As I sit down to write this, I have no idea where I ended up. I know I didn’t write many Friday Reads posts, so let’s find out how I did!
April goal:
April’s reading goal is 4 books, including another essay/short story collection.
What I read: (Link to my Goodreads 2019 Reading Challenge)

The Hate U Give
Angie Thomas
5* (Apr 9)
Review

Ghost Wall
Sarah Moss
3* (Apr 21)
Review (Goodreads)

Juliet’s School of Possibilities
Laura Vanderkam
3.5* (Apr 23)
Review (Goodreads)

The Child Finder
Rene Denfeld
4.75* (Apr 28)
Review (Goodreads)

Remote: Office Not Required
Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson
3.5* (Apr 29)
Review (Goodreads)

Get in Trouble
Kelly Link
3* (Apr 30)
Review (Goodreads)
Excuse(s) for Not Reading More: Spring. Getting stuck on another book or two that I didn’t enjoy.
Diversity? YA, short stories, fiction, work culture, novella.
Star Ratings: I base this on the flat stars Goodreads displays in list-view, not the quarter-star system I assign in my reviews.
- 5 stars: 5 books
- 4 stars: 5 books
- 3 stars: 4 books
- 2 stars: 0 books
- 1 star: 0 books
- 0 stars: 0 books
- Abandoned: 2 books
- Not rated: 0 books
Pages Read: (does not include abandoned books or Coffin Bell)
- January – 993
- February – 1232
- March – 454 (ouch)
- April – 1615
Coffin Bell Submissions: I used to include these because they took up so much of my time. I resigned my position as their short story editor in March so I could prioritize other projects.
- January
- 20 short stories
- February
- 14 short stories
- 1 CNF (creative nonfiction)
- March
- 15 short stories
Reading Goals:
1. Read 40 books – I’m 3 books ahead with 16 books.
2. Decrease my TBR –
- Jan 1 – 73 physical / 21 Kindle
- Feb 1 – 71 / 22
- Mar 4 – 71/22 (huh)
- Apr 3 – 73/23 (it was my birthday month)
- May 1 – 73/23 (how?!?!)
3. Read 6 short story/essay/poetry collections – I’d really like to read double that number and I’m on track right now.
- Jan – 1 (short story: The Sadness of Beautiful Things – Simon Van Booy)
- Feb – 1 (poetry: No Matter the Wreckage -Sarah Kay & Sophia Janowitz)
- Mar – 1 (essays: Well-Read Black Girl – Glory Edim)
- Apr – 1 (short story: Get in Trouble – Kelly Link)
None of these books were particularly long, but that doesn’t negate the accomplishment of finishing them. I read 2.5 of them during our travel weekend at the end of the month.
For May, I’ll set a goal of 4 books. I’m working on some updates to both of my blogs (as well as my life), so look for that soon.