April Book Round Up

1.The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo

Amy Schumer documents some of her most outrageous life stories that will have you constantly laughing. I was not a huge fan of Amy before I read this book, but she completely won me over by the end. Not only do we get her funny side, we also get to see her raw and real feelings about having a father who is battling MS. She had me laughing and crying throughout the book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

2.When Breath Becomes Air

This is a breathtaking memoir about a neurosurgeon, who finds out that he is dying of lung cancer. Right before his graduation, his entire world is turned upside down. He captures the heartache that comes with illness and keeps you hopeful at the same time. “When Breath Becomes Air” is a powerful memoir worth reading.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3&4.The Lightning Thief & Sea Of Monsters

I loved this series when I was 13 and nothing has changed! This fun and uplifting story of a boy, who finds out his long lost father is a Greek God, is a must read for anyone who loves a good hero story. While Sea Of Monsters was still good, I found that The Lightning Thief was by far the better of the two books. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️&⭐️⭐️⭐️

5.Chicken Soup For The Women’s Soul

What can I say? It is exactly what you would expect from this series, and it is good for what it is. Some stories hit close to home and others you might want to skip. Although it is an all around decent book.⭐️⭐️

6.Asking For it: The Alarming Rise Of Rape Culture And What We Can Do About It

This is a powerful book that shines light on the culture we currently live in, but hopefully won’t have to live in much longer. In a time when women are constantly told they are lying about their abuse, “Asking For It” shares statistics and research regarding this argument. I can’t do this book justice in just a few sentences, so I highly suggest that everyone read it for themselves.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

7.Self Compassion: The Proven Power Of Being Kind To Yourself

The book that changed my life! I read some of this book last year, but restarted it this April. It transformed how I see myself and how I handle myself when I am faced with difficult situations. I learned to be kind to myself in hard moments, which in turn has taught me to be kind to others as well. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

8.Animal Farm

A classic that will never go out of style. I read this last year and found myself wanting to revisit its pages. Each time I read it I feel a new layer of understanding on what George Orwell was trying to say. A genius of a book that will no doubt forever be on my reading list. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

9.Little Fires Everywhere

I fought to read this book y’all! When I reserved it at the Overdrive library, 140 people were ahead of me. I waited for months to receive it. So, was it worth it? YES. I tried to think of a way to summarize this book and I can’t. It keeps you guessing, on the edge of your seat, and I count it as a masterpiece. It is one of the best fiction books I have had the pleasure of reading, so read it! You won’t be sorry. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

10.Better Than Before

I liked this book well enough. I went into it with high expectations because I loved “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin. It has some good practical tips, but a times it felt redundant. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

11.Water for Elephants

Ugh. I hated this book with a passion. Even typing out the title made me die a little inside. It’s one of those books that after the second chapter you think, “Should I even keep going?” Of course, me hating to give up on books, decided to push through. The characters were not relatable or likable. The love story felt shallow and unbelievable. The novel was also very crude, riddled with cuss words and strange sex scenes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no prude, and I am not normally bothered by cussing whatsoever. The reason it rubbed me the wrong way was because it felt so forced and had nothing to do with supporting the plot. It almost felt like the female author was trying too hard to sell that this was from a man’s perspective.The amount of times the main character talked about his erection was absurd and frankly icky. How it got to be a “classic” is beyond me. ⭐️

12&13.The Magician’s Nephew & The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe

Oh, C.S. Lewis. These books will always hold a special place in my heart, and I fully intend on reading them yearly until I die. He showcases deep wisdom disguised as a simple children’s story. If given the chance to meet any author, dead or alive, I would pick C.S. Lewis every time.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️&⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

14.Option B

This book is about making the best of your “Option B”. Sometimes things in life happen that stop us in our tracks and seem to change the rules we always lived by. What do we do when option A is ripped away from us? The author is a woman whose husband died unexpectedly on vacation. She was left to process her grief, return to work, and tell her children that their father was never coming home. She offers a glimpse into how she grieved and how she learned to live again. I definitely recommend this to anyone who is dealing with the grief of losing a loved one. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

15&16.The Penultimate Peril & The End

I finally finished this fun series! Lemony Snicket has always been a pleasure to read…that is until “The End”. Without spoilers, I have to say the ending was extremely disappointed. He seemed to put zero thought into tying everything together and answering questions that he raised throughout the series.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️&⭐️

17.Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology

Leah Remini tackles possibly the biggest cult in history: Scientology. After seeing the documentary “Going Clear”, it became clear to me that scientology is an organization lurking in the shadows. Leah shines a light in the darkness and describes what it was like being a child thrust into the world of scientology. If you have any interest into this topic, it is a definite must read.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

18.Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between

I enjoyed this sweet book. I have to be honest: I have seen only few episodes of Gilmore Girls. I decided to read this just because I kept seeing it everywhere. I think a die hard fan of the show would absolutely love this, and even though I didn’t watch the show, I still found myself enjoying her story.⭐️⭐️⭐️

19.The Cuckoo’s Calling

Shout out to Kristie for letting me in on this secret: This book is written by J.K. Rowling. I never would have picked it up had I not known that going into it. Rowling manages to write an extremely compelling “who done it” novel. I was hooked instantly and finished it in 2 days. Highly recommend if you love J.K. Rowling or if you are a fan of detective novels.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

20.Boundaries

I’ve been told for years that I need to read this book and I finally got around to it! Did it live up to the hype? Not so much. Was it still good? Yes. There are a few principles in this book that are essential to having healthy relationships. So yes, I agree everyone should read it at some point. Unfortunately, I found that the author found 100 ways to say the same thing. Boundaries=Good. After a few chapters, I felt like I had gotten everything I was going to get from it, and that ended up being true. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

21.As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride

If you are anything like me, you were raised loving “The Princess Bride.” In this fun and goofy book, Cary Elwes gives us the insider scoop on this cult classic. I am pretty sure I smiled the entire time I was reading this book. An absolute must read if the words “Ask You Wish” mean anything to you.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

22.A Long Way Home

Do I like this book? Well, considering I read it last year and had to reread it again already, the answer is yes. “A Long Way Home” is the book that the movie “Lion” is based on. Which if you haven’t seen Lion I also recommend watching that as soon as possible. Both the book and movie take my breath away every time. In this memoir, we follow the life of Saroo. At age 5, he accidentally boards a train that takes him to a city over 20 hours from his home village. He awoke on the train to this fact: he was lost. I don’t want to spoil any of the incredible story, so I will end by saying that this is probably in my top 10 favorite books of all time. It is well worth a read. Or even two. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

23.Girl, Wash Your Face

This book is right up my alley! I am a sucker for self help books and authors that encourage you to take control of your life. We only get one life and we get to decide what we do with it. Will we give into the lies or fight like hell to find happiness? Sometimes we need compassion, and other times we need tough love to reach our goals. The author makes it clear in the beginning that she is your biggest cheerleader, while also telling you the truth. Girl, wash your face. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So that concludes my April book round up! What have you been reading lately? Which ones did you love? Which ones did you wish you had skipped?