April went by so quickly and I was in kind of a weird space with reading for the month?? In honor of Emily Henry releasing a new book I actually basically only wanted to read Emily Henry or Emily Henry adjacent books. And then a random nonfiction audiobook from John Green (which I absolutely loved, by the way). I felt super busy in April with my birthday, packing for a trip, and then spending the last few days of the month abroad. But I was really happy with all the books I did squeeze in!
I’m planning to read a bit more this month, particularly because I’ve got a few ARCs I’d like to catch up on. I’ve (once again) made an overly ambitious TBR for the month so we’ll see how much I actually get through. But I’m feeling optimistic! Well… a little optimistic - it’s also the time of the year where I get very tempted to ignore my TBR and read whatever I’m feeling in the moment. So we’ll see, but either way I’ll be reading something good!
April 2025 Reads
- Book Lovers by Emily Henry ⭐ 4.5
- Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez ⭐ 2.5 audtiobook
- Happy Place by Emily Henry ⭐ 5 audiobook
- Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green ⭐ 5 audiobook
- Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry ⭐ 4.5
April 2025 StoryGraph Numbers
📚 total: 4 books
📖 read: 978 pages
🎧 listened: 26.7 hours
May 2025 Hopeful Reads
- Ballistic: The New Science of Injury-Free Athletic Performance by Henry Abbot nonfiction, ARC published May 2025
- Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston ARC published June 17, 2025
- Gingko Season by Naomi Xu Elegant ARC published May 2025
- The Accidental Favorite by Fran Littlewood ARC published June 24, 2025
- Systemic: How Racism is Making Us Sick by Layal Liverpool ARC from 2024
- Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H audiobook
- The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story by Pagan Kennedy
- The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket - A Series of Unfortunate Events # 1 re-read
AANHPI Month Reading
Happy Asian American, Native Hawaiian, & Pacific Islander heritage month! Now is a great time to add books to your TBR written by AANHPI authors. Here is a reading list from the New York Public Library to get you started!
Bella is on BookTube
After uploading some introductory BookTube videos I’ve been working on a series where I share my (many) thoughts on the Hunger Games books as I re-read them in preparation for the upcoming prequel. It’s been super fun and as of writing this I’ve got videos up about the original Hunger Games trilogy and the first prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes! The video on Sunrise on the Reaping will be up soon, so keep an eye on my YouTube channel!
Bella’s Book Recs
I’ve shared a few different lists of book recommendations (my list of books with queer representation and my list of books that are great for halloween) but I’ve realized I didn’t have just a general list of books that I recommend… so now I do! This is a list that will continue to evolve and grow as I come up with more recommendations so keep in mind it’s not exactly 100% done, but I hope you enjoy!
Great places to get books:
- Audiobooks: Libro.FM (use my referral code: lfm461686)
- Free books: use the Libby app to get audiobooks and ebooks for free with your library card
- Public domain books: use the Project Gutenberg website to view ebooks and digital copies of books in the public domain
- Digital ARC books for reviewers: NetGalley