2023: April wrap-up

APRIL 2023 WRAP-UP

The month of April has been crazy busy, especially with Church related activities,
and my reading stats are not the best.
Still with 10 books, I’m happy, especially as I finished two long books,
and I read/listened to some fascinating works.
I only posted four times this past month, and am a bit late on reviews,
but hoping to catch up soon.

📚 Here is what I read in April:

10 books 
6 in print 
with 1,467 pages, a daily average of 48 pages/day.
4 in audio
= 42H04
, a daily average of 1H24 minutes/day

5 in mystery:

  1. Hag’s Nook (Dr Gideon Fell #1), by John Dickson Carr
  2. Hide and Geek (Hide and Geek #1), by T.P. Jagger
  3. The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiel Hammett – audio
  4. Skin Deep, by Antonia Lassa – for book tour, review live on May 22
  5. The Light of Day, by Eric Ambler – audio

2 in historical fiction:

  1. Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of The Oxford Translators’ Revolution, by R. F. Kuang (histfic and fantasy) – audio
  2. Homecoming, by Kate Morton – audio

1 in scifi:

  1. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams – audio

1 in adventure/middlegrade:

  1. Les Récrés du petit Nicolas (Le petit Nicolas #2), by René Goscinny – read with French student I.

1 in nonfiction:

  1. L’Arabe du futur #2 : Une jeunesse au Moyen-Orient, 1984-1985, by Riad Sattouf – read with French student F.

 MY FAVORITE BOOKS THIS PAST MONTH

Babel Homecoming

READING CHALLENGES & RECAP

Classics Club 4th list: 47/150 (from September 2022-until September 2027)
Japanese Literature Challenge: 15 books
Total of books read in 2023 = 56/120 (47%, 17 books ahead)
Number of books added to my TBR this past month = 26

 OTHER BOOK  REVIEWED THIS PAST MONTH

Kallocain

MOST POPULAR BOOK REVIEW THIS PAST MONTH

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

click on the cover to access my unhappy review

MOST POPULAR POST THIS PAST MONTH
– NON BOOK REVIEW –

Sunday Post #84

BOOK BLOG THAT BROUGHT ME MOST TRAFFIC THIS PAST MONTH

Stuck in a Book
please go visit, there are a lot of good things there!

TOP COMMENTERS 

Marianne at Let’s Read
Deb at Readerbuzz

Davida at The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog
please go and visit them,
they have great blogs

BLOG MILESTONES 

2,673 posts
over 5,110 followers
over 280,050 hits

📚 📚 📚

Come back tomorrow to see
my exciting reading plans for May!
How was YOUR month of April?

2023-Monthly-Wrap-Up-Round-Up400

Nicole at Feed Your Fiction Addiction
is hosting a Month In Review meme
where you can link your monthly recap posts
Thanks Nicole!

Advertisement

2023: March wrap-up

MARCH 2023 WRAP-UP

Even though March had 31 days, I think it went even faster than February.
The good news is, we are getting closer to warmer days.
I read a lot of books this past month (19 is probably my best ever actually), though a lot of them were manga, graphic novels, or comics!
My audio number is not impressive, due to the fact that I finished a long one, and I am not quite done with another long one!

📚 Here is what I read in March:

19 books 
18 in print 
with 3,643 pages, a daily average of 117 pages/day.
1 in audio
= 21H50
, a daily average of 42 minutes/day

8 in nonfiction:

  1. The Song of Tears: An Essay on Repentance based on the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, by Oliver Clément
  2. Psalm 118: A Commentary, by St Theophan the Recluse
  3. Arvo Pärt: Out of Silence, by Peter C. Bouteneff
  4. L’Arabe du futur #1 : Une jeunesse au Moyen-Orient, 1978–1984, by Riad Sattouf – graphic “novel” autobiography, read with French student F.
  5. Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey #1, by Akiko Higashimura – manga autobiography
  6. Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey #2, by Akiko Higashimura – manga autobiography
  7. Department of Mind Blowing Theories, by Tom Gauld – comics
  8. Baking With Kafka, by Tom Gauld – comics

4 in science fiction:

  1. Astra Lost in Space #3, by Kenta Shinohara
  2. Astra Lost in Space #4, by Kenta Shinohara
  3. Astra Lost in Space #5, by Kenta Shinohara – these 3 are manga
  4. Kallocain, by Karin Boye – read for The 1940 Club

3 in historical fiction:

  1. Goliath, by Tom Gauld – graphic novel
  2. Éclipses japonaises, by Éric Faye
  3. Breaking Stalin’s Nose, by Eugene Velchin

3 in literary fiction:

  1. I am a Cat, by Natsume Soseki – audio
  2. Fable Comics, by Chris Duffy (ed.) – comics
  3. What’s Michael? Fatcat Collection 1, by Makoto Kobayashi – manga/graphic novel

1 in mystery:

  1. Maze: Solve the World’s Most Challenging Puzzle, by Christopher Manson – graphic novel

 MY FAVORITE BOOKS THIS PAST MONTH

Psalm 118 Astra lost in Space 5

READING CHALLENGES & RECAP

Classics Club 4th list: 42/150 (from September 2022-until September 2027)
Japanese Literature Challenge: 15 books
Total of books read in 2023 = 46/120 (38%, 17 books ahead)
Number of books added to my TBR this past month = 34

 OTHER BOOK  REVIEWED THIS PAST MONTH

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

MOST POPULAR BOOK REVIEW THIS PAST MONTH

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

click on the cover to access my unhappy review

MOST POPULAR POST THIS PAST MONTH
– NON BOOK REVIEW –

The Classic Spin #33

BOOK BLOG THAT BROUGHT ME MOST TRAFFIC THIS PAST MONTH

Caffeinated Reviewer
please go visit, there are a lot of good things there!

TOP COMMENTERS 

Marianne at Let’s Read
Deb at Readerbuzz

Davida at The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog
please go and visit them,
they have great blogs

BLOG MILESTONES 

2,669 posts
over 5,130 followers
over 278,170 hits

📚 📚 📚

Come back on Monday to see
my exciting reading plans for April!
How was YOUR month of March?

2023-Monthly-Wrap-Up-Round-Up400

Nicole at Feed Your Fiction Addiction
is hosting a Month In Review meme
where you can link your monthly recap posts
Thanks Nicole!

2023: February wrap-up

FEBRUARY 2023 WRAP-UP

February has been quite full, but I managed to do a good deal of reading – from a bunch of graphic novels, picture books, and manga to a very scholarly Orthodox book!

I knew my audio time was going to be way lower than my 2H/day January average, as my painting project is over (you can see pictures of the outdoor signs I posted at the end of this post – one sign faces East, the other one faces West), but it shows very low because I am not quite done with my current 20 hours audiobook!

I also passed the 1,000 mark as for number of reviews posted here. I know I missed some, but most of them are linked on my very helpful Authors List.
Tip for newer book bloggers: start that type of page as soon as possible, you will enjoy having it down the line.

📚 Here is what I read in February:

15 books 
13 in print 
with 2,151 pages, a daily average of 76 pages/day.
2 in audio
= 11H50
, a daily average of 25 minutes/day

5 in nonfiction:

  1. Blanc, by Sylvain Tesson – French audio
  2. What do you do with an idea?, by Kobi Yamada – picture book
  3. What do you do with a problem?, by Kobi Yamada – picture book
  4. Rouvrir le roman, by Sophie Divry – read with French student F.
  5. The Image of the Virgin Mary in the Akathistos Hymn, by Leena Mari Peltomaa

4 in literary fiction:

  1. Master of the Uncanny, by Kido Okamoto
  2. Cat + Gamer #1, by Watru Nadatani – manga
  3. Cat + Gamer #2, by Watru Nadatani – manga
  4. The Hunting Gun, by Yasushi Inoue  – short story.
    These 4 titles (and the next 2) count for The Japanese Literature Challenge 16

3 in science-fiction:

  1. Astra Lost in Space #1, by Kenta Shinohara – manga
  2. Astra Lost in Space #2, by Kenta Shinohara – manga
  3. Mooncop, by Tom Gauld – graphic novel

2 in mystery:

  1. 120, rue de la gare (Nestor Burma #1), by Léo Malet – read with French student E.
  2. Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès (Arsène Lupin #2), by Maurice Leblanc – read with French student E.

1 in children’s lit:

  1. The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame – audio

 MY FAVORITE BOOKS THIS PAST MONTH

Blanc  The Wind in the Willows

READING CHALLENGES & RECAP

Classics Club: 39/150 (from September 2022-until September 2027)
Japanese Literature Challenge: 8 books
Total of books read in 2022 = 27/120 (23%, 8 books ahead)
Number of books added to my TBR this past month = 43

 OTHER BOOK  REVIEWED THIS PAST MONTH

Éloge de l'énergie vagabonde

MOST POPULAR BOOK REVIEW THIS PAST MONTH

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

click on the cover to access my review

MOST POPULAR POST THIS PAST MONTH
– NON BOOK REVIEW –

The Top 7 books to read in February 2023

BOOK BLOG THAT BROUGHT ME MOST TRAFFIC THIS PAST MONTH

Caffeinated Reviewer
please go visit, there are a lot of good things there!

TOP COMMENTERS 

Karen at Booker Talk
Marianne at Let’s Read

Davida at The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog
please go and visit them,
they have great blogs

BLOG MILESTONES 

2,658 posts
over 5,120 followers
over 275,690 hits

📚 📚 📚

Come back tomorrow to see
my exciting reading plans for March!
How was YOUR month of February?

2023-Monthly-Wrap-Up-Round-Up400

Nicole at Feed Your Fiction Addiction
is hosting a Month In Review meme
where you can link your monthly recap posts
Thanks Nicole!