized story it is based on reality and the events that occurred in 1969 in Kuala Lumpur. It’s definitely not an easy novel to read and comes with trigger warnings that the author herself identified at the beginning of the book, but it is one that I believe everyone should read if they can.
Those were my favourite books that I read in the month of April, what were yours?
Thanks for reading!
A Work in Progress 