Monthly Reviews- April 2024

  🌸 April Reviews 🌷

April 1st-30th

Not my month for reading books, but I have a good feeling about May. 

Book 33: Castle Swimmer: Volume 1

By Wendy Martin

Read April 17th

Pages: 272

Release Year: 2024

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Castle Swimmer is such a beautiful graphic novel with an interesting storyline. I remember finding it on Webtoons a couple of years ago and read what was out at that time, which was not even this entire volume. I never continued on with it for some reason though, but I will be now. 

The illustration style stands out and drew me in instantly. I like how the story is playing with the idea of prophecies and chosen one stories. It definitely is making me wonder where the story is going to go from here with Kappa and Siren. I have to continue it on Webtoons so I can see what happens next. 

I highly recommend this wonderful start to this series. 

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*

Book 34: Love Her Wild

By Atticus Poetry

Read April 21st

Pages: 225

Release Year: 2017

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I’ve decided to not pick up any more of Atticus’s poetry after this volume. It’s what is called “Instagram” poetry, with most of the pieces being one line or a stanza long. Not my type of poetry at all if I’m going to be honest. I’m not going to say that poetry like this cannot work because I am a fan of what are called six-word memoirs. It is incredible what some people can do with the smallest amount of words, but I would rather read longer poems. 

I did enjoy the last volume I read of his but not this one. There are a couple of longer poems throughout and I did like the through line with the older man and the boy. These were just not for me.

Book 35: To Be or Not To Be: A Choosable-Path Adventure

By Ryan North

Read April 23rd

Pages: 768

Release Year: 2013

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April 23rd, 2024 reread: 

I decided to reread this beauty for Shakespeare’s birthday. It will always be one of my favorite reads. I reread the Shakespeare choices (I love how the narrator makes fun of your choices the entire time) and some others. Such a great time. One day I hope Ryan will make a Macbeth version of this book. That’s the dream. 

November 7th-8th, 2017 reread: 

I have been a major fan of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books since I was a child. It might have been because I have always had a natural affinity for telling my own stories, whether that be through writing or just in creating stories with my toys as a child. This is a version based off of Shakespeare's Hamlet and I cannot get enough of creating new paths in it. When I read it this time, I created around ten different paths throughout the book. This is a really great idea for a book and I love how Ryan North played with the original play that I know so well. This is a re-read of certain parts but also a first time read of others. It's not the type of book you read straight through. I know that I will continue to have a great time with this book and cannot wait to see even more of the paths and illustrations that go along with the ends.

Book 36: The Science of the Discworld

By Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart, and Jack Cohen

Read April 28th-29th

Pages: 432

Release Year: 1999

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I highly enjoyed the Discworld novella that played out throughout this book. It was one of my favorites we have gotten of the wizards besides what they do in Hogfather. This reminded me a bit of some of the later books in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy where Arthur experiences Earth from the past. I enjoyed looking at the beginnings of the “Roundworld” from the perspective of the wizards and how they compared it to their own world. Terry has so many clever observations as he always does in his books. I do look forward to reading more about their experiments with the Roundworld. 

The scientific parts of the book were okay. I did not like how it cut into the Discworld story, often interrupting in the middle of a scene. Terry never had chapter breaks  and many times this became a hindrance in this book because it would cut off in the middle of what was going on. I loved the parts about the dinosaurs and some of the others. 

I will be picking up further books in this series because I want to see more of the wizards interacting with the “Roundworld.”

Happy Birthday Terry Pratchett!

Every year for Terry Pratchett’s birthday, I like to celebrate by reading one of his books and talking about him.

Terry Pratchett is one of my favorite authors. I first found out about his books in 2012 right after reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I was looking for other books similar to it and Terry’s Discworld series was recommended along with Good Omens by both him and Neil Gaiman.

“No one is actually dead until the ripple they cause in the world die away.”-Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett

I read Good Omens in 2013 and fell in love with it instantly. At the time, I promised myself that I would read the Discworld series some day but put it off because of its size (it had 39 books at that point). I didn’t start the series until 2017 and finished the final novel, The Shepherd’s Crown in 2022. Over the years, it went from being one of my favorite series to my favorite series. I cannot recommend it enough. It's incredible.

Terry has been an inspiration of mine ever since I first picked up one of his Discworld books. I read the series mostly in publication order and I personally recommend doing so if you plan on reading the entire series. There are so many ways to get into it. The only book I read out of order was Hogfather because I wanted to read it at Christmastime that first year. It's one of my go-to rereads every year.

Even though I didn't find myself loving the first couple of books, they still had me wanting to read more from this brilliant man. Terry’s writing style is one of a kind and I will never be able to get enough of reading his work. I have read 60 of his books and I plan on reading every single piece of literature he has written. They are insightful, funny, and so damn clever.

Today, I am going to start The Science of the Discworld that Terry wrote with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen. It is the first book in a four-part series that has Discworld stories mixed with science. I’m interested in seeing what happens and how the wizards accidentally create the Roundworld. The Unseen University books are a mixed bag for me. Sometimes, I really love them and then other times I don’t. Though, I am looking forward to seeing what trouble those old fools cause. I cannot wait to get to the second book because it deals with Shakespeare.

Some of my favorites of his books are: Hogfather, Witches Abroad, Night Watch, Thief of Time, The Wee Free Men, Going Postal, Wyrd Sisters, and Good Omens.

Thank you for the words, Terry. I wish I could have met you. Your ripples will continue on for a very long time. Happy Birthday.

“People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it's the other way around.” Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett