Books Read in April 2023!

Posted On April 29, 2023

Hi Readers! After a long long time, we are at the end of the month. It has been an amazing month. I paused on the hustle and took some time to relax and reflect. Spent a lot of time home reading and writing. Also watched some really good movies and web series. It has been an excellent month reading wise as well. I read FIFTEEN BOOKS across 3476 PAGES and 6 GENRES in April. I loved most of them which was really satisfying. Check them out below and pick your next read from the long list!

~~BOOKS I LOVED~~

~~DUST CHILD by NGUYỄN PHAN QUẾ MAI~~

Dust Child was the much awaited book that I wanted to read ever since I knew it existed. It did not disappoint. It’s a wartime historical fiction novel based in Vietnam. It really highlights the life of the locals because of the war. We have two parallels, both equally interesting. In one story line in 1969, we have two sisters and how they survive the war. In another in 2016, we have a man trying to find his father and similarly an American tourist couple who have just landed in Vietnam. It was amazing to read and find out how all these characters were entangled in each other’s lives. I have rated Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai at 5/5 stars!

~~MEN WITHOUT WOMEN by HARUKI MURAKAMI~~

Men Without Women is a collection of seven short stories depicting loneliness in modern relationships. All of the stories are vastly different from each other and yet all of them make you feel for the characters. You can relate to the basic human instinct we all have for companionship. I have rated Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami at 5/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW by GABRIELLE ZEVIN~~

A story that appears to be about two youngsters creating video games but there’s so much that goes below the surface. You have a story that will make you coming back for more, flawed and unlikable but very realistic characters and writing style that’s easy to love and admire. I have rated Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin at 4.5/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~OPEN WATER by CALEB AZUMAH NELSON~~

Open Water is a short but weighty book. With a poetic writing style, the author talks so much about love and longing, loss and grief, life and existentialism, death and mortality and much more. Usually I need a plot with a good structure in a novel. This one didn’t have it but the combination of the lose structure and poetical writing was just perfect, so I actually loved the book! I have rated Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson at 4/5 stars!

~~THE DECAGON HOUSE MURDERS by YUKITO AYATSUJI~~

A few students from a University Mystery Club go to an isolated island which was the site of quadruple murders few months back. And then, one by one, the students are murdered. We have multiple murders, red herrings, an unpredictable ending. It’s a unique Japanese murder mystery. I have rated The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji at 4/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~THE TOKYO ZODIAC MURDERS by SOJI SHIMADA~~

In this book, we have astrology, geography, mathematics and alchemy to solve a lot of murders. There’s a lot of gory and disgusting stuff in this one, so it is not for everyone. But if you’re a core mystery reader, this would be a challenging and interesting read. I have rated The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Soji Shimada at 4/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~BOOKS I LIKED~~

~~PAPER GIRLS by BRIAN K. VAUGHAN~~

I read all six volumes of this graphic novel called Paper Girls. I had wanted to read this for a long time, but I think the wait was too long. And when I finally got my hands on it, I perhaps had very high expectations. I felt that there was too much in it. There’s messy time travel all over the place which eventually includes millenniums in it. I have rated the series Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan at 3/5 stars.

~~TRANSLATING MYSELF AND OTHERS by JHUMPA LAHIRI~~

I have read almost all of Jhumpa Lahiri’s books, but after reading this book, I have a newfound intimidation of her genius. Reading these essays you really get the sense of the real her. The way her brain works, the way she thinks, how she picks one aspect of language or writing or grammar or translation and then references it across multiple literary works. It’s mind blowing. She is just rolling with it with such charm and flare. I have rated Translating Myself and Others by Jhumpa Lahiri at 3.5/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~BOOKS I DID NOT LIKE~~

~~THE LONDON SEANCE SOCIETY by SARAH PENNER~~

With annoying, dull and unlikable characters, almost an absence of a story line, execution of the genre, first and third person writing style, both of which were not impressionable, this book was quite awful. I didn’t enjoy anything so it’s a miracle that I actually finished it. I have rated The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner at 1.5/5 stars.

You can read the full review here!

~~DREAMLAND by NICHOLAS SPARKS~~

Dreamland is perhaps one of the most juvenile books I’ve ever read. Not juvenile in terms of the story or characters, but in terms of the writing style. And especially because he is such a seasoned author, the disappointment was higher. Nevertheless, this book gave me exactly what I wanted from it during a tough time, so I’m grateful to have read it. I have rated Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks at 3/5 stars!

~~APRIL READING STATS~~

So, that is all, folks! I am incredibly happy with the quantity as well as the quality of reading during the month. I probably will not be able to read as much in May. But I have decided to read the third book of The Stormlight Archive, Oathringer. It’s over 1000 pages, so it will take a while, but can’t wait to be in the thick of it!

Until next time,