Posted on by Holly

APRIL 2020 | Wrap-Up

*Looks behind bookcase* Where in the world did April go?!?!?! It seemed as though March lasted approximately 5 years, while April sped forward at full speed. It feels like just yesterday that it was April Fools Day, and now here we are in the month of May. What did I get up to in April? Let’s see!!

I’m so pleased with my reading this month!! It seems like my unintentional reading theme for April was “finally finish books I’ve been meaning to read for ages” because I got around to so many of my most anticipated titles. The Library Book, The Last Lecture, and Sourdough were all audiobooks that I had started months ago but never finished because I didn’t have time, The Falconer was given to me as a birthday gift in November, and I bought As You Like It two years ago after seeing the play performed at the Globe when I was studying abroad. I’m thrilled that I finally got around to reading them all!

  1. The Library Book by Susan Orlean
  2. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
  3. Sourdough by Robin Sloan
  4. Conversations with RBG by Jeffrey Rosen
  5. The Falconer by Dana Czapnik
  6. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
  7. As You Like It by William Shakespeare

As per usual, it’s time to pick a favorite book of the month. The books I read in April all seemed to speak to me in particularly poignant ways, but the one that really struck a chord was Sourdough by Robin Sloan. I wasn’t expecting to adore this book as much as I did, and I certainly didn’t expect it to become a new favorite… but I think it has?! I highly recommend reading this one, and especially recommend listening to the audiobook version. It’s fantastic!

So much happened in April!! I guess I didn’t realize it as it was happening, but it was actually such a busy month (by quarantine standards, anyways). From a law school perspective, I finished up my online classes for the semester and got about halfway through my exam period (a few more exams to go!). It’s crazy to think that I’m just a week away from finishing my first year of law school… eek!!!!

Towards the beginning of the month I finished the journal I’ve been writing in for nearly a year and started a new one, which was so exciting. I adore journaling, especially the scrapbooking-ish kind that I do in these journals. Updating my journal every day while stuck in quarantine has been such a breath of fresh air–it’s so nice to get all the thoughts whirring around in my head down on paper. Besides, I got to decorate my new one with a fresh batch of stickers, which was a blast.

My absolute favorite kind of journal to use.
I’m particularly proud of how I turned this built-in index page into a reading log!

I organized an Easter egg hunt using markers for my family on Easter because we didn’t have plastic eggs. I ordered some classics that I’ve been wanting to read for a while from my local bookstore. I talked to so many lovely friends on Zoom and went for some lovely walks on the few gorgeous sunny days we’ve had in the past few weeks. It’s the little things that have made this quarantine a little brighter ❤

Some of my favorite posts from other bloggers this month:

On this blog:

This month I participated in the #stayhomereadingrush, which was so much fun! Although I didn’t get to read as much as I would’ve liked because I had a lot of law school work, it was still so fun to see everyone reading together. (My TBR and Stay Home Reading Tag)

Some other posts I enjoyed sharing were:

How was your month of April? What was the best book you read? Did you do anything really fun or exciting? How are you doing generally with all that is going on? Let me know in the comments section below!

Yours,

HOLLY

32 Replies to “APRIL 2020 | Wrap-Up”

  1. It always feels so good to get to that book you’ve been meaning to read for ages. And it feels even better when it turns out to be an incredible read!
    I’ve heard good things about Sourdough, definitely interested in giving it a try. And also the Dutch House, everyone seems to love it 😀

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  3. I totally agree, April went by so much faster than March!
    Finishing books you’ve been meaning to read for ages is quite a good reading theme haha, it’s great that you were able to do so! I finished two book series AND finally got around to reading The Hobbit in April, so I guess my reading month was a little bit like that as well and I’m so happy about that!
    Good luck with your last exams! 🙂

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  4. Sounds like a great month, all things considered! I’ve loved using Leuchtturm journals too, and the paper is great for my fountain pens.

    My favorite book of the month is The House in the Cerulean Sea. It was a breath of fresh air for me, and I loved it. I have Sourdough on my TBR, but I haven’t gotten around to starting it yet. Given the quarantine baking craze, this might be the perfect time to read it! 😀

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  7. Sounds like you’ve had an incredibly productive month. It’s insane to think about how different things are compared to last month. It feels like a year’s passed since then haha. I’m still getting into the grove of bullet journaling, but I really enjoy and I find habit trackers have been my lifeline to keep me motivated and it’s an excuse to use my washi tape haha. I hope May is kind to you. 😀

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  9. sounds like you got lots done, well done! It was a bit of a ‘stop and re-evaluate’ kind of month mostly because uni took a four week break to figure out online learning which was so annoying! but I went on lots of long runs and spent lots of enforced time with my housemates which was pretty good, and did more creative writing and reading than usual

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  11. Thank you so much for the shout out! It sounds like you had a good month 🙂 I admire the fact that you were able to finish a journal, I have tried many times but I always end up forgetting about it! Best of luck with the rest of your exams!

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  14. Starting a new journal is always the best feeling! I’ve heard great things about Sourdough recently, so I definitely need to check it out 🙂 Looks like you had a great month !!

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