April Favorites
The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith
The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith
I binged this series until I ran out of books, and now I'm not-so-patiently awaiting the next installment in September. Each new book has been better than the last, so The Running Grave is my current favorite.
I binged this series until I ran out of books, and now I'm not-so-patiently awaiting the next installment in September. Each new book has been better than the last, so The Running Grave is my current favorite.
The Cupid Chronicles by Courtney Walsh
I think this is Courtney Walsh's best book to date. I loved the light fantasy element (a newspaper that directs its recipient to help a specific neighbor with a specific need), and I was deeply invested in Iris and Matteo.
I think this is Courtney Walsh's best book to date. I loved the light fantasy element (a newspaper that directs its recipient to help a specific neighbor with a specific need), and I was deeply invested in Iris and Matteo.
Seashells and Other Souvenirs by Rachel Lawrence
First Love, Second Draft by Becca Kinzer
I don't always like romances where divorced couples reconcile, but this one was really well done. I loved the mix of humor and serious issues, and all the baseball references.
I don't always like romances where divorced couples reconcile, but this one was really well done. I loved the mix of humor and serious issues, and all the baseball references.
The Meet-Cute Manuscript by Kim Duffy
My review from Netgalley:
This romance is such a delight! I have a soft spot for novels about writers, but this one really stands out as special. I love the premise of the story - that a Regency romance novelist gets to live out a Regency-style romance in the present day - and Kim Duffy executes it masterfully. I enjoyed Frankie and Graham both as individuals and as a couple, and I loved the role Graham's sister Eleanor played in their budding romance. The setting was also fascinating, and I enjoyed the freshness of Duffy's writing voice, which is distinctive and different from a lot of other writers in the best possible way. This is one of the best romances I've read in 2025, and I hope Kim Duffy will write another contemporary book!
This romance is such a delight! I have a soft spot for novels about writers, but this one really stands out as special. I love the premise of the story - that a Regency romance novelist gets to live out a Regency-style romance in the present day - and Kim Duffy executes it masterfully. I enjoyed Frankie and Graham both as individuals and as a couple, and I loved the role Graham's sister Eleanor played in their budding romance. The setting was also fascinating, and I enjoyed the freshness of Duffy's writing voice, which is distinctive and different from a lot of other writers in the best possible way. This is one of the best romances I've read in 2025, and I hope Kim Duffy will write another contemporary book!
Good Things out of Nazareth: The Uncollected Letters of Flannery O'Connor and Friends
This was excellent on audio, and I learned several things I had never heard before about Flannery and her circle of friends.
Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life by Maggie Smith
This was directed more toward poetry and creative nonfiction than fiction, but it still had lots of valuable nuggets of wisdom for all writers. The best sections were the ones that stayed away from self-help-style advice.
This was directed more toward poetry and creative nonfiction than fiction, but it still had lots of valuable nuggets of wisdom for all writers. The best sections were the ones that stayed away from self-help-style advice.
How to Tell a True Story by Tricia Springstubb
This author has been a favorite of mine since my library days, and this was another excellent work of realistic fiction.
This author has been a favorite of mine since my library days, and this was another excellent work of realistic fiction.
Read-Alouds
- Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
- Follow My Leader by James B. Garfield (read to E. only)
- To Dream Upon a Crown (read by Dad)
Family Reading Lists
M. (girl, 11 years, 5 months)
- Friday's Tunnel by John Verney
- The BFG by Roald Dahl
C. (girl, 9 years, 7 months)
- The Second Skater of the Apocalypse by Fiorella de Maria
- Gandhi, Fighter without a Sword by Jeanette Eaton
- Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman
- Launching of Sputnik by Gene Gurney
- You Choose: Space Race by Rebecca Stefoff
- Julie and the Queen of Tonga by Rachel Anderson
- You Choose: The Civil Rights Movement by Heather Adamson
E. (girl, 7 years, 6 months)
- Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum
- Floating Island by Anne Parrish
R. (boy, 5 years, 1 month)
- Dan Frontier Goes to Congress by William Hurley
- Adventures of Lewis and Clark by Ormonde De Kay
- John Billington: Friend of Squanto by Clyde Robert Bulla
- Eddie's Menagerie by Carolyn Haywood
A. (girl, 5 years, 1 month)
- Oh Cats! by Nola Buck
- Bears on Wheels by Stan and Jan Berenstain
- Sid and Sam by Nola Buck
- No Funny Business by Edith Thacher Hurd
- How Many Fish by Caron Lee Cohen
My husband
- Bailey's Window by Anne Lindbergh
- Harding's Luck by E. Nesbit
- To Dream upon a Crown by Joanne Williamson (read-aloud)
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