Reading Recap - April

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal of reading 70 books.  Within that total, I wanted to expand my reading horizons a little by including one memoir/biography, one classic, and one blog reader recommendation each month.  I'm providing a round-up of these reads at the close of each month.

This month's selections ...

Memoir/Biography

I Feel Bad About My Neck

by Nora Ephron

I knew Nora Ephron was witty, but I didn't expect to laugh this much.  I'm glad I listened to this book instead of reading it because I don't think it would have been the same if I didn't actually hear her voice.  I particularly loved the chapter about reading (what kinds of stories engage her and how she dives into them) and could relate to the ones about losing her friend.

Classic

Lord of the Flies

by William Golding

When "The Hunger Games" came out, I heard a lot of comparisons to this novel.  I definitely see it now.  Does that mean this novel was before its time?  Either way, it was great to see how this book held up decades later.  I think that definitely means it's a classic.  The lessons in it still apply.  And probably always will.

Blog Reader Rec

Lost Lake

by Sarah Addison Allen

Katie recommended this author to me, so I checked out the selections at my library.  This book kept standing out to me.  I kind of wish I'd read it right after the Neil Gaiman book I read last month.  The two had kind of the same feelings of magic, nostalgia, and dealing with the past.  The characters were interesting and I'm still thinking about them.  I'll definitely be looking for more books by this author.

Bonus Reads

No Sunshine When She's Gone

by Kate Angell

Kate is one of my favorite authors thanks to her baseball romances about the Richmond Rogues. I was sad when that series ended.  Fortunately, a few of those characters keep popping up in her more recent works.  I keep up with her on facebook, so when she announced a new book out this month, I realized I'd missed this one.  I read it very quickly.  Kate's stories always have fun characters, funny situations, and locations I want to visit.

Emotional Intelligence 2.0

by Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves

This was the April selection for the Steins and Spines Book Club my friends and I formed. It was really enlightening as I learned about what my emotional strengths and weaknesses are.  The book also gave strategies for building those weaknesses and using those strengths in my personal and professional lives.  I'm looking forward to working on me.

Single, Carefree, Mellow

by Katherine Heiny 

This was a collection of short stories I read for an online book club.  I enjoyed a few of the stories, though I'm not sure short stories are my thing.  I want more resolution.  And more development.  

My reading progress to date:

What are you reading?