April 2024 Books #MyLifeInBooks

 

Hmm, most of this month was a little bit meh for reading. I'll have to work on some better choices for May!

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid - I did like this one. Apparently, it's also a movie, which I should find and watch. A really lovely inspection of how we find love, how we grow through and with love, and how we change. 

Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall - I really like magic stories, but this one was just trying to be a few too many things for me. I wanted to love it, since it was advertised as "gilmore girls meets magic" but I wasn't quite there.

Bride by Ali Hazelwood - I usually like Ali Hazelwood's science-themed romances. This was a bit of a new path for her, and I'm not sure that I really loved it. As a fan of the Vampire Diaries, I thought I would care more but it just didn't work for me.

Amen Effect by Sharon Brous - breathtaking and important. I'm sure you'll hear lots of rabbis giving sermons about this one. We need each other.

Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford - I read this because one of my kids did, and it was interesting and hard. I am still processing this one.

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle - Good, yes, but not great. I knew there had to be a couple of twists, and they didn't disappoint. Get busy living or get busy dying - ultimately a sweet and good message.

Previous Months...

March Books
February Books
January Books

#BlogExodus #ExodusGram 5784

 

Rosh Chodesh Nisan is Tuesday, April 9th.

This year is so different. Since October 7th, nothing has felt quite right.

And of all the holidays we've observed since Simchat Torah, Pesach is the one that feels...off. I was able to celebrate Chanukah and Purim, but Pesach...how? 

And yet - we will. We must.

We are told, each year, that we should see ourselves as though we came out of Egypt. That ability to imagine freedom kept our ancestors going through so many hardships of our history. That ability to hold a vision of a better future...and we will get through this dark time too.

We are a people with a future. Pesach reminds us of that. It reminds us that spring is coming, renewal is coming, and soon, we hope, peace is comign. 

I'll admit that I'm having a hard time picking out menus, feeling more desperate as the days pass and we await the return of the hostages and some kind of feeling that we're able to begin to heal. 

And yet...I'm also trying to find hope, to find normalcy in the cycle and rhythm of our year and our beloved holidays.

I spent a lot of time trying to decide if #BlogExodus and #Exodusgram should happen this year. And I decided yes, I would offer two different graphics and a list of prompts. As I say each year, the themes are open to your own interpretation, and they're words that can hold a lot of meaning in a lot of ways for different people. 

May this season of Nisan, of Pesach, bring us all hope and healing, and may we find blessing in each other along the way.

#BlogExodus #Exodusgram topics for 5784:
1 Nisan - Launch
2 Nisan - Exalt
3 Nisan - Rise
4 Nisan - Cleanse
5 Nisan - Seek
6 Nisan - Retell
7 Nisan - Read
8 Nisan - Expand
9 Nisan - Perplex
10 Nisan - Join
11 Nisan - Celebrate
12 Nisan - Reveal
13 Nisan - Welcome
14 Nisan - Thank

 *Yes, I know that I put the Shabbat dates there. I don't blog/tweet/Facebook on Shabbat but I will post on Fridays before Shabbat and on Saturdays after Shabbat is over. You can, of course, do it any way you like!