april 2026 reads
April was another month of not a lot of reading. I was simply too busy with work and reading for that to read anything on my own. I also ended up spending two weeks in Canada at the last minute, which threw another wrench into the chaos. Ironically though, being in Canada is exactly how I had the time to finish 2/3 of the books on this month's list...
I know it's short again, but reading is still reading and it's not a competition. I'm glad I could get to some books and it's always great to share what I've been up to, so on to the list!
Novels, Collections, & Nonfiction
Mutual Aid by Dean Spade
I got this book for free through some kind of campaign that libro.fm did in collaboration with the publisher and I'm glad it was short because I intensely disliked it. Repeated the same too points over and over, intensely shallow, and a pretty bad introduction to mutual aid as far as I'm concerned. The ending had some useful information about the division of labour in groups, but the rest of the book was so irritating that I can't remember any of it.
The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang
This is the second book in the Poppy Wars series and it went just as hard as the first book, which means I loved it. A lot about colonialization and white supremacy through the veil of a (technically) fictional setting. It was interesting to hear more about the Hesparians and thoughts about religion that were interspersed throughout. Really looking forward to the last book.
ババヤガの夜 by 大谷晶 (Akira Otani)
This book was short and sweet. Sweet may not be a good description of a book that opens with a kidnapping and brutal attack scenes, but what the author did in such a short amount of time was so impressive. Multiple POVs, dealing with misogyny and racism... It was tense and suspenseful—exactly what I was hoping for. Translated into English by Sam Bett as The Night of Baba Yaga. Highly recommend. Will be buying more books from this author.
Manga & Other Comics
Didn't read anything that I can talk about, so this section is blank for the month of April!
And that's a wrap. I know the list is pretty short and I know they've been short since the start of the year, but I just have a lot going on. My brain is busy and I find myself playing video games instead. I have some more life adjustments coming up in May though, and I think they will actually facilitate more reading for pleasure on my part, especially since some of my bookish translation work will be slowing down for the foreseeable future.
As always, happy reading, and see you again next month!
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