April Recap || Kittens May Or May Not Be Involved

Spoiler alert: there are definitely kittens involved. But I’m not going to show them to you right away, because anticipation is half the fun, right? RIGHT?! Hey! You! No scrolling. Stahp, you cheater!

So my March recap was late, and it feels like no time at all has passed since I posted that. It’s probably a good sign that I should step up my game and get my recaps out on time, huh?

April felt slightly slower than March, but not by a whole lot. It’s really just a haze of grad school assignments and work, at least one of which was mostly enjoyable. I’m gonna go ahead and let you guess which one. Okay, okay, I know I rag on grad school a lot, but I’m ridiculously lucky to be able to go, and I realize that. I just thought my homework days were done, is all.

With grad school finally (finally!) winding down (which is such a misnomer because this is the time they give us the most work), I haven’t had a whole lot going on, but there are a few things, at least.

Here’s what happened this month:

• I caved to peer pressure and joined Readerly! Figured I might as well lead with something bookish to set the tone, right? I’m @srbetler on there, so follow me if you haven’t! I’ve also got some codes left, if you’re curious about Readerly and want to give it a go. Just shoot me a message on Twitter and I’m happy to hook you up with one!
  
• I was approved for an independent study in the fall! This is more of a big deal for me than it seems because, one, I’m technically not supposed to be able to do an independent study, so it required some finagling and people putting in a good word for me and I’m ridiculously appreciative of that. But second, it’s actually super freaking cool because we’ve been attempting to get a digital library established for our genealogy for a few years now and I actually get to make it as part of a course. I love it when schoolwork ends with something tangible that benefits the library!
  
• We are hardcore in the programming trenches at the library right now (because summer!), and I’m reminded daily exactly why I love my job. I mean, there’s definitely a certain atmosphere the library gets when everyone is getting ready for a massive program and we’re right in the thick of planning it. Like pretty much every library in the US, we always do Summer Reading (which is Tails & Tales this year). However, this time, we’ve decided to combine it with a new program called Step Into Summer, which is basically a fitness challenge/step tracker pitting teams against each other to get out there and be active! But also, to combine the two, we’re doing four StoryWalks at a local trail, which will be our library’s very first StoryWalks, and oh my gosh there’s so much to be done but it’s so exciting. Actually, three of the staff (out of the, like, 10 of us) have already started shopping for fitness trackers because they’ve decided they’re bringing their A game. xD This was not a requirement, but that’s how excited staff is for the challenge, and I’m absolutely loving it! Also, the friendly trash talking has already begun, so you know we’re going to have some fun.
  
• I’ve started a little project on my blog (you know, because I have all the time for new projects) and have created a Diverse Book List featuring books with all sorts of diversity. The list is not completely filled in yet with all the books I have listed. It’s still a work in progress, and I plug in books little by little as I find time. If you have something to suggest that I may not have on my list yet, though, please do feel free to shoot me a message by email or on Twitter! I actually started compiling this list for myself and my classmates, but I figured that since I had the list, I might as well make it available.
  
• Oh yeah, and the stray cat that appeared at our house one day had kittens! Five of them, to be exact. I actually can’t remember how old they are, because I’m a horrible kitten mother. I want to say two weeks, but given their growth and development, it might very well be three weeks. I have it marked somewhere, but I’m far too lazy to go look. So how about I give you a cute kitty picture instead? Huzzah for cute kittens! Their eyes are fully open now, and they’re just beginning to toddle around and try to play with each other. (Also, I will have you know that it’s ridiculously hard to try to take a picture of FIVE moving bundles of fluff in a meaningful way so that they look like anything other than … you know … moving bundles of fluff.)

See? I promised kittens and I have delivered. I’ll try to update you next month, too, so that’s something to look forward to. Anyway, let’s get to the bookish goodness!

#AmReading Update

Books Read This Month: 16

                                                               

April Reviews

• [3 Apr] Fid's Crusade (The Chronicles of Fid #1) by David H. Reiss ★★★★
• [12 Apr] The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King ★★★★
• [23 Apr] The Helm of Midnight (The Five Penalties, #1) by Marina J. Lostetter ★★★★
• [25 Apr] In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens ★★★★★
• [29 Apr] Doggo and Pupper by Katherine Applegate, Charlie Alder

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How did April treat you all? Any exciting news to share, bookish or otherwise?