TBR | April 2021

4/20/2021



I didn't do one of these for March as I was participating in the Tis the Damn Readathon and didn't want to be tied down by a set TBR. April, however, I'm hoping to plan within an inch of her life. I've been in a mighty reading slump lately and I need to snap myself out of it. It it sensible to jump on the #30BooksIn30Days bandwagon that Stephloves4 is doing on Twitter? Or should I just go with the flow? Let's find out together! These are all the books I'm hoping to get to in April. 



The Sisters Chase 
Sarah Healy 

The hardscrabble Chase women—Mary, Hannah, and their mother Diane—have been eking out a living running a tiny seaside motel that has been in the family for generations, inviting trouble into their lives for just as long. But when Diane dies in a car accident, Mary discovers the motel is worth less than the back taxes they owe. With few options, Mary’s finely tuned instincts for survival kick in. As the sisters begin a cross-country journey in search of a better life, she will stop at nothing to protect Hannah. But Mary wants to protect herself, too, for the secrets she promised she would never tell—but now may be forced to reveal—hold the weight of unbearable loss.

I don't know what it is about this book that draws me in, but it has something. I feel like it could be in the same vain as Firefly Lane or Where the Crawdad's Sing. I'm expecting a hard-hitting contemporary with a mystery twist that'll keep me turning the pages. 


On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous 
Ocean Vuong

This is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation.

Do I know what this book is about? Absolutely not. I'm just hoping to jump onto the hype train, as this seems to get an abundance of love within the book community. The only "bad" reviews I've seen are people commenting on the slow pace that seems to go nowhere. But the lyrical writing is really what captivates the reader, and I'm a how for anything with flowery writing.  


Julie and Julia
Julie Powell 

Julie Powell is 30-years-old, living in a rundown apartment in Queens and working at a soul-sucking secretarial job that’s going nowhere. She needs something to break the monotony of her life, and she invents a deranged assignment. She will take her mother's dog-eared copy of Julia Child's 1961 classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and she will cook all 524 recipes. In the span of one year.

This is one of those random picks that I've just had a sudden urge to read, despite it having been on my TBR for literal years. I haven't watched the movie adaption, so I'm going in mostly blind. I'm still on a big non-fiction kick and the idea of reading this in the garden with a glass of iced tea sounds like perfect. 


The Light Between Oceans
M.L. Stedman 

Australia, 1926. After four harrowing years fighting on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns home to take a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day's journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby's cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

My husband loathed this book, so naturally, I want to read it. That's all.


Where The Forest Meets The Stars
Glendy Vanderah

After the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. She throws herself into her work from dusk to dawn, until her solitary routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious child who shows up at her cabin barefoot and covered in bruises.

So apparently I have a theme of children just showing up in books this month? I'm thinking of reading this one for the April Buzzword prompt which is "space words", but it isn't set in stone. I honestly have no idea why this book appeals to me, but I've been drawn to it since it's release. Have you read it? I'd love to hear your thoughts! 


The Wife
Meg Wolitzer

This is the story of the long and stormy marriage between a world-famous novelist, Joe Castleman, and his wife Joan, and the secret they've kept for decades. The novel opens just as Joe is about to receive a prestigious international award, The Helsinki Prize, to honor his career as one of America's preeminent novelists. Joan, who has spent forty years subjugating her own literary talents to fan the flames of his career, finally decides to stop.

I honestly have no explanation as to why I want to read this book, it's just calling to me and I decided it's finally time to pick it up. 


What are you planning on reading in April? What are your tips to get out of a slump? Lemme know!

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