It’s been a rough month with a lot of out-of-state work, writing, and personal projects (Spring is here!), so I didn’t get as much reading done as I wanted. It’s actually really interesting to see how my reading ebbs and flows from month to month. That only means May should be a doozy! let’s see where we are at:
2026 Reading Challenge
If that reads anything lower than 32/52 books at 62%, Goodreads is lying to you. They really need to assign just one person to update their widgets so they update properly… actually, the Goodreads team needs to go through and revamp the site/app in light of competition knocking on the door, but I digress. I’m killing it in my 2026 Reading Challenge. Not so much in the 52 Book Challenge.
Let’s see what we read in April:
A celebration worth celebrating.
Reading On Writing is just like reading any of Stephen King’s other novels. That may sound common sense, but it wasn’t for me. This is a non-fiction piece that reads like many of his fiction stories, which I guess is a testament to how real his stories actually are. Unlike the style guides (Dreyer’s English, The Elements of Style), On Writing has real-world advice about the writing process. A lot of it mimics older writers (see Zen by Bradbury below), but feels refined for the working man. Treat it like a job, complete 2,00 words a day (1,000 for new writers), find a place where you can write and shut the door, and so on. Mixed in are great stories about how a boy from Maine became the King of Horror. Great read.
A journey through hell.
I wasn’t prepared for where this novel took me.
Ultimately, The Great Alone tells the story of how one life can affect so many around him. Ernt Allbright comes home from Vietnam a changed man. He drags his family to an Alaskan frontier town in hopes he will find peace. What follows is a heart-wrenching tale about the horrific effects of war and how things aren’t left on the battlefield because the battlefield is within us. Told through the eyes of Leni, Ernt’s daughter, it is a horrific tale about love, loss, and the will to survive.
It’s all about “Zest” and “Gusto”!
The main points to take from this book: Ray Bradbury is a force to be reckoned with, he writes with zest and gusto, and he would die if he could not write. Honestly, there are a lot of really good points in this book about writing, many of which mimic Stephen King’s On Writing (I suppose it’s the other way around, actually), about the process of writing that worked for Bradbury. Even though I knew his background and the time period, I was surprised to know that he churned out about one short story a week! As I said, the man was a force.
Being broken doesn’t mean you’re flawed.
Reading Glut, I’m reminded of poems I wrote in high school and college that deal with love, loss, violence, and pain. I knew this going in. I follow the author on Instagram, and that’s what drew me in. That said, these are much better written and are through the eyes of a female, providing a unique life view. Often, they take a dark turn, dealing with assault, violence, self-harm, and the impossible standard women need to hold themselves up to. Sometimes, there are hints of healing, rebuilding, and happy memories. Some are on the nose. Some are clever and made me think. Some remind me that being broken only means you reflect more light while you dig your toes in the sand.
