an april for the books
hullo, & welcome to our collection of april’s weekly reading book reviews— posted every monday as they happen!
& of course complete with links so you can shop the titles at bookshop.org (whenever possible; sometimes it’s b&noble if not available on bookshop) and support the local indie bookstore of your choice while sending yourself some happy mail!! :D
yours in the stories,
xo,
*hallie : )
✨📖 weekly reading book review april 2025: episode one!! 📖✨
🩷 here’s what i read this week:
🩵 THE HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF MAGIC by amy sparkes
the barnes & noble paperback edition here!
🎭 HAMLET by wm shakespeare
💖 MANSLAUGHTER PARK by tirzah price
📚 currently reading:
🚙 GOODNIGHT TOKYO by atsuhiro yoshida
📚 miiiiiight read next:
🧡 DEATH AT THE LIGHTHOUSE by alasdair beckett-king & illustrated by claire powell (loved the first in the montgomery bonbon series!!)
❤️ THE DOLLHOUSE ACADEMY by margarita montimore
💙 THE BORROWER by rebecca makkai (whose I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU made me a super fan of her work!!)
📚 tick tocking the caffeine countdown,
💖xo,
*hallie 🤓
also mentioned the tv series GOOD OMENS with david tennant & michael sheen (haven't read the book yet, but it's waiting in the wings of my TBR stacks!)
and about to go pick up my library hold of SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE now that i know how the workshop and composing and stage design and such went from reading
PUTTING IT TOGETHER: HOW STEPHEN SONDHEIM & I WROTE SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE by james lapine
✨📖 weekly reading book review april 2025: episode two!! 📖✨
📚 this week i read:
🔎 MONTGOMERY BONBON: DEATH AT THE LIGHTHOUSE by alasdair beckett-king & illustrated by claire powell
🩷 GOODNIGHT TOKYO by atsuhiro yoshida
😳 IN COLD BLOOD by truman capote
📚 currently reading:
🇫🇷 THE GIRL WHO READS ON THE METRO by christine féret-fleury
🎬 currently watching:
🎨 SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (sondheim & lapine)
📚 miiiiiiight read next:
🎭 JULIUS CAESAR by wm shakespeare
🚀 LAST CHANCE TO SAVE THE WORLD by beth revis
🐑 THREE BAGS FULL by leonie swann
💙 THE MEMORY SPINNER by c.m. cornwell (out august 2025!!)
looking for act II (& more pie),
💖xo,
*hallie 🤓
✨📖 weekly reading book review april 2025: episode three!! 📖✨
🐰 here’s what we read this week!!
🇫🇷 THE GIRL WHO READS ON THE METRO by christine féret-fleurey
📝 UNSTUCK by barbara dee
🎭 THE SPAMALOT DIARIES by eric idle
🚀 LAST CHANCE TO SAVE THE WORLD by beth revis
🎭 JULIUS CAESAR by wm. shakespeare
🎨 HILDA & THE TROLL by luke pearson
🐷 THE THREE LITTLE PIGS by james marshall (i think my childhood picture books explain my sense of humor pretty well 😂❤️)
🐣 currently reading:
🗺️ THE CARTOGRAPHERS by peng shepherd
📚 currently watching (at least pieces of):
🎭 HAMLET (eye roll sir laurence; i prefer laurence laurenze in HAIL, CAESAR! 😅🎬)
🎭 JULIUS CAESAR (marlon brando; 1953)
📚 possibly reading next:
🎭 KING HENRY IV, PART I by wm shakespeare
🥺 ON AGAIN, AWKWARD AGAIN by erin entrada kelly & kwame mbalia
🎭 AUDITION by katie kitamura
📖 and bonus storytime with the hubs:
💙 a read-aloud of FERRIS by kate diCamillo
with not many jelly beans left,
💚xo,
*hallie 🤓
✨📖 weekly reading book review april 2025: episode four!! 📖✨
💙 here’s what i read this week:
🗺️ THE CARTOGRAPHERS by peng shepherd
yep. that was it! 😂
(maybe i was too busy hoarding new books with the b&n preorder sale & independent bookstore day shenanigans…?)😄🩵
📖 currently reading for book club:
🐑 THREE BAGS FULL by leonie swann
🎡 & storytime with the hubs with a FERRIS by kate dicamillo read*aloud!!
watched for the first time:
🎬 O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (2000)
& saw at the SC children's theatre:
🎭 MATILDA (!!!)
📚 miiiiight read next:
💙 MOMO ARASHIMA BREAKS THE MIRROR OF THE SUN by misa sugiura
🎬 RIGHT ON CUE by falon ballard
🦌 BAMBI by felix salten
^ links to a pretty copy, not the old one i’m holding in the video :)
🤍 COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE by haruki murakami
^ mine has a different cover, but same book.
& for evelyn skye's creative, inspired, happy may book club, i’ll be starting:
🫣 EGO IS THE ENEMY by ryan holiday
what stories are you loving right now?!?
😄📖🎬📚📺🎨🎧🎭💚
👉🏽 don’t forget to sign up for the crayon box before you miss APRIL’s sticker (sooooo cute & 📚 perfect, if i do say so myself! 😎🎨🧡) & enjoy may’s DOUBLE STICKER birthday happy mail month!! 😆✨🥳🖍️
join here: https://patreon.com/halthegal
happy mail & all the benefits start with a pledge of just $6/mo!
ohkay.
i better go pay some bills & make some art.
🥰
💜xo,
*hallie 🤓
my personal favourite reads of this month!
in no particular order, the book stack is as follows:
"hamlet is a ghost story!" oh, how i love this play. (and shakespeare anyone's coverage of it, too!! highly recommend those podcast episodes!)
after you re-read the play, there's lots of material out there if you want to compare interpretations of the character. and then i'm gonna recommend david tennant's performance (RSC, 2009; available on dvd) until i, too, have angels sing me to my rest. :)
LAST CHANCE TO SAVE THE WORLD, by beth revis
the thrilling, page-turning snarky finale to her sci-fi novella trilogy. defeating bad guys (uh, tech giants embroiled with the gov't, anybody?) at their own game. score 9,000 for humanity the way it should be. and add kissing and cusses. ;) thank you, dear beth*beth. and you're welcome, world.
a middle grade novel for all of us creatives out there who defeat ourselves when facing a blank page. full of compassion, sibling drama, expectations, shifting friend groups, and a helpful list of different ways to get UN-stuck in the back, too.
THE GIRL WHO READS ON THE MÉTRO, by christine féret-fleury
another small book with a big impact. adult fiction with the full range of human emotions: loss and love and grief and death and found family. and the magic of the written word without just being ANoTHER "book about BookS."
GOODNIGHT TOKYO, by atsuhiro yoshida
neatly interwoven stories of a community connections within a big city.
MONTGOMERY BONBON: DEATH AT THE LIGHTHOUSE, by alasdair beckett-king & illustrated by claire powell
teehee. it's middle grade. but if you're a grown-up, you can call it a cozy mystery. with HilARious pictures as a bonus. ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING vibes with quirkier small-town (island) characters and twists i couldn't see coming.
IN COLD BLOOD, by truman capote
a classic i hadn't read yet. and while i can't swear by it, because i'm about to make this up: i'm just gonna say it's the birth of the narrative nonfiction true crime novel. at least the best one i've ever read. modern or otherwise.
(also props to harper lee for compiling all of truman’s research and interviews for him.)
any standout titles for you this month? in ink or otherwise?
make sure you're subscribed to my marker re*cap newsletter for a catch-up on a couple months' worth of belated fun coming to your inbox early in may!!
until i tackle may’s ever-evolving TBR,
your cupcake munching page*sniffer,
xo,
*hallie :)