Reading Update [January - April]

You might think it's funny, but I always feel that the first four months of my reading year is the most important one. If I screw up, the entire year would be a failure. But, if I somehow manage to strive, I'd be relieved, because I know it's going to be okay. That's why, I usually post my first (if not only!) reading updates in early May (or sometimes I call it 'post Zoladdiction'.) Now let's see how I've managed so far...

JANUARY

Original plan:
1. Eugene Onegin ~ Pushkin - for #CCSpin25 (⭐⭐⭐1/2) ✔
2. The Conquest of Plassans [reread] ~ Zola (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) ✔

==DONE==

Addition:
3. Death in the Clouds ~ Christie (⭐⭐⭐⭐) ➕

FEBRUARY

Original Plan:
4. Nicholas Nickleby ~ Dickens - for #NicholasNicklebyReadalong2021 (⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2) ✔

==DONE==

MARCH

Original Plan:
5. Things Fall Apart ~ Achebe (⭐⭐⭐1/2) ✔
6. The Tale of Genji ~ Shikibu ❌ - My copy is curiously missing from the bookcase!!?
- replaced by ➡️ Murder in Mesopotamia ~ Christie (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) ✔

Addition:
7. The ABC Murders ~ Christie (⭐⭐⭐1/2) ➕

APRIL

Original Plan:
8. The Sin of Abbé Mouret [reread] ~ Zola - for #Zoladdiction2021 (⭐⭐⭐1/2) ✔
9. A Biography of Émile Zola ~ Zola ~ Alan Schom - for #Zoladdiction2021 (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) ✔

==DONE==

SUMMARY

Books read = 9 of 8
Challenge/readalong accomplished = 2
Most favorite = A Biography of Émile Zola

WHAT'S NEXT?

MAY

✳ My Ántonia ~ Cather
✳ One of Ours ~ Cather - for #CCSpin26
❌ Originally: Return of the Native ~ Hardy

JUNE

✳ The Beautiful and Damned ~ Fitzgerald - originally for #JazzAgeJune2021, but unfortunately Laurie and I are not able to host, so I'm going to do this 'quietly'.
✳ The Hunchback of Notredame ~ Hugo - for #hunchbackreadalong (Nick's Chapter-a-Day-Read-Along)

JULY

✳ (continuing) The Hunchback of Notredame ~ Hugo - for #hunchbackreadalong
❌ Originally: His Excellency Eugene Rougon [reread] ~ Zola - my least favorite of Rougon Macquart, can't stand it, so.. SKIP!
✳ (non classic/non fiction) Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co. ~ Jeremy Mercer

AUGUST

✳ (continuing) The Hunchback of Notredame ~ Hugo - for #hunchbackreadalong
✳ Pilgrim's Progress ~ Bunyan
✳ Return of the Native ~ Hardy

Wish me luck for the next four months! I had a feeling it would be awesome.