Life Update

 My mental and physical health have been tanking recently. I've been diagnosed with another ailment that basically can only be treated, but ineffectively so I'm a great deal of pain and/or discomfort. This has been it increasingly difficult to focus on reading. Because of this, I've decided that in order to try to reach my goals, I really should limit reading books from the library because I'm not making a dent on my owned TBR. It also doesn't help matters when I keep buying more books. However, sometimes a bit of retail therapy can boost my mood so I'm not going to put myself on a book-buying ban.

I do have 2 ARCs coming up that I will make efforts to read early and review but many of my goals this year will likely not be reached and I will just have to make peace with myself. I seem to be able to read 4-5 books a month and I have to remind myself, that's pretty good.  Sure, compared to 10-12, it's a bit meager but quality, not quantity is something to keep as my mantra.

It's weird how this pandemic has really changed my reading. I used to love dreary sad literary books and now I primarily want escapism through science fiction and fantasy. I'm especially enjoying children's books because they always contain some hope, even if they focus on sad subjects. I'm curious if my reading tastes will change back, or if this will be more permanent. 

April TBR

 Well, my slump continues so I'm going to curate a very small list of books I hope to get to in April.

1.  The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

2. Broken (In the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson

3.  The Familiars by Stacey Halls

4. Kent State by Derf Backderf

5. Year of the Rabbit by Tian Veasna

March Wrap Up

I usually wrap up my reading in at least two parts, but this month I only read 5 books. 

I started off March reading my ARC The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner. I've written a separate review so to sum up, I gave it 4 stars.

Eagerly, I read The Push by Ashley Audrain. It has been compared to We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver and I loved that book. It is very similar, but unfortunately it didn't do much new with it and there weren't any twists I didn't see coming. It was enjoyable during the time but ultimately forgettable. I gave it 3 stars.

Since I was participating in Middle Grade March, I then read A Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly. This was a sweet story of a Deaf child wanting to help out a whale that sings in his own pitch and cannot communicate with other whales. While the story was good, I found part of the plot very implausible. I gave it 3 stars. I think children would like this better than I did.

I was in the mood for funny when I choose I Want to be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom. I have seen her t.v. show and thought she was fun and wacky and I would enjoy her essays. While the writing is standard, some of her stories were just so hilarious. I listened to this on audiobook that she narrates herself, and I highly recommend it. 4 stars.

Lastly, I finished Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert. This is the third book following the Brown sisters and focuses on the youngest of the three, Eve. She is a hot-mess and impulsively decides to interview for a cook job at a B&B. She and the owner do not like each other at first, but the quickly warm to each other. This is my least favorite of the three, but I still found it compulsively readable. I award it 3 stars.