April. The scent of springtime, the bright sunshine, free natural vitamin D, daffodils emerging from their winter hiding places, gardening hopes renewed, and books. Of course, there have to be books. Either that, or take a hike. Your choice.
Word of the Month
Consecration
Bible Verses of the Month
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” – (Romans 12:1,2 NLT)
This month’s reading diary is at the bottom of this page, after the book list.
My Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/lindajm
★ – I’m reading it.
✓ – I finished reading it. Yay!
⇗ – Still reading at the end of the month.
⇓ – I did not like it or finish it.
∅ – Stalled – I started but didn’t finish.
Challenges
1. People April – a Booktube event. (Read nonfiction memoirs, biographies, etc.)
2. The 2025 Biblical Studies Challenge – this challenge asks us to read one book monthly on a topic one would study if lucky enough to attend a Bible college. The April topic is Gospels. I’m planning to read Come and See, a workbook study on the Gospel of John.
3. Amish in April – Another Booktube reading event, for reading Amish-inspired fiction. I have a Beth Wiseman trilogy on hand in paperback, and I’ll probably read just the first book.
4. Reading Books I Already Own – During 2025 I commit to reading books I’ve already bought, and not buying more… hopefully, for the most part. I’ve made a commitment to read 100 books I already own because there’s no sense in buying more when I’m not taking time to read the books I’ve already got. I made an exception for audiobooks. Also library or Libby books don’t count because I’m not buying them. Progress: 8/100 (Not counting audiobooks of course.)
5. Becoming vegan – I’m still transitioning to a vegan diet – with books! Facts so far: I gave up ice cream and butter. I did not give up cheese or oil. I normally don’t eat meat anyway. This month I want to distance myself from sugar and get back to exercising on my stationary bike. I’d rather use a real bike but since mine burned in the fire it hasn’t been replaced due to my age and location.
6. I’ll be participating in a readalong for Elizabeth and Her German Garden.
7. The Virtual Theology Christian Reading Challenge – 21/73 so far
Finished Reading This Month
✓ Memoir: Up From Slavery, by Booker T. Washington
My intention: to read this for the People April event. (Biographies and memoirs!)
Update: I finished this memoir on the last day of the month, April 30, at 11pm. Awesome book about a man’s struggle for education, first for himself, and later, for others. Review
✓ Memoir: Night, by Elie Wiesel
This is a heartbreaking Holocaust memoir. People can be so cruel. I read this on April 29. It is short. Borrowed from Libby. Broke my heart to remember how cruel people can be. Review
✓ History: The Wide Wide Sea, by Hampton Sides
Continuing my exploration of maritime survival literature.
Update: I finished listening to this audiobook on April 28. This is the history of Captain James Cook who explored the Pacific. Review
✓ Juvenile Fiction: Scary Stories for Young Foxes, by Christian McKay Heidicker
I started reading this book for Middle Grade March (last month) and I finished it this month with the conviction that this is not a great book for middle grade children, but it is a great book for older people who are not faint of heart. For a young fox, the situations in this book would be absolutely terrifying. Review
✓ Christian Biography: Ann Judson: A Missionary Life for Burma, by Sharon James
I love Christian missionary biographies. This one I’m reading for the Biblical Studies Challenge. I was supposed to finish it in March and did not, so I’ll continue in April.
Update: I finished this inspirational epistolary biography on April 16. Recommended. Review
✓ Epistolary Memoir: Elizabeth and Her German Garden, by Elizabeth Von Arnim
I’m participating in a readalong of this book.
UPDATE: I finished reading this on April 12. I read it through immersion reading (both Kindle and audiobook). I enjoyed the book but it was clearly obvious that Elizabeth (a very young woman) had a lot to learn about how to treat and think of other people, in a compassionate way. Review
✓ Memoir: Raising Hare, by Chloe Dalton
This is the group-read for People April.
Update: Finished April 8 in the wee hours of the morning. I loved this book! The author found an abandoned infant hare and did the difficult work of saving its life. The rewards included an ongoing relationship with this hare for many months to come. Worth reading, if you love nature. Review
✓ Biography: Jedediah Smith: No Ordinary Mountain Man, by Barton H. Barbour
I’m audio-reading this for People April. I’m a couple chapters in. It seems rather dry but still, is very interesting to me as I’ve often wondered about this mountain man that visited my area in Northern California.
Update: Finished reading this on April 5. It is a part of California history that needed to be told. Review
More Bookish Intentions
⇗ Memoir: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs
⇗ Memoir: Tramp For the Lord, by Corrie Ten Boom
⇗ Christian Amish Fiction: Her Brother’s Keeper, by Beth Wiseman
Amish in April.
⇗ Bible Study: Come & See: Bible Study on John, by The Daily Grace Company
I’m reading this for my April book during the 2025 Biblical Studies Challenge.
⇗ Christian Nonfiction: The Story of Christianity, by Justo L. Gonzalez
My sister bought this for me on my birthday, along with another book on Christian history. The month for history during my Biblical Studies Challenge will be November, but this is a big thick book and I have no hope for finishing it in November unless I start early.
This video is about the Biblical Studies Challenge I’ve embarked on during 2025.
My April 2025 Reading Diary
April 1 – April Fool’s Day. It would be foolish to not read a book.
April 6 – I finished reading the Jedediah Smith biography yesterday. I was disappointed to read about so many battles with our California natives. Jedediah was a young man in his 20’s and led a group of hired men who helped him trap/kill beavers for fur. Overall it felt like a very sad story and sad era of California history. Jedediah was raised Christian and really did try to befriend each tribe he encountered, but when natives were unfriendly he turned to self-defense measures, with often tragic results. I was surprised to learn that Jedediah Smith lived to only age 32 when he was killed in Kansas by a band of traveling Comanches. For such a brief life, he earned a lot of fame for at least those of us who know of him here in Northern California, because of the Jedediah Smith State Park (a redwood forest) and the Smith River.
April 11 – I created a new video today about what I’m reading during April.
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