Two physical books and two audiobooks later- back to share my monthly reading list with what I read in April! I’m honestly dreaming about the days I can read a book by the beach or pool… but getting into bed with a good book is great too! A real mix with this month’s read- two non-fiction audiobooks on totally different sides of the spectrum(Paris Hilton and The Royal Family- I have diverse interests what can I say 😉 ) and two great novels! I’d love to hear what you read this month and anything I should add to my reading list!
Here’s what I read in April! (Ps- looking for more book reviews? You can find them here!)
Hamnet– After reading The Marriage Portrait, I knew I wanted to read Maggie O’Farrell’s prior book, Hamnet. In a similar style, Maggie O’Farrell takes a real life person and weaves bits of their story into fiction creating a fantastic historical fiction read. Hamnet is the story of Shakespeare, his family and his son who falls sick suddenly during the time of the Plague in 1580s England. I loved reading the parts of the book about Shakespeare’s wife Agnes who was a force to be reckoned with. I loved the ending too! If I had to compare the two, I preferred The Marriage Portrait, but know many people feel the other way and I still think Hamnet was a great read!
Paris: The Memoir– I listened to Paris’ memoir on audio and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how much deeper it was than I expected. If you grew up in the 2000s and remember Paris Hilton as THE it girl and like all things pop culture, I think you will like this book! Like I said it is much heavier than expected as Paris goes into a lot of detail about her experience at the troubled teen schools she was sent to where she endured hellish abuse. Some of the book flipped from topic to topic quickly, but she recognizes this as how her brain works having ADHD. I thought this worked really well in audio, not sure if it would be the same written on the page. I came away from this book with a lot more respect for Paris as a person, an advocate and a businesswoman. And I also listened to Stars Go Blind after reading 🙂
The Queen Of Dirt Island- Viking Books was so kind to send me a copy of this book and it was a fantastic literary read- I really want one of you to read it so we can chat about it! It is a moving family novel of three women- a daughter, mother and grandmother- living in Nenagh, Tipperary County, Ireland. The book starts off with a loss of their father, husband and son in the first few pages. Their story continues filled with motherly devotion, family dramas, betrayals, coming of age lessons and love. The Queen of Dirt Island was a beautifully written novel- and I loved the way it ended! If you read it, let me know so we can chat!
George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved The Monarchy– Okay so first off, I would only recommend this book if you are deeply interested in the Royal Family because it is a long and in depth one (I listened on audio and it was 22 hours long!). With that being said if you are interested, this was a great book about Bertie aka George VI and Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth II’s parents. Queen Elizabeth herself allowed the author Sally Bedell Smith special access to letters written between her parents and their diaries to write this book and hearing the excerpts from their letters and diaries was almost like listening in on their conversation. I found it so interesting hearing their direct reaction to the abdication of George VI’s older brother and the ongoing family drama there. George VI was King during such a historic time during WWII so I found this book very informative on pieces of world history with a royal spin.
What did you read this past month? Have you read any of these books? I’d love your recommendations next!
xoxo, Jenna
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