I have been so pleased with this month, and was really looking forward to sharing all the exciting things I’ve done – there’s been lots of interesting content up on my blog, there have been loads of great ones in the community, and I’ve done so much reading! So, without further ado, on to the wrap up.
This month, I have read:
- Margot & Me by Juno Dawson -> read my review!
- Girl Hearts Girl by Lucy Sutcliffe -> read my review!
- No Virgin by Anne Cassidy
- The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
- The Pale Dreamer by Samantha Shannon
- Quiet by Susan Cain
- With Malice by Eileen Cook
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
- The Museum of Heartbreak by Meg Leder
- We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan
- All I Know Now by Carrie Hope Fletcher
- Free Lunch: Easily Digestible Economics by David Smith
- 100 Prized Poems: Twenty-Five Years of the Forward Books edited by William Sieghart
- Atonement by Ian McEwan
- Three Guineas by Virginia Woolf
- Chase by Linwood Barclay
- George by Alex Gino
- Troublemakers by Catherine Barter
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
- Silence is Goldfish by Annabel Pitcher
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
- Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon
- Healthy is the New Skinny by Katie H. Willcox
- The Way I See It by Nicole Dryburgh
- London Belongs to Us by Sarra Manning
My favourite YA books were Margot & Me (which I wrote a five-star review of!) and Troublemakers, and I also really enjoyed Atonement and Never Let Me Go, even though they were only four-star reads for me, as the themes in them mean I’m still thinking about these books and am very keen to go watch the films too! I’m happy with the balance of YA with other genres this month – I feel like I covered non-fiction, poetry, middle grade, literary fiction, and some academic reading for school as well as lots of lovely YA. I also managed to read almost everything on my list from last month, which I’m happy about.
I’ve done fairly well on my challenges too – eighteen of these books were by British authors (and I’ve posted four reviews for the challenge this month), and twenty of these were published before 2017, although none of them were retellings so I didn’t manage to tick that box on any account.
This month I’ve done some pretty cool stuff on my blog and in the bookish community. I went to the evening in conversation with Angie Thomas and Patrice Lawrence which was amazing, and I held a giveaway of Orangeboy. Over Easter, I participated in the SundayYAthon – I’ve done two of them now, and it was lots of fun – and I also got to interview Danielle Younge-Ullman as part of the blog tour for her gorgeous book, Everything Beautiful is Not Ruined. A series of Blogger Awards were also launched over on Write Through the Night, and I have been nominated by Joce, Kelly, Lia, Bex, and Sarah, which has been very exciting, and I made some nominations myself!
There have been so many good blog posts in the community this month! I normally talk about four posts, but I simply have to stretch it to eight (!) posts because there were too many I had to mention.
- Yes, I Love YA – Twist in the Taile (a post I couldn’t agree with more, discussing how people can view YA as ‘inferior’ to other literature when it is actually such a valuable genre)
- YA Book Box Subscriptions to Try – My Shelf and Myself (a list of book box subscription ideas, with lots of pictures and links, so great for reference and suggestions)
- Discussion: The Importance of Bully-Representation, 13 Reasons Why & Recommendations – Lost in a Story (discussion around 13 Reasons Why and how important it is for these topics to be portrayed in media)
- Discussion: Is It Bad to Read Too Far Above Your Grade Level? – Write Through the Night (an unusual topic, but a post I actually really agreed with when I thought about it – that sometimes it’s better to wait to read a book, as you may appreciate it more when you’re older)
- When Authors Approach You – Chapter Adventures (a helpful post, especially for slightly newer bloggers, about what to do about reviewing books when asked by the author)
- Readathon Tips – The Book Moo (some great tips for people who are interested in doing readathons)
- Let’s Talk: Do You Wear Your Blogger Status Proudly? – A Frolic Through Fiction (discussion around whether or not you talk about being a blogger)
- Confession: I Have Too Many Books (My Book Culling Tips) – The Bibliomaniac (advice for what to do when your piles of books are looking a little overwhelming)
And I wanted to mention a post that actually went up in March that I contributed to, but I didn’t realise until earlier this month, on the opinions of young adults on the YA community.
This month, I’m hoping to read:
- A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
- False Hearts by Laura Lam
- The Problem With Forever by Jennifer Armentrout
- Death of a Naturalist by Seamus Heaney
- The Guggenheim Mystery by Robin Stevens
- Knighthood for Beginners by Elys Dolan
- Mold and the Poison Plot by Lorraine Gregory
- Kick by Mitch Johnson
- If Birds Fly Back by Carlie Sorosiak
- Show Stopper by Hayley Barker
- Noah Can’t Even by Simon James Green
- The Puzzle of Ethics by Peter Vardy
- The Puzzle of God by Peter Vardy
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
There’s a lot of middle grade in there (numbers 5 to 8), as I got a lot of MG from the bookshop I review for. This list is overambitious because I have some exams coming up, but I would still like to find time for a bit of reading, even if it’s not as much as normal.
Awww thanks so much 🙂 You read a lot in April! I loved Margot & Me too!!
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You’re welcome – it was such a good idea for a post! Haha it was the Easter holidays so I decided to take full advantage before exam season really kicks in. I don’t think I’ve heard a bad word about Margot & Me – a truly wonderful book!
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That’s exactly what I did! I work in a school so any of the holidays are reading time for me.
Everyone really loved it 🙂
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Haha tactical reading is definitely one of my favourite kinds of reading as you get more done! 😀
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Whoa, you read a lot of books last month! That’s fabulous!
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Haha I had a holiday and took full advantage 🙂 thank you!
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Wow, great job at reading all those books. Oh, and I love Atonement! It’s one of my all-time favourite books (and movies!)
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Thanks! Oh my gosh, it was just so intriguing – I loved the film as well (even if it broke my heart a little 😦 )!
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Mine too! But I still love it 😍
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Whoa, you read a lot! George by Alex Gino is so great. I’m really looking forward to reading Girl Hearts Girl. Thanks for linking to my post 🙂
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Haha I decided to try to get as much of my TBR done as possible over the holiday. George was such a lovely book – and Girl Hearts Girl is so sweet, hope you enjoy! You’re welcome; it was such a great blog post 🙂
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Awwww thank you so much for mentioning my post, that means so much!!!!!!!!
Also your books read and TBR looks amazing, although I don’t know any of the books you read. The only book I recognize is Streetcar Named Desire, and I really really liked that play!! It was fun to read a play that WASNT Shakespeare for once!
Glad you had such a good month!
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You’re welcome! It was a fab blog post 🙂 I completely know what you mean – a play that isn’t Shakespeare is often not heard of, so I’m looking forward to it.
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25 books?!?! WOW! That is so impressive! I hope you enjoy your May reads! 🙂
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Thank you! I read a lot over the holidays and it just built up – I was so surprised to see that it had ended up as so many! Fingers crossed I can get through a decent chunk of my May TBR too 😀
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Love Never Let Me Go and Atonement. Have read plenty of Woolf, but never Three Guineas. I chose 6 books for my TBR, but hope to read more. Hope you enjoy your May reads.
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Atonement and Never Let Me Go are just too wonderful, both absolutely fascinating! Good luck with your TBR ❤
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What a great reading month! I’m really looking forward to finally picking up Margot and Me, it’s been on my shelf since it came out, and now I should definitely prioritise it! – Maddie x
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Yes, it was a great month! Oh my gosh it’s fab, definitely read it when you have the chance 😀 x
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Oh my gosh, you read so many books! HOW?! WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?!
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Haha the Easter holidays were kind to me – sadly I don’t think it’s going to be happening again any time soon!
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WOW, SO MANY BOOKS. I’m in awe, I wish I could read this much! (I should probably spend less time on the internet. But ah well.) It sounds like you read so many wonderful books; I need to read Margot & Me and The Pale Dreamer ASAP. Thanks so much for linking to my post as well, and I shall check out the others you mentioned now!
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Haha I think I only managed because of the Easter holiday! Those two are great books, I would definitely recommend them. You’re welcome; it was a fab post 🙂
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First of all, HOW do you read so much?! I don’t have the time/speed/books necessary to read so much and it always amazes me to see how much people can read. Amazing, well done! 😀
Also, thank you for sharing my post. I hope it helps a newbie or anyone who is lost on that topic like I was 🙂
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Haha I was on holiday and decided to take full advantage of the free time before exam season hits! Thank you – there were a lot of library books due to go back as well.
You’re welcome! It was a great post 😀
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