I don’t have strong opinions on anything I read this month. Maybe because this month, my book choices bounced all over the map? It went from scandalous love-triangle to non-fiction cadaver research to a 1950’s sci-fi, back to death cleaning and closing out the month with a relatively dull historical fiction.
After I finished The Lost Apothecary I ended up taking a mini reading break. I dedicated free time to catching up / bingeing on my favorite podcasts — which is exactly what my soul needed, and I don’t regret swapping out my reading time for podcast listening. Whatever reinvigorates you, you know? And for me, I was approximately 572 podcast episodes in the last week of April.
What I Read in April 2021
Too Good to Be True by Carola Lovering
A very twisted and bizarre love triangle that was actually quite bingeable. It felt very far fetched on a few different levels, but overall I found myself enjoying it. I liked the three main character perspectives and I actually enjoyed all of our characters, even the twisted ones with questionable motivations. Would I recommend? Umm. Yes? But know you’re in for a weird ride.
Stiff by Mary Roach
The history and life of cadavers is interesting indeed! Mary Roach did a great job and was funny to boot! I found this absolutely fascinating and really appreciate the thorough research that resulted in such a well thought out book. Who knew cadavers could be so interesting?! I’m already an organ donor, but this book made me rethink perhaps donating my body to science once I pass on (sorry mom!).
The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov
My husband was very intrigued, and pretty surprised I was reading this. So he ordered his own copy and we had a micro-book club. There’s a lot to love about a 1950’s sci-fi, and this one had many of the components. I kept cycling between loving it and then falling asleep after 3 pages and not wanting to pick it up the next evening. It got very heavy and confusing (it requires a lot of brain power), but ultimately I’m glad I pushed through. I’d definitely recommend, but it certainly isn’t the easiest book to pick up and read.
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
Love the concept, love the idea. The book was absolutely adorable, so I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars to 4. However, I do wish there was a bit more structure / actionable items to incorporate when doing your own death cleaning. Even though it’s never too early to death clean (death can claim us at any time… not just old age (right MC?!)), I think I’m about two decades too early for this book (assuming I survive that long).
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
I liked it enough to give it three stars, but for a book about a female run apothecary that secretly dispenses poison to other females to escape XYZ shitty oppressive male dominated situation they’re in… I was hoping it wouldn’t be as boring as it was. Was recommended by a friend (#ladiesofbookclubimprov), but it fell a bit flat for me.
Toddler Theme of the Month: All Things Firefighters!
Naomi is a huge fan of firetrucks, firefighters, the gear used to fight fires, and the concept of fire itself. A team of firefighters came to her preschool last July for a fire safety drill, and she’s been a fan of the profession ever since. I ordered her three new books to extinguish (ha!) her desire to learn more about firefighting. Also, needs to be noted, that for a baby girl kissed by fire, this obsession of hers seems oh so fitting.
Big Frank’s Fire Truck by Leslie McGuire
We LOVE Big Frank’s Fire Truck. The story takes us along the ride during Big Frank’s 24 hour shift at the fire station, as we get to see a ‘day in the life of a firefighter.’ It’s well written and an overall awesome book.
Richard Scarry’s A Day at the Fire Station by Richard Scarry
We love Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever because it really is the best word book ever, it helped teach Naomi a TON of vocabulary words at an early age, so I thought a fire themed Richard Scarry would be great too. Turns out A Day at the Fire Station is under the Scarry brand, wasn’t written by him (he died ages ago), and this isn’t your typical Scarry book. I digress. It’s a fine book, and Naomi enjoys it, but it wasn’t what I thought it would be.
The Berenstain Bears Visit the Firehouse by Mike Berenstain
I used to enjoy Berenstain bears as a kid, but as an adult reading it to my child, I really don’t like them. And it’s tough for me to pinpoint why… Naomi is a big fan of this book and we end up reading it at least twice a day. It’s pleasant and informative enough, but something about reading it out loud annoys me. Naomi now knows the difference between a tiller rig and a hook-and-ladder fire truck, so I guess that’s neat (I didn’t know there were different types of firetrucks…).
And lastly… our BABY BOOKS! We finally, finally, finally hung up book shelves in Ezzie’s room, loaded them up with our Sandra Boynton’s and our sing-a-long Raffi collection. Everything has been a big hit and I’m thrilled to report that at ten months, he seems to be into books!
Thanks for reading along, and see you back here at the end of May. I barely have the bandwidth to post once a month.