April Books

Today I am sharing the books I read in April.

Here are my reading goals for 2023:
1. Read 250 books. This includes the books I read to the kids, audiobooks, and anything I read for myself. 81 DONE
2. Read twelve (new to me) classics/award-winners. 3 DONE
3. Read twelve self-help/education books. 6 DONE
4. Re-read thirty books. There are so many good books I have been meaning to re-read, so this is my goal to help with that! 10 DONE

A few formatting notes:
1. I have inserted pictures as well as Amazon links to the books I enjoyed most for the month so that it is easier to read more about each book if you are interested. Hopefully, your local library system will carry most of these.
2. If I completed a more detailed review of any of these books, I included a review link after my comments.
3. If a book is not available yet, you will see the publication date in parenthesis after my comments.
4. I have rated each book using a bold numbered star after each comment.

The rating system is as follows:
*5-This book was so good, I either bought it, or think it is worth buying. I am pretty picky about the books I buy, so this is as good as it gets!
*4-This book was worth reading, but not necessarily worth buying-look for these books at your local library
*3-This book was just OK. I wouldn’t need to read it again.
*2-Don’t bother
*1-There probably won’t be any of these, because if it was THIS bad, I wouldn’t finish it. 🙂

Well, I broke my foot in April.

One would think that would mean I read a ton more books, right?

Nope.

The first half of the month (before the break), I was scrapbooking up a storm.

The rest of April, I mainly listened to audio books while lying down. And, since audio books take a LOT longer to get through than reading the actual book, I didn’t get very far. 🙂

I did also finish up the rest of the school read alouds with the kids, and we are all done with school for this year-yay!

Here is what I DID read in April:

1. What Was the Battle of Gettysburg? by Jim O’Connor-read to the kids for History. It was pretty good. *4

2. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swenson #1) by Joanne Fluke (audiobook)-one of my favorite Hallmark movie series is based off this book series, so I decided to read them. Very good! *5
3. The Wonder of Creation: 100 More Devotions About God and Science by Louie Giglio-this was our homeschool devotional for this year-good! *4
4. Strawberry Shortcake Murder (Hannah Swenson #2) by Joanne Fluke (audiobook)-very good! *5
5. Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Harriette Gillem Robinet-read aloud to the kids for History-pretty good *4

6. Change Your Brain Every Day by Daniel G. Amen (audiobook)-life-changing. I learned so much from this book. The only downside was that it was SO long, it was difficult to finish before it had to go back to the library. I might recommend going through the book instead of the audiobook on this one, just because it’s faster! *4
7. Escape to the Hiding Place (Imagination Station #9) by Marianne Hering-read aloud to The Little Guy-good! *4
8. Challenge on the Hill of Fire (Imagination Station #10) by Marianne Hering-read aloud to The Little Guy-good *4
9. Write On, Irving Berlin! by Leslie Kimmelman-very interesting! *4
10. Dolly! The Story of Dolly Parton and Her Big Dream by Robyn McGrath-good! *4
11. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson #1) by Rick Riordan (audiobook)-good, as always. *4

This month I read five books to the kids, and I read/listened to four books just for me.  I also read two picture books to myself for review.

For the year, I have read eighteen books to the kids and forty-four books just for me. I’ve also read nineteen picture books to myself for review.

That’s it for today. I will share my May books the first Tuesday in June!