BOOK THOUGHTS
April 2026 Monthly Wrap Up
April was a good reading month for me. I finished rereading the Narnia Chronicles for the first time since I was a kid and I knocked six books off my TBR 26 in '26 list. See any favorites?
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
The Other Family by Joanna Trollope. I always enjoy her books. This one is about a musician whose death forces his his partner and their children and his ex-wife and oldest son to interact.
Showing the Flag by Jane Gardam*, short stories from the author of the Old Filth trilogy. I'm never as fond of short stories as I am of longer fiction (Somerset Maugham being the exception), but some of these were very good, particularly the title story.
Homecomings by C.P. Snow.* I’m determined to finish his Strangers & Brothers series even though I find them pretty dry. This one at least had some personal story, and wasn't focused entirely on a work situation.
Foxed Quarterly (Issue No. 51, Spring 2017). I’m working my way through some back issues. Because the quarterly is devoted to backlist and out of print books, the old issues are never out of date.
When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor... and Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. This was interesting to read but is focused on foreign missions and I was looking for local guidance.
The Other Family by Joanna Trollope. I always enjoy her books. This one is about a musician whose death forces his his partner and their children and his ex-wife and oldest son to interact.
Showing the Flag by Jane Gardam*, short stories from the author of the Old Filth trilogy. I'm never as fond of short stories as I am of longer fiction (Somerset Maugham being the exception), but some of these were very good, particularly the title story.
Homecomings by C.P. Snow.* I’m determined to finish his Strangers & Brothers series even though I find them pretty dry. This one at least had some personal story, and wasn't focused entirely on a work situation.
Foxed Quarterly (Issue No. 51, Spring 2017). I’m working my way through some back issues. Because the quarterly is devoted to backlist and out of print books, the old issues are never out of date.
When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor... and Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. This was interesting to read but is focused on foreign missions and I was looking for local guidance.
The Food of Love by Anthony Capella* is a cute, foodie romcom set in Italy, a modern retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac.
Death Takes a Bath by Sharon Lynn. This cozy mystery set in Bath, England is the first of a series. The heroine is a 19-year-old college student, so I'm not the target audience and am unlikely to continue with the books, but it was fun to read in preparation for a trip to Bath.
Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore, a reread. More psychology than I remember. I had it confused with The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life, which I loved and now need to reread.
Steaming to Bamboola by Christopher Buckley*, his memoir about a year in the merchant marine.
The Boss Dog by M.F.K. Fisher*, a fictionalized account of living in Aix with her two daughters. It was fun to read, but repetitive of her nonfiction about her life in France.
Rereadings: Seventeen Writers Revisit Books They Love by Anne Fadiman* was a letdown. Read my review here.
Frozen Assets by P.G. Wodehouse. Hilarious, as always.
NOTES
* Denotes a TBR 26 in '26 book.
What was your April favorite?
What was your April favorite?
