April 2018: Best and Strangest

Guys - it's been a crazy month. The semester is wrapping up, I've been working an insane amount, and yet, I've read more this month than I did during any other month so far this year. 26 books - can you believe that?! Partly, this is due to Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon, which I participated in for the first time (and had so much fun). I have no hope of reading this much next month, but I'm so glad I got this much done. As always, we'll talk briefly about what the best and strangest books I read this month are, and then move on to the rest of everything I read. So hang in there - there's a lot.

BEST

★★★★★

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien is a book that I've long told myself I'd finally get around to reading and this month I actually did it. I'd heard it was slow and long and a lot to take in and in some ways, it was all those things, but I mostly found it to be a delightful and thoroughly enjoyable read - especially when you take into account that all of modern fantasy has built on this series. If you're one of the few fantasy readers who hasn't gotten around to LOTR, the time to start is now.

STRANGEST

★★★★

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke is one of the more original books I've read in a long time. The heroes are unlikable and often blind to anything outside themselves, the magic system is unlike any I've ever read before, and the supporting characters are some of the more delightful characters I've ever read. Plus, the whole book sounds like it walked out of the Napoleonic era and it's utterly bizarre and wonderful. For a unique fantasy story, you need look no further than this (and it's about 1000 pages, so it'll take you awhile to get through).

THE REST OF APRIL'S BOOKS

★★★★

★★

★★★

★★★

★★

★★

★★

★★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★★

★★★

★★★

★★

★★★

    

★★★ each

★★

★★★

★★★

This month, the most visited blog post on The Bibliotaph was my Dewey's Readathon updates post. I had so much fun writing that post over the course of the day and it was wonderful to be so productive on a Saturday! I also loved interacting with the bookish Twitter community. All in all, it was a great day and I'm glad we had so many new visitors to the blog!

What books did you read this month? Have you read any of the books listed here? What are you looking forward to reading next month?

Best and Strangest: March

This month has been busy - school, work, family, trips out of town. With all that, I haven't had time to do nearly all the reading I've wanted to do (though let's be honest, I never get to do all the reading I want to do). However, I was still able to finish 11 books this month, which isn't a new record or anything, but is still pretty solid. Below are my picks for the best and strangest of the month, followed by all the other books I read in March:

BEST

• Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank - This is a book that I can't believe I'd never heard of until now. It was recommended to me by a friend who grew up in Florida, where the novel is set (she actually grew up 20 or so miles from the town that the story focuses on). I wasn't sure what to expect of it, but I absolutely loved this book. The stories of survival after a nuclear apocalypse made me wonder how I'd survive in such a situation and prompted many interesting discussions with friends who had read it about what would be different today and what benefits we could get from our location. I've had this on my mind for weeks after reading it and that doesn't often happen to me with books. The Cellist of Sarajevo was a fascinating follow-up read.

STRANGEST

• Puckoon by Spike Milligan - Oh how I love David Bowie. I was delighted at the prospect of #BowieBookClub and I still am thoroughly enjoying, but Bowie and I have wildly different taste in books. Puckoon is full of British/Irish humor and would be bizarre just based on the wild plot (a town is accidentally divided down the middle in the midst of a war), but there are so many small additions that make it worth reading. My favorite part is Dan Milligan, who spends most of the novel being propelled into action by the author and complaining that the author made his legs look weird. If you want a bizarre read, look no further than this.

THE REST OF MARCH'S BOOKS

★★★

★★

★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★★

★★★

★★★★

★★★

What have you read this month? What was your best read? Your strangest read? Have you read any of my March books?

February: Best and Strangest

This was a productive reading month, but a dull one. I enjoyed reading, but it was really difficult for me to pick out one book that was fantastic because they were all just decent, but not life-changing or anything.
In better news, I began participating in Avalinah's Books' State of the ARC meme and that's been wonderful motivation to begin working through overdue ARC's - and it worked really well! When I posted, I only mentioned two, but in the few days since then, I've read another past-due ARC and I also realized I'd forgotten to mention on of the ARC's I finished this month. A lot of progress was made and I'm excited to keep working through ARC's after such a long break!
Anyway, here's what I read this month:

BEST

• Jade City by Jane Fonda - This is one of the more unique fantasy stories I've read in awhile. Set around the Kaul family and the clan they lead, this story has family drama, politics, action, unique "magic" systems, and even the start of a bizarre drug trade. The story is told from multiple points of view, which helps the reader see what the characters cannot and this makes the story such a rewarding read. It's a truly unique book and an excellent choice for #ownvoices reads - the culture is fictional, but built around Chinese tradition.

STRANGEST

• The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett - I've just begun to delve into Discworld and I'm already reeling from how wonderfully bizarre it is. With sentient Luggage, escaped spells, elderly heroes on legend, and cult druids, this book has a little of everything and a lot of strangeness. I'm excited to get into the rest of the series.

EVERYTHING ELSE

★★★★

★★★

★★★★★

★★★

★★★

★

★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★

★★★

This month's most popular post was The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings #1 where I highlighted Wizard and Glass by Stephen King. 

What books did you read this month? What was the best book you read this month? Which was the strangest? Have you read anything that I read this month?