April Reading Recap

So April was a great month for reading in this house. My mom has been home from her job on furlough during this pandemic and she's been reading so much I'm worried her kindle will catch fire. I've read 11 books in May which is a great number for any month, but there was an entire week I didn't read anything so that's really 11 books in 3 weeks! I love when I hit a streak of books all so good I want to just keep reading and reading. A boring book will turn me off of reading for a few days.

My favorite Nonfiction book I read this month was John Starke's "The Possibility of Prayer." I really loved his conversational writing style and his very focus-driven look at prayer. He doesn't throw a lot a methods or practices at you, just hammers home a few simple points that make one eager to get to praying when the book is done. I can't recommend it enough.

I also enjoyed Jennie Allen's "Get Out of Your Head" and Beth Moore's "Chasing Vines" although neither one struck me as superior and both had a similar problem. There were times I felt like they were just saying the same point with different words over and over like a middle-schooler trying to write 300 words on a book he hadn't finished. Both books had great ideas and both were worth reading but I also thought both could be edited a bit to cut out some of the repetition. 

As for fiction, I started Ellery Adams "Books by the Bay" mysteries and have been devouring them. I've read the first three this month, pretty much cover to cover without moving off the chair! I found the first one a little slow and the main character a bit unlikable but as she began to grow and make friends in the town I liked her more and more. I have all eight books in the series and have started book four this afternoon. It should be my first book finished in May.

I also enjoyed the latest Lady Darby book as well. That is a series I always preorder the latest and read it on release day. Anna Lee Huber is a great writer and the characters in this series seem very relatable and real. Plus the mysteries and historical setting is top notch.

In addition to the rest of the Book by the Bay series, I plan to read a box of books I just received from InterVarsity Press. All four are on some form of spiritual formation as I'm researching for a project I hope to start this fall. I'd love to have another 10+ book month in May but now that I'm back to working as I'm physically able, I'm not sure I can count on that many books. We'll see how the month goes.

How about you? What did you read in April? What did you love? What should we avoid? Share in the comments so we can find some new books and authors to check out.