325 Reading Challenge April Update
Previous reading challenge post: February Update
Confession time. The March TBR and April TBR didn’t happen because my challenge wasn’t on my list of priorities for the last dozen weeks.
Such is life. This was always meant to be a “nice to have” addition to my personal goals rather than a main focus. But I’m back! Picking myself up and continuing.
I didn’t read all of my March books. In fact, I only read one.
March books
My 325 Reading Challenge books for March included:
In Defence of Witches: Why women are still on trial by Mona Chollet (non-fiction)
The Anarchy by William Dalrymple (non-fiction)
Femina by Janina Ramirez (non-fiction)
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield (fiction)
The Furies by Elizabeth Flock (non-fiction)
I dipped into almost all of them but only finished reading In Defence of Witches by Mona Chollet.
I highly recommend this one for anybody interested in women’s history and social sciences regarding women’s rights and freedoms, or lack thereof, in the Western world (specifically France).
During April, I picked up a few books that became available. I added a new fiction title to the challenge to replace one of the fiction books I didn’t finish (DNF) back in February.
325 Challenge Books Read in April
The books I read in April were:
Rental Person Who Does Nothing: A Memoir by Shoji Morimoto (non-fiction)
The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez (fiction)
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica (fiction)
Rental Person Who Does Nothing was fascinating. Shoji Morimoto’s idea to hire himself out for free (other than transportation and food costs) to “do nothing” for others sounds wild. And it is. But the number of tasks and events where just having somebody there, or the thought that someone is about to visit, is more than you’d think. If you’ve heard of body doubling, a productivity technique where a person works on a task in the presence of another person, either in person or virtually, this is very similar. As a career choice, it’s certainly something outside the usual and it was interesting to read about.
When The Unworthy became available at my library, I picked it up immediately. It’s been on my horror tbr ever since I heard about it. I’ve also wanted to read Agustina Bazterrica’s work for a while. I’m looking at you, Tender Is The Flesh. This book was a mix of medieval monastery misery and future dystopian chaos told in beautiful prose. I knew what was coming. This is a genre I’ve read for decades (dystopian and historical), but there were still surprises. And again, that language. The main protagonist is fascinating, too. So-called unlikeable narrator? Yes. But you empathize with them and their situation almost immediately. You might think you know what’s about to happen. Maybe it does. But it’s also the journey that matters. This is an addition to the fiction list for the 325 Reading Challenge.
Why did I sleep so long on The Gilda Stories? This is my jam. Historical vampire with an origin story and a step into the future while giving some social commentary. Give it to me yesterday. I knew of this novel. Obviously, I love the vampire genre, so I’ve seen it on the recommended reading lists. But I was nervous I wouldn’t love it as much as I’d hoped. Vampire fiction has burned me with that holy water before, and once bitten, twice shy. Well, I enjoyed it so much that I updated my blog on five female-led vampire stories.
Yes, it’s that good.
If you loved AMC’s Interview with the Vampire or Sinners (2025), go read The Gilda Stories.
May Book TBR (To Be Read)
There are a few books available from the library and my own collection, so picking which five to read in May wasn’t easy. I went with my gut and picked books that offer me a range to choose from. I’m a mood reader more than anything else.
My 325 Reading Challenge pile of books for May includes:
Men We Reaped: A Memoir by Jesmyn Ward (non-fiction)
A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher (fiction)
Made In Manchester by Brian Groom (non-fiction)
Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (fiction)
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (non-fiction)
Yes, I’ll probably pick up A House With Good Bones first because it’s T. Kingfisher and I have devoured many already. Always hungry for those, so please keep them coming. Made In Manchester was chosen for research purposes and my genuine curiosity about the big city closest to me geographically. One of my other goals (so many) is to finish writing that contemporary cosmic horror coven series, so I need to know Manchester like the back of my claw. Other than horror, I love me some cozy, so hello the Tales from the Cafe. The other two books, Men We Reaped and Between The World and Me, feel like necessary reads and I’m always ready to learn more about what I don’t know.
What are you reading in May?
How to take part in the 325 Reading Challenge
There’s still time to join the 325 Reading Challenge. The full details can be found in the launch blog post.
If you want to recommend books you’ve enjoyed, you can post on social media with the hashtags #325ReadingChallenge and #ReadingRecommendations
Let me know if you join in the comments or find me on social media.