April Recap // Time Flew, I Read Books, Watched Gilmore Girls, & Now It’s May?

Not to be a broken record, but I don’t know how it’s already May.

Not only is it already May, but it’s already almost a week into May? I don’t understand where this month went exactly, but I’m very grateful that it went by faster than the year and a half that was March. I think almost every recap post I’ve read so far this month said the same, so I know I’m not alone in this feeling- but I still can’t believe we’re in the fifth month of 2020 already.

I’m also very excited to be writing a recap post again, because upon looking in my archives, I realized I haven’t written a proper one of these since September! That is absurd, and it just shows how off on my blogging game I’ve been. I hope I never go that long without writing a recap post again, because I love them.

Anyway, now that we’re here (thank you for being here), I’m going to talk about what I read this month (more than March! unsurprisingly, it can’t be difficult to beat March), the little that I blogged, and the even littler that I did in real life, and some goals for May!

To start off this recap on a positive note, I finally got back into my reading game! After many months of barely reading (basically since I started back at school), I’ve finally been reading a lot more. Even though I’m still extraordinarily behind on my Goodreads challenge, I have faith that things can be turned around.

In April I read 10 books, and only one of them was a reread! That’s fairly uncommon for me, as usually I’m much more into rereading- I think one factor was that I discovered I could use the app Overdrive to read online (since I can’t go to the library, of course) and this led to me searching for…about every book on my TBR.

Since I haven’t written any reviews in forever, I might do a post soon with mini reviews of some of these! Especially since I definitely returned to my YA contemporary roots this month. My favorite read had to be Call Down the Hawk (will scream about it if prompted to do so), because my expectations were high and not only were they met, but they were exceeded.

I didn’t have too many disappointments this month, besides maybe feeling a little let down by The Rest of Us Just Live Here and Holding Up the Universe, but I didn’t have huge expectations for either of these going in, so the letdown wasn’t really that huge. Overall, I was very happy to get back into reading this month and discover so many amazing books!

Reading Goals for May: ✨

• Read 10 books
• Read a classic (reread of Anne? P&P?)
• Write at least one review on Goodreads
• Finish Anna Karenina

I have high hopes for May being a good reading month! Even with the school things I have going on (which I will talk about more later in this post), I should have plenty of time to read as long as I don’t distract myself with TikTok to the point of it being unhealthy…which is only slightly a possibility.

I mostly returned to the blog in April! Well, I returned to the blog in March, but then I mostly disappeared again until April, which wasn’t my best move. But we’re back now, I think? So that’s exciting.

Even though I wasn’t on top of my blogging game this month (only posting once, about comfort reads for quarantine), I tried my best to be more active on WordPress in general, and that’s something that’s been making me really happy. Even when I’m feeling a semi-lack of inspiration, nothing is better than reading blog posts and commenting and interacting! I actually even saved some posts I read in March and April that I loved, which is something I’m always striving to remember to do.

• Marie talks about all the YA spring releases, so if your TBR is in need of some new books, go check it out (and the TBR always needs more!)
• Kay did a post talking about all her thoughts on the Percy Jackson series, and it’s the most entertaining and fun post ever!
• Margaret made me want to reread The Hunger Games with her discussion of thoughts while rereading the series, and I LOVE it
• Ash created Instagram feeds for her favorite book characters, and I honestly could live in this blog post, it is just that beautiful! (The Gansey one though🥺)
• Sophie talks all about why she loves middle grade and my middle grade adoring soul is so happy and I agree with all her points
• Elizabeth shared a list of comfort reads for these times, and not only are the recommendations amazing, but her blogging voice is actually The Best™
• Lauren shared her thoughts while watching the last two Harry Potter movies and this is a must-read for any Potterheads
• Maha wrote the most beautiful message about productivity during these times, and it’s so important for everyone to read!

I know I read so many other amazing posts during the month, and I would love to read any that you enjoyed, so please feel free to link any in the comments! I can’t explain the joy it brings me to read blog posts written by all of you, each and every blogger out there, especially right now when comfort is needed by all. Not to be sappy, but it’s one of the things keeping me sane, so thank you. 🤍

Blogging Goals for May: ✨

• Post four times
• Keep track of posts I enjoyed (maybe even get enough to organize them by topic next time)
• Work on any blogging redesign I might want to do
• Comment on posts regularly
• Respond to comments within a week
• Do a tag
• Discussion post
• Reviews (miniature ones)

I didn’t get off to the most auspicious start for blogging this month, due to the fact that this post is coming out almost a week after the start of May- but that was mostly due to a lack of inspiration, and since I’m feeling a little more motivated now, I hope that can be turned around in the future!

I don’t even know where to start. Life is even more precious than it normally is this month, as is my health and the safety of my family, my community, and really the whole world. I didn’t want to dwell too much on the negative aspects of our current life situation, because I know everyone already knows, is going through similar struggles, and I want this post to be an escape rather than a reminder.

However, please know that I am thinking and praying for each one of you, and I urge you to do all you can to keep yourself and those around you safe. Stay home as much as you are able to, wash your hands, spend time with your family- I’m thinking of all of you and I truly hope you are doing well. My contact page and comments are always open if you need someone to talk to during this time (or ever)!🤍

On that note, life has been more than a little crazy during this time. In the midst of cancellations of my dance recitals, school, plans- there have been some positive parts, so here are a few positive notes from my April~

• I’ve been listening to even more music. I’ve always been an avid music listener, so this is nothing new, but now that I have even more free time, I’ve been listening to music nonstop, and it’s amazing. Below are screenshots of my April playlist- some songs are ones I discovered in April (ILYSB, Quite Miss Home, and Sometimes are a few of my favorites) and others are ones that were applicable to the situation (I Don’t Miss You At All, Six Feet Apart, If the World Was Ending).
  

  

  

Please disregard the fact that I took these screenshots past 1 am, I am a night owl and I don’t know how to control it. I also got on the roll of writing this post in the 11s, and now I cannot bring myself to stop so close to the finish.

• I started a rewatch of Gilmore Girls. I really couldn’t love this show more, so even though I’m in the midst of multiple other shows that I’m watching for the first time, I’m still taking time to watch…Gilmore Girls. Again. Because, you know, Lorelai and Rory and coffee are the most iconic trio.
• Bike rides, walks, and workouts. It’s become a Thing that I go on daily family walks, as well as daily (usually twice daily) bike rides with my sister. She also convinced me to do a workout challenge with her, which is proving to be difficult because she is much more in shape than me…but it’s a good challenge. One of my favorite parts about our evening bike rides is the inevitable sunset we always see- here are a few of my favorites.

• Online school and Zoom dance is the new norm. Catch me every day spending most of my time on the laptop, doing my online assignments and spending my nights on Zoom calls with my dance teachers, doing dance to the best of my abilities in our game room. I can’t express how much I wish we could be back to normal, but as far as online school and dance go, it isn’t completely horrible!
• Many Facetimes with friends. I’ve been calling friends constantly to check up on them, have conversations, and try to keep up my social interaction even when it isn’t socially acceptable to see people in person. Thank goodness for Facetime, because it’s been a true lifesaver.

May is going to be a very interesting month! We have (online) AP exams coming up much sooner than I was prepared for, an online dance recital to figure out, the end of school, and the beginning of summer- I truly can’t believe time is going by this fast. I need to get started on my playlist for May 2020 as soon as possible!

Well, that’s all I have- thank you very much for reading my continued ramblings on my month! Like I said at the beginning of this post, it’s been much too long since I last wrote a recap, and this was very much needed.

Again, I wish you all the best, and I hope you are all doing well and taking time for yourself during this time! Thinking of all of you, please stay safe out there, and have the best May possible amidst the circumstances. Until next time!✨

How was your April? Any good books read, music listened to, or shows watched? I would love to hear all the recommendations and talk with you in the comments.

Credits for image in featured image >> Photo by Vincent Camacho on Unsplash