Monthly reading review – April 2018

Monthly reading review – March 2018

This March I have read:

Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse ★

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino ★★★

Fire Touched (Mercy Thompson #9) by Patricia Briggs ★★★★★

Silence Fallen (Mercy Thompson #10) by Patricia Briggs ★★★★★

1. How many books you’ve read last month? Are you happy with the amount you read?

This April I’ve read only four books. I had plans to read more but life intervened and I was suddenly busy with projects to the point of falling dead asleep before squeezing some reading in.

2. What was the best of all the books you’ve read in April? Any scenes or characters that made a lasting impression?

Quantity of the books read aside, I’m very happy with the books I have read! Mercy Thompson books series was a total blast and I loved every second I spent reading it! Silence Fallen was especially fun to read and I enjoyed Prague in the book!

3. Were there any not so good books for you last month? What made it hard or not enjoyable to read?

One of the books I had to read for my book club was Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. I did not like it. I did not understand the point. It was exhausting and boring to the point of putting me to sleep after 10 pages into a reading session…

4. How did the books you were reading last month fit in your reading plans if you had any?

I just barely managed to read both books for my book club reading and indulged with a joker for my TBR Jar Draw in April. There were more books I planned to read in April but some other projects kept interfering. This left me with few new books I still need to finish.

5. Any updates on the series you are reading or are you starting any new series?

With the books I read in April the Mercy Thompson series is now up to date. The new Alpha & Omega books just came out and I will need to look out for the paperback edition in a few months. There are still very many book series I should get on to and finish up from these I already own.

6. Would you like to recommend any books or authors you’ve been reading this last month?

Patricia Briggs continues to amaze me with her characters and action packed plots. Her dosage of humor in the books is just right and her dosage of romance is down to earth yet dream worthy. I am so glad to have read and bought her books!

Final thoughts on April reading

While I am extremely happy with the books I’ve read in April I am left with some new unfinished books that add to my reading pile from before. Even though my reading plans were not finalized in full I feel good about the books I did read. It seems that the smaller number of books I’ve read had given me more incentive to post reviews on the books I did read.

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino ★★★ REVIEW

I’ve let a lot of time pass before I got to reading Mercy Thompson book series and I got confused with the reading order and the last book I’ve read. I’ve made a review on my reading experience with reading both Fire Touched and Silence Fallen to explain how it all happened.

Fire Touched (Mercy Thompson #9) by Patricia Briggs ★★★★★

Silence Fallen (Mercy Thompson #10) by Patricia Briggs ★★★★★

joined REVIEW 

I will have to make a post on all the books I have to finish up soon since they are kinda pilling up and it just might be the incentive I need to read up on them all.

Se una notte d’inverno un viaggiatore – Book Review

Finished reading

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler

by Italo Calvino

★★★

Expectation

Back when I was in college this book had so much hype. Many of my fellow students and faculty members had nothing but the words of praise for this book and the author. As it happens when the book was so obviously praised and popular I had no desire to read it at the time. I let it slide into the background thinking I might give it a try someday. As it turns out I remembered this book when I was thinking about suggestions for my book club group that prefers more serious books. All I knew about it that it was praised in all the right circles to pass my book group standards and decided to moderate a meeting for this book.

Summary

This is in a sense a technical book so I feel I can explain something about the concept it was written in without spoiling much for the future readers. Firstly, it revolves about the main character named aptly Reader. Many trials and tribulations the Reader suffers trough in this book are already met by many passionate people who think of themselves as readers as well!

The book is written in twelve chapters about the Reader’s book adventures and after each chapter we are presented with one of ten first chapters of ten different novels. Each new novel chapter is  what the Readers stumbles on while looking for a complete book he can finish reading.

What captured my attention right at the start were the categories the author has come up with to distinguish different types of books a Reader can personally get involved with. And these categories were what made our book club meeting a fun experience. We learned a lot about each others reading habits and quirks. There were even some intimate confessions involved!

At times one could feel the Reader’s frustration in his search to finish reading a story.  What grated on me the hardest were new chapters that always left the Reader empty handed the moment things got most interesting!

Through the book there were some poignant and interesting quotes and thoughts that made this book worth of any passionate reader’s time.

Conclusion

I was not blown away by this book in general. There are some undeniable qualities in the form and art it was written in. What made me give it three stars instead of two I originally opted for was the great time I had while discussing the book on the book club meeting. Reading experience required a bit more concentration and involvement on my part than I prefer. I also noticed that i’m much harsher with the books I have to read for the book club…

“Reading is going toward something that is about to be, and no one yet knows what it will be.”
― Italo Calvino, If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler