April Reads

Only six books read in April, a truly pitiful effort, BUT one of them was a tough cookie and it was a very busy month.

Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert
I loved Eat, Pray, Love and I loved this one as well. I am not married and have no plans to ever be but I love it for the chapter on the wonderful world of childless aunts if for nothing else! Gilbert explores her own feelings on marriage after the love of her life is deported. She and Felip both are very gun-shy towards marriage to reconciling themselves to it is a journey like no other.

The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
This is not a sequel to Life As We Knew It. It is the same apocalyptic event from another viewpoint. I absolutely adored LAWKI but this was a miserable disappointment. Basically, a Left Behind novel for the Catholic set and the misogynistic tone of the novel was nearly unbearable. I'll read the third in the trilogy because I'm terribly interested in this world, but I dearly hope it is a better read.

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Another disappointing follow-up effort. This is billed as a "companion read" to The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Too much star-crossed love, not enough zombies.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
The buzz surrounding this is that it is supposed to be the next big YA trilogy juggernaut. I really enjoyed it. It was some outstanding world building. However, Hunger Games it is not.

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
This hefty tome is not for the faint of heart but it is SO much better than Catcher in the Rye! Philip Carey actually has some real world problems to rail against rather than the rather flimsy "phoneys". I have been telling everyone that this novel contains what is, to me, the MOST UNPLEASANT character I ever remember reading in literature. Her name is Mildred and that has now entered my vocabulary as a descriptor.

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran
A very plot-driven novel about the children of Cleopatra and Mark Antony. It is very evocative of place with lots of great historical detail and I loved the author's note at the back telling what became of the characters in real life. Not what I'd call literary, but very, very enjoyable.

I'm reading 3 or 4 books and listening to 1 in the car so hopefully I can get a better count for May!

What are YOU reading?