April 2023 TBR

Lets just go ahead an acknowledge the elephant in the room. I have yet to complete any TBR so far this year. I'm okay with that. And I am okay with creating more TBRs knowing that I may not finish a single book on that list. So here we are. Here is my list of books I aspire to read this month.

I am participating in the Read For 30 Minutes Every Day in April Fundraiser for St. Jude's Children's Research Center. The reading will not be a struggle. I am attempting to raise $250 for the hospital. It doesn't matter to them what I read, just so that I get in 30 minutes a day.

So let's attempt to plan this out. I need to read some of the books on my 50-by-50 list and I need to read some Sequoyah books. Welp, nothing for it, but to jump in.

Lately, I have been feeling the pull of nonfiction. So, I'm going to look for 50-by-50 books that are nonfiction and also on my actual shelves (not library books).

Tombstone: The Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Vendetta Ride From Hell by Tom Clavin - No matter what the pictures tell me, Doc Holliday will forever look like Val Kilmer.

Nothin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the 80s Hard Rock Explosion by Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock - I know this has turned up on multiple TBRs but maybe this time it will stick?

Alone Out Here by Riley Redgate - This is a Sequoyah book and it suddenly has a hold on it, so I will make this a priority. It's sci-fi about a group of teens who accidentally got shot into space and now have to figure out how to find a habitable planet, because Earth is no longer an option.

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys - This is historical fiction set in Communist Romania in 1989. I'm going to let that sink in for a minute. Historical Fiction. 1989. Yeah. Ouch. Anyway, this is about a kid who is blackmailed to spy for Ceausescu's government and decides to become a double agent for the revolution.

The History of Jihad by Robert Spencer - I keep forgetting that I need to read this piece of trash. I have to review it for a request for reconsideration. Gross.

Book Girl: A Journey Through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life by Sarah Clarkson - When I made my 50-by-50 list, I didn't realize how many of these books are super long! I am cutting myself some slack and choosing this shorter book. Again. I still haven't read it.

By my (admittedly haphazard) calculations, I need to read 3 50-by-50 books per month and 2 Sequoyah books per month to get all those read on time. That seems imminently achievable. But only 6 books seems like a waste of purely theoretical TBR. So then I will read books on my bookshelves that have been catching my eye. Here are a few that call to me when I walk by.

The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman - This is purely an exercise in nostalgia for my high school and college days.

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams - Literary fiction about people of all ages bonding over a list of books. Also, the cover.

Midlife Bites: Anyone Else Falling Apart, or Is It Just Me? by Jen Mann - This is nice and short and probably hilarious.

The Maid by Nita Prose - This is a mystery. It has opposing reviews. I don't think people really know what to expect and if it isn't what they wanted, they review it badly. I don't think it's as thriller-y and some readers prefer.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry - Her next book is due out soon so I need to get caught up. I've liked all of her books so far.

Ok. That looks like a decent list. We will see what happens to it in the month.