Books Read in April

April's been a good month for reading. This small holiday thrown in has certainly helped.


1. Turn Coat - Jim Butcher - 01/04

Another episode in Harry Dresden's life. I enjoyed this much more than earlier novels.

2. Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals - Dave Fox - 05/04

I discovered this book from one of the comments left on my journaling blog. While I didn't learn anything I wasn't already doing, it is still handy to have a list of ideas and techniques in a handy book format. So certainly enjoyed this book, and would use it as a reference.

3. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - 08/04

This was one of those classics I had always meant to read. I am so glad I finally got to it. I now understand why Oscar Wilde's quotes are always so popular. This bloke knew how to write sarcasm, while portraying reality of a whole spectrum of human behaviour. This is now one of my favourite classic.

4. Live and Let Die - Ian Fleming - 16/04Really liked this one. I read first James Bond book a while ago, and didn't enjoy it very much. This was real fun.

5. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld - Patricia A. McKillip - 19/04

I really admire it when writers manage to pull of a fantasy story that is rich in detail, a complete story, and full of characters one cares about in a single book. For a book that is not even 500 pages long, this is an accomplishment indeed. But then McKillip is not any writer. She is a master, and it shows in every word. Because there is nothing wasted in this book.

6. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley - 24/04

Another book I had always meant to read. What finally pushed me was reading Isherwood Diaries, where Chris Isherwood mentions that Aldous Huxley was writing a new book he was calling Brave New World. It's an interesting book. One of those that you could spend ages thinking about. Implications of what the world and the humanity could be like. As a story alone, it is also enjoyable. I will admit, after I read it, I haven't had much time to reflect on it. But this would be something to re-read.

7. 84 Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff - 24/04

Friendship that started and was sustained because of books. Friendship between people from two countries before the Internet. People who never met. It's a touching, fantastic book.

8. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street - Helene Hanff - 26/04

This is a follow up to 84 Charing Corss Road, when Helene Hanff finally gets to visit England. A country she has always dreamt of visiting.

9. Twilight's Dawn - Anne Bishop - 29/04

Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy is one of my favourite stories of all time. There have been several books after that, and each time I have enjoyed discovering something more about characters I love. In this book, it's 4 short stories which essentially conclude the series. As always, wonderful, emotional, heart-warming. The kind of stories that after I read them, I need a little time to recover before going to read something else.