April seemed like an unusually long month. Perhaps it is because my focus is elsewhere. I’ve not been in a fiction mood lately, but despite that, when I have picked up a book, I’ve ended up absolutely loving it.
What kind of mood have I been in? A Bible study, nonfiction mood. Reading a devotional about change and some other things just hit me at the right time, so this is where I’m at in this season of life. I’m currently making my way through Systematic Theology, Second Edition: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem. I started that on April 9th but since it’s 1,617 pages long, I doubt I’ll get that completed anytime soon. He does a good job of explaining different points of view as he’s trying to take a comprehensive approach. I’m also skipping around and not really reading in order, just focusing on what I want to study the most or what goes along with what I’m reading in the Bible.
Last month I had indicated that I needed to get back to doing The Sunday Post and Top Ten Tuesday. I’m honestly not sure that I will be going back to those posts. The Sunday Post just does not work out for me, even if I move it to Monday. However, I enjoy both communities very much so perhaps I’ll figure out a plan at some point. Right now, I’m happy with where I’m at.
Books & Book Reviews
I read a total of nine (9) books. Of those, five (5) were paperbacks, two (2) eBooks, and two (2) audiobooks. This is 1,997 pages. This puts me at 32 books read for the year which, according to Goodreads, is 8 books ahead of plan. Here is where I’m at with other challenges:
| Challenge | Goal | Actual |
| 2025 Audiobook Challenge | 5 – 10 | 4 |
| Beat the Backlist | 12 | 4 |
| The TBR 25 in ’25 Challenge | 25 | 4 |
| The Bookish Books Reading Challenge | 1 – 10 | 4 |
| 2025 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge | 11 – 20 | 17 |
| Historical Fiction Reading Challenge for 2025. | 10 | 5 |
I might have some repeats on the Cover Lovers Challenge, I haven’t looked at it in detail. I keep tags on Goodreads and when something falls into one of the categories, I tag it. The number is the times I’ve tagged something. It’s really been annoying me that I don’t have “a light source that can be held in the hand” given the books I read. Oddly, I do have ” something you might see in a hospital” and it’s from the cover of an Amish book. Can you see how backward that is?
The links below are to the reviews on the blog. If you want to follow along or friend on Goodreads, you can also do that here. Or, if you enjoy the aesthetics of Bookstagram, I’d love to catch up with you there.
- The Lightness of Water by Toni Cabell
- Her Amish Refuge by by Pamela Desmond Wright
- Murder in the Appalachians by Susan Furlong
- Season of Hope by by Sara Jane Jacobs (Author), Lisa Lynn Sandlin (Narrator)
- Amish Country Killer by Mary Alford
- Amish Weddings by Beth Oberholtzer (Author), Suzanne Woods Fisher (Foreword)
- Discovering Dahlia by Jennifer Moore
- Winning Over the Baker by Danielle Thorne
- Lizzie’s Little Mouse by Anne Blackburne
Top Posts
People are still here for the giveaways — which I’m slowly backing off of so I anticipate pageviews will go down eventually. The total pageviews for April was 4,872. I still don’t have many subscribers – 70. But that’s okay, if only one person is here for something besides the giveaways, I can live with that. Actually, I’m okay just writing to myself because I enjoy it. Remember when people used to blog about their day like a public journal? Do people still do that? Not that anyone wants to hear how I got up and went to work five days a week. The most exciting thing would be actually driving into work instead of working from home.
The top five posts by page views in April were:
- Murder in the Appalachians by Susan Furlong: Book Review & Giveaway 935 views
- This is also the highest viewed page of all time
- Waylaid by Jerusha Agen: Author Interview & Giveaway 795 views
- Sunrise Reef by Irene Hannon: Book Spotlight & Giveaway 598 views
- Collision Course by Jorgia Yates: Author Interview & Giveaway 531 views
- Frayed Promises by Lynn U. Watson: Author Interview & Giveaway 447 views
This month’s most interesting stat is that by far most of my visitors are from Canada (3,121 views). Given that they aren’t eligible for most of the giveaways, I find this mind blowing. I received 1,696 pageviews from the United States. The rest are so nominal that it’s not worth mentioning.
Bookstagram
I took pics of the top posts a little late so I have a reel I just posted this week on there. Apparently, people like my poorly done video more than my posts.. I guess if it doesn’t have to be good I should keep doing it. LOL! Overall, everything is significantly down, other than followers of which I gained 31. If you want to follow, you can find me at @carlasbookcrush.
- Views: 5,029
- Interactions: 770
- Total followers: 1,650
- Top posts: (views shown in black)
Yarn Tales
I don’t recall picking up my needles this month but I’m okay with that. I just chose not to. I guess my wrap will wind up being for Spring 2026. That’s okay with me. I really have not issue with switching from hobby to hobby to hobby on a regular basis. I like to fill my free time with what makes me happy in that moment.
- Knit: 0
- Crochet: 0
- Loom: 0
- Other: 0
Well, that’s a wrap on this wrap up. Happy reading!
How was your April?
Carla's Book Crush 
Tell me something good….