Reading Wrap-up: April 2014

Well I've been blogging for over a month now and yet no mention really of the first half of my blog's title. You know the BOOK part. :-) My goodness I'm slacking eh? While no less important to me than the travel part I decided early on to focus mainly on my travels on this blog and then created a separate blog for the book reviews and reading challenges I've gotten in to. Oh you didn't know I had a book blog too? Ah but I do and it's found here.

Generally I'll keep most of the book talk confined to my book blog but at the end of each month on this blog I'm going to post a wrap-up of what I've been reading, progress on my reading challenges, and what I have on the TBR (To Be Read) pile.

Most of my travels are inspired by books I have read or the books I read are inspired by my travels. You'll find I tend to pick books set in different countries or with themes (like WWI and II lately) that tie in to a trip. I love how these types of books let me travel and explore these new places without leaving home as, let's face it, I haven't hit the lottery just yet so I still have to show up at work each day. I also really enjoy learning about different cultures and historical events tied to the places I'm going to visit. I find I appreciate everything so much more and am a little more observant when I know a little bit about what I'm going to see. And then I love reliving great memories of the places I've been when I read about one of those cities in a new novel. Especially London and Paris. I just can't get enough of either city. 

So let's see what I have been up to for the month of April shall we?

Books I've Read 

(Click on the title if you'd like to read my review of the book) 

source: Goodreads

• Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate) by Amy Thomas
• The Art of French Kissing by Kristin Harmel
• Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert
• 175 Ways to Travel Today by Rebekah Voss (review pending)

Books In Progress

source:Goodreads

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
• The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomans (audiobook but I'm struggling to finish because I don't really care for the narrator)  
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
• The New York Times. 36 Hours. 125 Weekends in Europe by Barbara Ireland (LOVE this book!)

Reading Challenge Progress 

• Audiobook Challenge: 1 of 10 books completed
• Books on France Challenge: 2 of 6 books completed
• British History Challenge: 0 of 3 books completed
• European Reading Challenge: 0 of 5 books completed
• Foodies Read Challenge: 1 of 3 books completed
• Harry Potter and the 2014 (re) Read: 0 of 7 books completed
• Historical Fiction Challenge: 0 of 5 books completed
• I Love Library Books Challenge: 0 of 36 books completed
• Non-Fiction Challenge: 2 of 10 books completed
• Read your Freebies: 1 of 12 books completed 

TBR

• Somewhere in France: A Novel of the Great War by Jennifer Robson
• All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
• The Norman Conquest of England by Janice Hamilton
• Park Lane by Frances Osborne 
• Mr Darcy's Guide to Courtship: The Secrets of Seduction from Jane Austen's Most Eligible Bachelor by Emily Brand
• ...something about the Mayan ruins we'll be visiting in June

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."

~ Augustine of Hippo