Over the weekend, I got out my markers and my washi to make a new spread in my reading journal for the upcoming month. I decided to go with a “spring” theme for April. As you can see from the photo below, things got a little busy and chaotic on the page. It’s not my favorite of the spreads I’ve done so far, but I like it well enough.
The biggest change for this month is that I’m not making a TBR for April. I’ve been feeling like I want a little more spontaneity in my reading life. I need the flexibility of being able to just pick up whatever book I happen to feel like reading in that moment, regardless of what’s currently at the tippy top of my TBR.
April is going to be a heavy writing and editing month for me. I’m participating in Camp NaNoWriMo and using that focus to help me finish and polish a Modern Fae novella that I started writing just before the pandemic began, then set aside so I could focus on Rogue Assassins and Hunter of the Fae. Now it’s time to finish that novella and get it out there so that folks who’ve been enjoying my series can start speculating on what this new information and these new characters might mean for book five. (Bwahahaha…)
I expect that this more intense focus on writing is going to mean that I gravitate towards shorter and lighter reads in April. Probably, if I had to guess, more contemporary romance and sci-fi, because I find it’s a nice break from having my brain immersed in my fantasy worlds. But I’m resisting the urge to make a plan.
Even though I’m not making a TBR for April, I did want to do a spread for the 2021 Nebula nominees for best novel. I’ve read two of these so far (Network Effect by Martha Wells, and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia). I have all the rest on my Kindle, and I intend to read them all (or as many as I can) by the award ceremony in June. So, I added this spread to remind me to get to these sooner, rather than later. In fact, if you look closely at the photo, you’ll notice that I wrote “April TBR” under Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk. So, maybe I not so great at this whole not having a TBR thing.
Do you prefer to set yourself a TBR each month? Or do you read based on whatever you feel like in that moment? Are you planning on reading the Nebula best novel nominees? Or have you already read them? If so, which was your favorite? Let me know in the comments.
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