Monthly Wrap-Up | April 2019
Well this month sure was turbulent. I started April by ringing in a celebration of my blogiversary, looked back on some of my first Instagram posts, and kicked off the first giveaway here on There’s Something About KM. Then it all came crashing down.
My blog was taken down by my web host – I don’t really want to get into the why right now – and after nearly two weeks of going back and forth with “support”, it was finally brought back to life just yesterday (April 29th). I wasn’t able to share my giveaway or any content from my blog; I couldn’t even log into the admin to draft posts for the past two weeks. Basically, I’ve been a stressed out wreck for this latter half of April. Not exactly what I had planned.
So now that my blog is finally back up and running (for good? for now? who knows), I will be switching hosts over the next few days (week?). I will be denouncing my current host because of the absolutely terrible [non]communication I experienced over the past two weeks, but I’m not going to do so until my blog is completely detached from them. It’s been rough, guys.
Anyway, now that I’ve said all of that, let’s talk about the good that happened this month! I read some excellent books, participated in a readathon, celebrated Independent Bookstore Day, and added to my TBR.
Books I Read
1. The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson – I had planned on posting a review of this book, but wasn’t able to per end-of-April issues. I did however, draft a review in Word so I’ll likely post it later on. I did enjoy this book, and although I did have issues with a couple of things, I still recommend it if you like historical fiction, fantasy, magical realism, and/or adventure stories.
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2. If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home by Lucy Worsley – I read this for the #AnHistorianReads book club, and it was quite interesting. Lucy Worsley is an excellent non-fiction writer (I’m basing that on this book alone); her voice is clear and appealing, and she managed to effectively relay a lot of information not only about the physical home, but how the use and importance of each room in the home changed and were defined by different eras of history.
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3. Hallow (Celestial Creatures #2) by Olga Gibbs – I read an advanced copy of this book for the Blog Tour, which starts tomorrow, May 1st! You can read my review of the first book in this series, Heavenward, and keep an eye out for my review for Hallow on May 5th (and since I didn’t make it specifically clear here, read this series!).
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4. Strange Things Sometimes Still Happen: Fairy Tales from Around the World edited by Angela Carter, Illustrated by Corinna Sargood, with an Introduction from Marina Warner – If you remember from last month, I have decided to expand my fairy tale reading just a bit beyond Grimm’s Fairy Tales. I thought I would enjoy this anthology, since it holds examples of folklore from many cultures, but I actually got bored with it. I feel like saying that about a book edited by Angela Carter is a bit sacrilegious, but I think this may be a book better suited for someone who is more well versed in fairy tales from around the world. I wasn’t able to separate the tales or compare them effectively; my reading experience felt chaotic. I do plan to return this collection someday, after I’ve submerged much more fully in the fairy tale waters, but for now it’s going on my DNF list.
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5. The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) by Brandon Sanderson – I have still not recovered from this book. What a thrilling, angsty, satisfying ending to this trilogy. I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it again, and while I do intend to continue on with the books set in this world, I need to rest first.
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6. The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy #2) by S. A. Chakraborty – I was really on a series kick this month. Anyway, what a thrill it was to be back in Daevabad. There are so many surprises, emotions, events, and more specific world-building in this second book – if you were looking for an example of “second book syndrome” or “second book slump” this is not it. When will the third book be here? Tomorrow? Great, because I don’t think I can wait longer than that to continue this series.
Tome Topple Readathon
I’ve watched many booktubers and book bloggers take part in this readathon, and since I wanted to read The Hero of Ages and The Kingdom of Copper this month, I decided to join in on the challenge (after some inspiration from The Bookaholic Dreamer). The Tome Topple Readathon challenges participants to read a book or books that have 500+ pages. There are also five mini challenges within that, like Read a tome that has been on your TBR the longest, Read a tome that is part of a series, and so on. I was able to finish The Hero of Ages within the two week time frame, and got about halfway through The Kingdom of Copper (which I finished two days later). I had also challenged myself to read Dune (it’s been on my TBR for a long time), but didn’t get a chance to open it because of time (and intimidation). So, a mild success for me, since I rarely read books that are 500+ pages, and definitely not within two weeks. Did you participate in the Tome Topple Readathon this month? What did you read?
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Independent Bookstore Day
On April 27th I drove down to Portland (Maine) and did a bit of bookstore hopping for Independent Bookstore Day. It’s not lost on me that I’m quite lucky to live relatively close to so many great indie bookstores, and while I try to patronize them every so often, it’s nice to have a day dedicated to bookstore shopping. I visited Longfellow Books, Quill Books & Beverage, and Carlson & Turner Books and Bookbindery. I also stopped in Freeport to visit Sherman’s Books & Stationary, and arrived home with a pretty great haul (two new, the rest used). Did you do any shopping on Independent Bookstore Day?
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In Other News…
My giveaway ended today, and I’ll be announcing the winner tomorrow, May 1st. I’m excited to give these four B&N Classics a new home, and to make more room on my own shelves. 😉
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I am so glad to be back here on my blog – I’ve missed it desperately. Thank you to everyone who offered messages of support and encouragement, and I’m sorry that I didn’t get to blog hop as much as usual. Being tied up with emails and phone calls with my web host, plus my outside-of-blogging life really wiped me out. So if there’s a post you wrote this month that you love and/or are especially proud of, link it in a comment – I’d love to read it! Here’s to a new month, filled with nothing but smooth sailing, nice weather, and plenty of books!
Happy reading,
-Kelsey
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