April went by so fast! It’s so weird that it’s May already. I feel like my brain is still in March. I read eight books this month, which seems to be my monthly average. I also tried listening to an audiobook for the first time, but I didn’t like it. I found myself daydreaming while I was supposed to be listening to the book. I think the monotonous voice plus the slow reading aren’t for me. I’ll stick with podcasts for now.
My favourite reads in April
The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking
This is the first time a non-fiction book is my favourite read of the month. I liked this book so much that I even dedicated a full post to it, which you can read here.
I really recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a feel-good read and looking for new activities and recipes.
Hygge is about an atmosphere and an experience, rather than about things. It is about being with the people we love. A feeling of home. A feeling that we are safe, that we are shielded from the world and allow ourselves to let our guard down.
Bridget Jones’s Diary (And Other Writing): 25th Anniversary Edition by Helen Fielding
When I saw there was a special edition of Bridget Jones to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first book, I knew I had to get it.
This edition also contains over 100 pages of unpublished material from Helen Fielding, like a few chapters of 2020 Bridget living through a pandemic and columns Fielding wrote in the 90s for the Independent where the Bridget Jones character started. I loved getting all the insight into how Bridget Jones came to be, how it all started and seeing Bridget’s life in the current time.
I love the Bridget Jones story, even if some of the male obsession or the fear of being single are more typical from the 90s and early 2000s. I found myself laughing a lot with this book, I love how chaotic the characters are, but mainly I love the writing. Fielding has a very distinct writing and voice that make this book fantastic.
One must not live one’s life through men but must be complete on oneself as a woman of substance.
Tom has a theory that homosexuals and single women in their thirties have natural bonding: both being accustomed to disappointing their parents and being treated as freaks by society.
Thriller reads
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
I’d heard this book was similar to Killing Eve, which is one of my favourite shows, so I decided to read it. I don’t know who thought this story was similar to the series, because it isn’t. While I was a bit disappointed, this book ended up being great. It follows the story of a single mother of two who becomes a hitwoman by mistake. This is all you need to know before reading it. The story was funny, chaotic and unrealistic, but it left me wanting more. There’s a second book coming out in 2022, and I can’t wait!
My Google search history alone was probably enough to put me on a government watch list. I wrote suspense novels about murders like this. I’d searched every possible way to kill someone. With every conceivable kind of weapon.
Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
This was such a stressful book to read, especially the scenes that happen in Mexico. I had to stop reading a few times because it was making me so uncomfortable. The book is about a university student whose whole family is killed while on holiday in Mexico, except for his older brother, who’s in jail for allegedly killing his high school girlfriend. This book has a lot of drama, action and mystery. I liked it, but I was very tense while reading it.
The truth of the matter was that it was rarely a stranger who killed you; it was usually someone you held dear. As Keller knew too well, the sheep spends its life worried about the wolf, only to be eaten by the farmer.
Non-fiction read
We Should All Be Mirandas: Life Lessons from Sex and the City’s Most Underrated Character by Chelsea Fairless, Lauren Garroni
I had to buy this book after I finished rewatching Sex And The City. The show had some misogynistic, biphobic, and transphobic scenes that I hadn’t noticed the first time I watched the show when I was a teen. And by season three, I was already tired of hearing these four smart women only talk about men. They date new people in almost every episode, and I couldn’t help but wonder, aren’t you bored yet?
Like many women before me, I questioned which of the four main characters I identify with the most, my younger self would’ve said Charlotte, but after my rewatching session, I realise I’m a Miranda. And as a Miranda, I hate that she ended up with Steve, he was a complete manchild.
This book is supposed to be a parody of self-help books using life lessons from the show. I liked the illustrations and all the SATC references. The book offers advice for work, love, friendships, fashion and how to thrive like a Miranda. I took offence at the part where it says ordering a cosmopolitan is for basic bitches, as I love this cocktail, and I order it every time I go out. Vodka and cranberry juice is the best combination for a drink, and I don’t care if it’s out of style.
Real happiness comes from our ability to be compassionate toward ourselves and others. It’s not a particularly sexy concept, but it’s no less true. Making peace with our own shortcomings and treating ourselves with the respect that we reserve for our closest friends is the only path to fulfillment.
Book series
Cross Her Heart, See Her Die and Drown Her Sorrows by Melinda Leigh
Ever since I finished the Paula Maguire series by Claire McGowan, I’ve been trying to find a replacement, and for a second, I thought the Bree Taggert series could be it, but then I got to book three, and it got too dull for me. The first book was the best one. The series follows the story of homicide detective Bree Taggert, who later becomes sheriff and every book is a different case. I don’t dislike the series, they’re very well documented, and you can tell the writer has done her research when describing crime scenes, but they’re missing something for me. There are three more books left, I don’t know if I’ll ever read them, but I’m taking a break for now.
I desperately need a good female detective series that’s exciting, full of crime and with a notch of romance, the best combination, in my opinion.
Willow in Winter 