Oh the slump hit hard in April. I think I had one of those slumps caused by external circumstances but also reading two 6 star reads essentially back to back… I just couldn’t get into anything after reading the second 6 star read (thank God I read Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation before Rites of the Starling else my friend Wendy may have killed me ha).
Thankfully, towards the end of the month the slump felt like it was lifting a bit! And I was able to start reading some more. But April was a rough month, despite starting out like it was going to be one of the best months.
Here is what I read in April
I have read more than what I finished in April… the problem was, I was in a reading slump. So, those other books where I’m 100+ pages into them… they’re sitting there, unfinished. And I currently don’t know when / if I will go back to them all finish them. I don’t blame those books for my slump, it was just unfortunate that I was trying to read them while in one. However, the books that I did manage to finish were great!! And if I ignored the slump and those unfinished reads, I’d say April was an excellent month.
Reading Stats for April
Stats about the types books I read
| # Physical Books off TBR | # of Days Read | # of Pages Read | # of Kindle Books | # of Audio Books | # of Books Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 | TBC | 5 | 2 | 8 |
Stats about the Ratings I gave the books I read
| Joined 6⭐Club | 5⭐ | 4.5 ⭐ | 4 ⭐ | 3.5 ⭐ | 3 ⭐ | Less than 3⭐ | DNF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 (read one book twice) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 (actually, 3.75) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Book Bracket Entry – Favourite Book of the Month
book of the month
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
This is the first addition to my 6 star club, to my God Tiers, in a while. This was simply amazing and the audio book added to that and the whole experience is phenomenal. I am so glad I didn’t let the level of hype scare me away this time! Becuase instead the hype level actually told me the reason I was avoiding this was false (I thought it was a horror), so I’m actually really grateful!
Runner up
Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry
I almost can’t believe that Rites of the Starling is runner up and not book of the month – but PHM absolutely deserves that slot. Rites of the Starling was still excellent, I didn’t expect the sequel to Shield of Sparrows to be a 6 star read, because the sequel is rarely ever as good / better. And some how, Devney Perry did it again!! Brilliant.
Biggest Surprise of the Month
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
This doesn’t happen often – the book of the month being the biggest surprise, but here we are! I was blown away by this book, and this audiobook. I loved the story, I loved the characters and the narrator (Ray Porter) told us the story as he read it for the first time!! All of the emotion he gives Grace is because that’s how he’s reacting the first time. This combination of excellent story & a brilliant narrator just makes for one of the best experiences I have ever had with an audiobook.
Any 2026 Challenge progress?
26 in 2026
I finished Servant of Earth in April which means I’ve ticked off one more book on the 26 in 2026 list. I am reading another one, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, at the end of April but it’s unlikely to be ticked off in time to be included. It is a little disappointing as not only did I think I’d finish Eleanor Oliphant, but I also thought I may sneak in Starside to April and get it ticked off too.. But it’s okay, still got 8 months to go!
BINGO!
I retroactively ticked off ‘Read a Dark Romance’ as I read Daggermouth in March! Can’t believe I missed that one.
But in April, I’ve ticked off;
- Book a day off work to read a new release – Rise of the Starlings
- Give a book a second chance – Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation
- Read a book that has a TV show or Movie releasing in 2026 – Project Hail Mary
I started reading two books that were contendors for the ‘prettiest sprayed edges that I own but haven’t read before’ and didn’t finish either of them because of the slump. So, if I finish them they’ll count! Or maybe I’ll end up choosing another book for this prompt!
Read 120 books in 2026
April was a really hard month, I thought it was going to be amazing because I had a week off work… And then the month began with two 6 star reads!!! But instead a reading slump hit and it ended up being one of the hardest reading months I’ve had… I read one book twice which helps the numbers a bit, but otherwise, it’s definitely the worst showing so far in 2026. We read 8 books in April.
39/120
Read a shelf on the TBR Cart
Oh boy… I am probably going to stop trying to track this one… Why? Because I keep adding books to the TBR cart. Even though I don’t need to! I keep adding books to it and the task is starting to feel impossible. I’m still going to try and get through a significant amount of books on the cart if I can, but I just don’t have a good way of tracking it anymore.
Reading With Tyler 
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