Reading is my oldest and favorite hobby. I literally can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to curl up with a good book. Here are my reads for April, 2023.

On Wings of Song: Poems About Birds, ed. J.D. McClatchy – A sweet little volume of poems all about birds felt like the very best way to welcome in April. I always enjoy the Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets books, and this one was no exception – just delightful from the first page to the last.

The New York Stories of Edith Wharton, by Edith Wharton – I love reading a book in its setting, especially when a sense of place is important to the story (or stories, as the case may be). So I knew exactly what I was bringing with me on our weekend jaunt up to New York City earlier this month – an NYRB Classics collection of Edith Wharton’s short stories set in the city. (Manhattan, mostly.) I usually have some hits and misses with short story collections, and there was definitely a range here, but I can honestly say that I enjoyed every story in this collection. (And it made me want to re-read my favorite Wharton novel, The Age of Innocence.)

Horizon, by Barry Lopez – This was a project, people. I downloaded Lopez’s ultimate travel memoir on Audible, in which he meanders through a lifetime of adventuring all over the world, because he concludes with a section about Antarctica. I had some pipe dreams of listening to that part while crossing the Drake Passage – and I could have done, if I was willing to take the book out of order, but I just don’t listen to books that way, even when it’s possible. There was a great deal to chew on and think about in here, and Lopez would certainly be an engaging travel companion (my aunt-in-law gushed about taking one of his books with her canoeing the Boundary Waters, which sounded just perfect) but by the time I made it through this nearly 24-hour-long audiobook, even listening on 1.2 speed, I was just over it all.

Beloved, by Toni Morrison – Full review to come for the Classics Club, but Beloved was an astonishing read. I think I was expecting something a little more straight historical fiction (not sure why, because the other Morrison books I have read have been heavy on magical realism, as this one was) and the ghost story was an engaging surprise.

The Swan: A Biography, by Stephen Moss – Looking for something a little lighter to pick up between intense Classics Club reads, I turned to the final one (for now) of Stephen Moss’s bird biography series. While I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the others, that’s largely because I’m not as into swans for some reason – it was still a wonderful, beautifully written and engaging book.

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker – This is going to be one of my highlights of the year, I expect. Full review to come for the Classics Club, but briefly – I was actually nervous about reading this, worried about the abuse section of the storyline, but it ended up being a fairly small section, uncomfortable to read in the moment but important to the plot and not gratuitous, so I got through it. The story was wonderful, the characters leapt off the page, and I absolutely loved it and can see myself reading it again and again in years to come.

The Enchanted April, by Elizabeth von Arnim – I’ve read this one a few times now, always in April for obvious reasons, and it never gets old. A story of four unlikely companions who rent a crumbling Italian castle for a month away from rain and responsibilities is charming and fun to read. And perfect for spring.

East of Eden, by John Steinbeck – This has been on my list for ages – I love Steinbeck’s writing and have read and re-read favorites like Cannery Row and The Grapes of Wrath. East of Eden is probably his magnum opus and a candidate for The Great American Novel. I found it absolutely astonishing. Full review to come for the Classics Club in the next few weeks.

Slightly Foxed No. 77: ‘Laughter in the Library’, ed. Gail Pirkis and Hazel Wood – A new issue of Slightly Foxed is always a treat, and always adds something to my TBR. This one had me excited to read the latest Slightly Foxed Edition (True to Both My Selves, by Katrin FitzHerbert – I pre-ordered my copy and it’s on my bookshelf awaiting the right time) and to pick up Trollope’s Palliser novels once I’ve finished with the Chronicles of Barchester. Even the pieces discussing books that don’t strike my fancy are still delightful and fun to read – it’s so interesting to find out what makes different readers tick.

Seed to Dust: A Gardener’s Story, by Marc Hamer – I’ve been meaning to get to this and spring felt like the perfect time (although this book covers an entire year in the garden – not just the busy spring season). Marc Hamer has lived a fascinating life – thrown out by his father after his mother died, Marc was homeless and vagrant for years before eventually meeting his wife and raising a family. In this book, he follows a year in the garden that he tends (professionally, for an elderly employer he calls Miss Cashmere) and sprinkles in reflections on his personal history, his relationships with his wife and children, and the role of nature in modern life. It’s a wonderful read. (Also, that cover is spectacular.)

Quite a wonderful April in books! Three for the Classics Club – WOW – plus some lovely nature writing, a Slightly Foxed issue, and New York City-themed Edith Wharton read in situ. Doesn’t get much better than that! I’m not sure I can even pick a highlight, but if you made me… I suppose I would note that it is always wonderful to return to “The Enchanted April” and that Edith Wharton never fails. On the agenda in May… I’m hoping to knock out one more Classics Club read, and it’s a doorstopper: “The Three Musketeers.” Beyond that, I’ll probably try to keep the reading light. We’re in the middle of a stressful family project and I’m going to be needing my best comfort books to get me through. (Nothing is wrong – quite the contrary – but Steve and I are managing a lot of moving pieces right now and I’ve been losing way too much sleep over it all. Can’t wait to be out of this phase and thinking about more fun stuff, hopefully by June.) Some convalescent reading – Agatha Christie, anyone? – will be on the May book stack for sure.

How was your April in books? What are you looking forward to reading in May?