APRIL 2025 READING LIST

I attended the Writer’s Festival in Coronado at the beginning of the month, hoping to learn some techniques that would be helpful to me as a writer, and also to hear from other writers about their unique processes. I attended a session on Marketing for Introverts and Maintaining a Series, but my favorite session was the panel on Historical Fiction. I was captivated by the inspiration that led to each of their novels.

Although I was intrigued by some new novels, I have also felt drawn to older books such as Grayson’s literary sketches, Dillard’s exquisite observations, and Cather’s gentle introspection. Likewise, I sought out Brontë and other classics to fill my time, and I have been pleasantly surprised by how relevant they seem, as they continue to explore issues we still struggle with in the present.

Here are the books I read in April:

THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL BY ANNE BRONTË

I went through a Brontë kick when I was younger, exploring the lesser-known books by the famous sisters, and I was deeply moved by the story of Helen in Wildfell Hall. When I was in high school, someone spoke to many of us young women and shared a disturbing statistic. We were to look to the left, then look to the right, and then look back at the speaker. “One out of three of you will get divorced,” the speaker not so delicately put the odds.  This truth saddened me, so when I read Anne Brontë’s tale of love and marriage, I was both grieved and awoken to the difficulties women have had since the beginning of time. 

I listened to this book and had the wonderful pleasure of hearing Alex Jennings, who also narrates a book from the Chronicles of Narnia, alongside Jenny Agutter, who is a regular on Call the Midwife. Having this duo voice their respective characters brought the story to life and enhanced the theme of gender roles. The theme of universal salvation also resonated with me as a writer, as I am trying to create a character who is fundamentally good but does not always come across as compelling. Helen epitomizes patience and goodness, never abandoning her convictions for convenience or succumbing to the pressure of blind tolerance. She detests her husband's wicked behavior, saves her son from ruin, and sets out to express her dissent against the widely accepted view that men's vices are merely natural.  

Revisiting the book and watching the adaptation featuring Tara Fitzgerald, Rupert Graves, and Toby Stephens, I was captivated by the complexities of relationships and how what seems perfect can unravel. Helen simply wants to marry someone interesting, close in age, and engaging. She soon realizes that even though her husband is entertaining, he enjoys amusing himself with another woman. Helen is yet another brave heroine of British literature who challenges the system by fleeing with her son instead of suffering in silence. She rebuilds her life, but when Gilbert Markham appears, she is too weary of love and doesn’t know how to show her distance without revealing her past.  

The book serves as a painful reminder of how far society has come regarding marriage and social class, while unfortunately still reflecting many issues of the past. Problems such as infidelity, marital incapability, challenges around gender roles, and the question of whether everyone is worth saving continue to persist. These universal themes of human inadequacies evade society despite so-called development and enlightenment. 

5/5 Stars

THE SECRET KEEPER OF MAIN STREET BY TRISHA R. THOMAS

What does it mean to be a Black woman in America?

In 1954, Bailey Dowery, a Black seamstress, is gifted with the gift of "second sight." As soon as she touches one of her customers, she experiences visions about their desires, fears, and futures. She works for the wives of local oil barons, crafting fine gowns and wedding dresses for the city's elite. Despite her aunt's warnings to stay out of white people's affairs, Bailey occasionally helps brides request her special assistance. When Elsa Grimes, daughter of one of Oklahoma's richest oil barons, requests Bailey's services, she is confronted with a terrifying truth. Soon, a man is found murdered, and Elsa is imprisoned as a suspect. Bailey is drawn into a whirl of lies and secrets, and she realizes that her talent can be as dangerous as it is a gift…

I had read Trisha Thomas’ book, Nappily Ever After, after watching the Netflix adaptation a couple of years ago, and it was my introduction to the world of #bookstagram.  I found that I enjoyed The Secret Keeper of Main Street even more, and a lot of my opinion had to do with the personal nature of the story for Thomas.  I attended the Writers Festival in Coronado and heard Thomas speak on a panel about historical fiction.  Every book written by the authors I found intriguing, but Thomas's book told a fictional tale of her life as a dressmaker with the added touch of having the gift of “second sight.” Cleverly written to have a delightful twist at the end, I found the story to be a comforting read, where everyone got what they deserved or desired.  

Written in a manner that resembles a mystery, the book left me with numerous cliffhangers, urging me to read on and uncover the connections between all the main characters.  The plot was intriguing, and the characters compelling.  The only part that did not work for me was the character of WAG, short for Walter Anderson Graves, and his love interest in Bailey, the main character. The development of his personality and the way he entered the story did not feel believable to me, as it seemed unlikely that Bailey would fall for him so quickly.  I am reminded of Bertice Berry’s "Redemption Song" and the fast-paced nature of the attachment between Ross and Fina. Still, somehow, the latter meeting each other in a bookstore and sharing a history seemed more plausible than WAG and Bailey. Even so, I enjoyed the conclusion of The Secret Keeper, and I was satisfied with the way Thomas brought the story to a close.

3.75/5 Stars

OTHER BOOKS I READ/LISTENED TO

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING BY JRR TOLKIEN