10 Books I Read in April
I've decided to start reflecting on what I've read over the past month to see if it affects what I read in the next. Hopefully it will help me get out of reading ruts, find more of what I love, and challenge me to diversity my reads.
So, month one: In April 2022, I read 10 books.
1. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. I picked this up because I loved A Gentleman in Moscow, but this novel is more your speed if you like the glamor of New York. It was a bit too cliche for me, but still an enjoyable read.
2. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera. I hate YA. Call it snobbery, I don't know. But every few months, I pick another one up in hopes that I'll find one I like. This premise was good: Imagine everyone gets a call on the day of their death. One more chance to make the most of your life. If you actually enjoy YA, you can read it in a day or two.
3-4. Murder on the Orient Express & And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Can I call myself a reader if I've never read about Poirot? I love Conan Doyle, so Christie seemed like the next logical step. I absolutely hated MOTOE, but ATTWN was fun. I think they make good beach reads; if you sample her writing, give it as least two tries.
5-8. I read four books on Objectives & Key Results (OKRs) since my new job builds software to manage them: The Practice of Management, Measure What Matters, Radical Focus, and OKR Alignment. Most of them were fairly dry, but if you're interested in the practice, Measure What Matters is a good place to start.
9. The Anne of Green Gables Series. I wrote another blog post on this series, but yes, ashamed as I am to admit it: I loved it. Give it a chance.
10. Content Strategy for The Web by Kristina Halvorson. More and more content design books are on the shelves. This is a good, short resource for UX Writers who are the only ones at their company (hi, hello) and want some practical tips for conducting audits.
Overall, not a bad month. In May, there are a few new literary fiction pieces I want to read. I'll also try to fit in a few short guides on UX research, as well as another short story collection by Isaac Asimov. I'm looking forward to actually reading outside this month; Bulgaria's starting to show the first signs of spring.