Looking for the light, fresh new books, and opting out of overconsumption

April was a mood...

Welcome to Monthly Wrap, where I share three books I loved last month, three books I’m looking forward to, and three good things.

In my three decades on this earth, I've realized that life is all about ebbs and flows. This past month has been an ebb. Adulting got me down good.

Between tax season (it hurts every year as a small business owner, no matter how financially prepared I am), being a few months into what feels like an increasingly impossible house hunt, and the never-ending depressing news coming out of our nation's capital it all created a perfect storm to make me feel, more days than not, down.

some moments of April joy: rare sunny days, gray beach walks, veg dinners

I could go on and on about this, but I won't. I'm sure you've been here before with your own perfect storm and can relate. What I do know is that, in times like these, no matter how hard, it's still worth looking for the good in things. Even if it's hard to see or believe in, it's there.

Art in Bloom and bookstore afternoons

I know that getting outside will not solve my problems, but it will make me feel 10% better. I know that kitten season is upon us, and every Wednesday morning for the next few weeks, I will get to snuggle those tiny little fur balls at the cat shelter (please see below for some absolute cuties in my room two weeks ago). I know that going to see a favorite band with a good friend will ease that feeling. I know the blooms are beginning to peek out from the long-dormant earth, and more sun-soaked days are ahead.

So, everything was a bit slower for me this month, but I know that life goes on and things keep moving, and I can trust that the days will get a bit brighter if I keep looking (and the return of actual sunshine after a completely gray April won't hurt either!).

A few April blooms

Now, onto the books...

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The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight¹ is a lovely coming-of-age novel about Pen, who arrives at university in Scotland, where she tries to make sense of her parents’ divorce by becoming entangled in the lives of old family friends. It's heartwarming, endearing, and has a delightful setting!

Poets Square by Courtney Gustafson². Have I convinced you to read this book yet? If you are an animal lover or have any animal lovers in your life, I cannot recommend this memoir enough. It's a touching look at what happens when we open ourselves to loving other living beings.

Stolen Focus by Johann Hari³ didn't smack me in the face with "aha" moments while I was reading it but after reading it I could not stop thinking about it. It got me seriously thinking about the use of technology in our day-to-day lives. It's thought-provoking, if sometimes repetitive, and it looks at how our lives could be so much better with a few simple changes.

Want more recs? See everything I read in April here:

What I read in April

Daughters by Kirsty Capes (out 5/6) because it tells the story of two sisters who are reunited after the death of their mother, a famous painter, whose dying wish was that they burn all her paintings so nothing can be sold. When their aunt puts together a retrospective of their mother’s work, they embark on a journey to put a stop to it to honor their mother’s wish.

Sleep by Honor Jones (out 5/13) because I love a novel about returning to a family home and this is precisely that. Newly divorced, Margaret returns to the big house she grew up in with her two young daughters, where she reckons with what it means to be a mother to her daughters and a daughter to her mother.

Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley (out 5/27) because it’s already been dubbed the rom-com of the summer and has blurbs by so many of my trusted authors including

Catherine Newman

, Meg Wolitzer and

Annabel Monaghan

.

1. Movie dates. It rained almost every weekend in April here in Maine, so we took full advantage of our movie pass membership and saw so many in theatres. It’s quite lovely to spend a Saturday afternoon in a dark theatre with a bucket of popcorn while escaping into a story for a few hours. The standout was The Ballad of Wallis Island, which was the perfect blend of heartfelt and deeply funny. I laughed out loud, teared up, and loved the trio of main characters and the setting of a remote English island. If you have the chance to watch it, I recommend it! Then please come back and tell me what you think.

2. Daily walks, even in bad weather. I tried to get outside every day, no matter the weather, this month, and it has truly been a mood booster. We live off the trail by the cove, so I often head there for a walk. There is camaraderie on the bad weather days of other walkers nodding to you as you pass, and there is palpable joy and life on sunny days when it feels like all of Portland has emerged.

3. Setting financial goals. Is anyone else tired of being constantly marketed to? I’ve been craving simplicity this month, which started by feeling so tired of being marketed to everywhere I turn. Dean and I sat down recently to set some financial goals as we think about the next year and what we want to achieve. It felt really joyful to do that together, put our sights towards something concrete, and consume less as a result.

Until next time,

From Mays past:

Sundays by the sea, in bloom, and my new favorite room

Literary friends, all the spring books, and favorite moments

April was a month of five star reads

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1. Thank you to Pamela Dorman Books for my free copy. All opinions are my own.

2. Thank you to Crown Publishing for my free copy. All opinions are my own.

3. Thank you to Crown Publishing for my free copy. All opinions are my own.