What I Read in April

In September 2019, Mr H and I started our own book blog; those posts are now merged with this blog, and in December 2019, I posted my very first quarterly reading round-up. I have continued to post quarterly summaries until this year, when I decided to switch to monthly posts.

Here is what I read in April 2026.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages by Trenton Lee Stewart 🌟🌟🌟🌟
2024 was when I read the previous book in this series! I had no idea I'd left so long in-between and so this month I wanted to focus on series of which I need to finish. It was the Disney+ tv series that alerted me to these books in the first place, so an opinion is always squwed when you've seen an adaptation before reading the inspiration, however, this whole series of books has been great - particular this one! There was the perfect mix of 'mystery', intrigue and adventure. I found it well paced for my tastes and enjoyed the development of the characters and their relationships, and it ended out the series on a really lovely note. 


Incredible Journeys: Exploring the Wonders of Animal Navigation by David Barrie [Audio] 🌟🌟🌟
To some 3 stars will be a high rating and to others 3 stars sounds like the symbolic interpretation of 'meh', but for me, as someone who routinely rates rather highly, it is somewhat disappointing to 3-star a book.*
I really enjoyed the content of this and the subject was of great interest to me, however, I did struggle to follow the audiobook and the chapters felt quite disjointed. Just as I preferred the final Book of Dust in audiobook, I think I may have preferred this in physical edition. 


The Fire Eternal by Chris d'Lacey 🌟🌟🌟
The covers and descriptions of these books really don't do them justice. Nor, I feel, do they give the right impression of age suitability. This is the 4th book in a series of 7 and so far it seems they have gotten more grown up as they progress. There is nothing inherently inappropriate included but as this story begins five years after the previous ended, the characters have all obviously grown and the plot become slightly darker and more serious from the magic and whimsy of squirrels and dragons in book 1. I'm giving this book 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 because although I am still intrigued, I do feel certain parts have become a bit convoluted.

The Vengeance of the Witch Finder by John Bellairs and Brad Strickland 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The 5th book in a series of 12, and the momentum isn't waning! I really like the Lewis Barnavelt series. The previous book didn't actually include the titular character instead focusing on Rose Rita and Mrs. Zimmerman, however the fact that books 4 and 5 are set simultaneously, showing us what Lewis and Jonathan got up to as well is really fun. 
A generally enjoyable, lightly thrilling, well rounded book!



(* I didn't want to take over what was meant to be talking about a specific book by rambling about ratings systems, I did want to explain my rating system though. For me a scale of 1 to 5 is just that, meaning 1 is the worst - a hard DNF or something I really hated. 2 would be a book I struggled to get through, not for me at all, but may have had a redeeming quality. Jumping up to 4, where I very much enjoyed it and 5 - I loved, a favourite, I highly recommend. That all being said 3 obviously sits right in the middle! Not a dislike, but not a love. A 'good' with a small drawback that knocks it down a star.)

Last year, I also had a stack of books that were laid out as daily, weekly or even monthly 'chapters'. This year, the stack is taller. I started six of those books in January, another three were added in February and I will rate and review them at the end of the year.

Year-Long Reads
Nature Writing for Every Day of the Year by Jane McMorland Hunter
Black History for Every Day of the Year by David Olusoga, Yinka Olusoga
Words for Life: To Boost Every Day of the Year by Susie Dent
Telling the Seasons: Stories, Celebrations and Folklore around the Year by Martin Maudsley
Urban Nature Every Day: Discover the Natural World on Your Doorstep Jane McMorland Hunter, Sally Hughes
Hettie Nettle's Handbook for Hedgewitches by Claire Barker
The Hidden Seasons: A Calendar of Nature's Clues and Signs by Tristan Gooley
The Wildlife Gardener's Almanac by Jackie Bennett

April Stats
April Pages - 1,027
Year-Long Reads Pages - 197
Total Pages - 1,238
Audio Listening Time - 22h 36m
Average Rating - 3.5

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April was a slow reading months but as a stressful appointment approached my mind couldn't concentrate enough to read more than I managed. Three physical books looks like a pathetic stack, however page-wise this month was very close to last month's page total so I didn't fall too far behind!
Fingers crossed I can get caught up and devote more of my time to reading rather than worrying in May.
I hope you had a great reading month and would love to hear about what you read.