Every month I try to read at least one book from the following categories: nonfiction, devotional, and fiction. In 2019 I’m not participating in a formal reading challenge, but rather The Unread Shelf Project 2019, a challenge to read books that I already own. So I’ll be listing where each book came from this year instead of listing a particular challenge category. This is my April 2019 Reading List, my brief reviews and book recommendations for April 2019. Hopefully I’ll provide you with some inspiration for your future reading as well!

Books Finished:

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

Borrowed from the library.

I read this a few months ago, but just realized that I forgot to write about it. This book is fantastic, so I think I forgot to write about it, because I talked about it so much. 😉 In the novel, there is an epidemic sweeping through the town, causing people to go to sleep and not wake up. And that’s all I’m going to say, because I don’t want to ruin the story’s surprises. Just read it.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Already owned physical book.

I’d heard great things about this book. And a book about books can’t disappoint, right?! But it was slow to start. It took me awhile to get into it, but once I did, I enjoyed it. Well-written, the story follows a single young woman who works in her family’s book store and writes a bit of history on the side. A well-known author contacts her, desiring to tell ‘the thirteenth tale,’ her own story.

Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother and Daughter Journey to the Sacred Places of Greece, Turkey, and France by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor

Purchased physical book this year.

I picked this up at a library book sale, as I’d read Sue Monk Kidd before and really loved her writing. This is a memoir written jointly by a mother and daughter, as they travel together and negotiate the changes that come with life in early young womanhood and later in life. It’s a beautiful tale, and extremely well done. 

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Purchased physical book this year.

I also picked this up at a book sale, but it had been on my TBR list for quite some time. I found it disappointing. The main characters were all pretty unlikable. The parents were self-centered and out of touch with their child. The nanny was spineless and judgmental. And I found the ending to be dissappointing. 

Folsom Untold: The Strange True Story of Johnny Cash’s Greatest Album: An Audible Original Drama by Danny Robins

Audible Original book, so new but free.

This Audible Original features interviews with a Johnny Cash band member and a prison guard at Folsom Prison. It examines the stories around the making of Johnny Cash’s most famous album. If you’re a music lover, and especially if you’re a music biography fan, this is for you. I loved it.

Strong Ending: A Journey from Combat to Comedy by Audible Originals

Audible Original book, so new but free.

This Audible Original is about former soldiers learning how to do stand-up comedy as a way to deal with their PTSD and trauma from combat, as well as issues with coming back into typical US society. It looked at a subject that I really knew nothing about, so I found it really interesting.

I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel

Purchased Kindle e-book this year.

I regularly read Anne Bogel’s blog (Modern Mrs. Darcy), and listen to her two podcasts (What Should I Read Next and One Great Book). I knew that she’d published two books, but hadn’t read either one. This book, a series of essays about the reading life, went on a Kindle sale, and I had some e-book credit to use, so I snapped it up. I traveled to Washington DC twice in April for work, and this book was great to read while riding on the Metro. I am a book nerd, so I really enjoyed the essays, and could relate to a lot of them.

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

Borrowed through Amazon Prime Reading.

This has been on my TBR list for a while, so I snapped it up when I noticed that it was available on Amazon Prime Reading. The book tells the story of a German woman living in Nazi Germany, as well as her daughter living in Minnesota. It was interesting, and a page-turner, but I didn’t love the story quite as much as I thought that I would.

The Memory of Us by Camille DiMaio

Kindle First book, so new but free.

This historical fictional novel follows a woman before World War II living a charmed life. She falls in love, and the relationship is forbidden to her. An accident befalls the woman and she makes some unfortunate life choices that seemed completely foreign to me. The structure and story-telling of the book were wonderful. I just had a bit of a hard time understanding why the main character would do such an extreme thing. 

The Ocean Liner by Marius Gabriel

Borrowed from Kindle Owner’s Lending Library.

I read a couple of Gabriel’s books on my trip to Fiji earlier this year, and enjoyed them both. This was available to me through the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library and wanted to see how it compared. I thought this was just as compelling, if not more so. The story follows a few different individuals with their own reasons for traveling on an ocean liner from Europe to the United States just at the start of World War II. A great book.

Where the Desert Meets the Sea by Werner Sonne

Kindle First book, so new but free.

This novel follows a Jewish woman emigrating to Palestine after the end of World War II, and an Arab nurse working in the Jewish hospital. It demonstrates the difficulty of life as Israelis were forming their nation, and some of the root causes of the hatred and difficulties between the Palestinians and Israelis. It was a beautiful little novel.

Books in Progress:

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky (Borrowed from library using Libby app.)

Lazarus Awakening: Finding Your Place in the Heart of God by Joanna Weaver (Purchased on Kindle this year.) My bible study is working through this book.

The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur: The Woman Whose Goodness Changed Her Husband from Atheist to Priest by Elisabeth Leseur (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini (Borrowed from library using Libby app.)

From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas L. Friedman (Already owned physical book.)

Books Abandoned:

The Brothers: The Road to an American Tragedy by Masha Gessen (Already owned Audible.)

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (Purchased physical book this year.)

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (Already owned Kindle e-book.)