As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she reads that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better at doing this.

So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.

These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from April.

The Word Is Murder (Anthony Horowitz): I’m rereading the series because it makes me happy. The books are so clever, and I love them so much that I don’t read the next one until there is another on the horizon. I just can’t stand the idea of not having an Anthony Horowitz book in my back pocket whenever I need a book that I know is going to be really really good.

Sunrise on the Reaping (Suzanne Collins): This book is chilling and troubling, maybe more so reading it right now against the current news. I didn’t love the last prequel, but this one feels as familiar as the original Hunger Games and is equally as devastating. I had so many “wow” moments as things came together.

This Is Not a Game (Kelly Mullen): A sweet, easy to read and enjoyable murder mystery with a gaming theme. It made me want to visit Mackinac Island. It was a book that was the perfect read when I needed something a little lighter.

Fair Play (Louise Hegarty): I think the people who are not giving this book 4 or 5 stars just don’t “get” the book. Because once you “get” the book — and you will understand the book if you pay attention to the middle — there is no possible way to read this book without your heart in your throat. I will think about this book for a long time. You will be blown away by the cleverness and emotion and beauty. Amazing job.

The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King (Harry Trevaldwyn): This book wins for absolute fun. There were so many times that I laughed aloud. I switched to the audio, which was read by the author, and it was even better hearing the story spoken. The most interesting thing was that I would listen to the book when I was feeding Beorn (while he was sick), and his body would relax when he heard the author‘s voice. So strange. But it brought both of us joy, so I will be forever grateful. If you loved Heartstopper, but sometimes wished those kids were a little less earnest and a little more realistic, run to this book. These are the nicest kids and the funniest kids without being unrealistic kids.

What did you read last month?

I was trying to remember something this week, and I wondered if it was written down in an old journal, so I started to thumb through old journals and found one that contained entries from three early trips: a road trip to Canada, Paris, and London.

But what struck me was that in the back of the journal, from the final page moving toward the front, I had written down notes on every photo I took. There were only 24 or 36 photos on a roll of film (though it looked like I must have been able to squeeze an additional one or two onto a roll because I had some lists that stated 26 or 38 photos), so the lists weren’t long. And I only took between two to four rolls on each trip.

But I wrote down notes because I wouldn’t see those photos for weeks. How would I remember that this was a “beautiful building on Rue Rivoli across from the Louvre” three weeks later when I finally developed the picture? The difference today is that you see photos instantly, so you start building those memories from the image instantly. In the olden days, we saw something once, and then we had a long period of time before we saw an image of it again.

It was just funny to find the lists. Even funnier to read about our “romantic kisses over the Seine.”

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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I really like this game. It has had staying power, like Bracket City and 368 Chickens. Every day, you get a picture turned into a 7 x 7 square of dots. Click the dot, and it breaks into smaller dots. Click those dots, and they break into even smaller dots. If you could click every dot, you would see the pixelated image. But the trick is that you only have 60 clicks.

I don’t stress about the clicks (for instance, I don’t try to keep it to only 10 clicks) and find that I can usually guess the image correctly in 30 – 40 clicks.

Have a go at it.

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts connected to businesses or sponsored posts.

Mother’s Day didn’t work with the twins’ schedule this year — finals — and nothing is more important than their studies (except their health), so we moved it to a better date on the calendar.

You can do that. You can take any pretend or real holiday, and just move it. Or change it. Or decide not to acknowledge it. Or go all-in.

I mean, it helps if everyone has the same expectation and is on board with the move, but assuming they are, you can literally decide to celebrate Christmas in February, Thanksgiving one week early, or your birthday in a random month.

Is it lovely to mark the actual day? Of course. I will be celebrating my mother today. But it’s also fun to be the only one celebrating something while everyone else believes it to be a random Tuesday.

Whether you are marking the day or avoiding the day, happy Sunday.

If you missed Mr. Bates vs. the Post Office the first time around, PBS is re-airing the miniseries (only in the US) until May 18 to celebrate the show winning a Peabody Award.

It is a bonkers story about the 2009 (or thereabouts) British Post Office scandal where hundreds of subpostmasters were wrongly charged with theft because of a computer glitch. And Alan Bates (with many other subpostmasters) took on the post office and exposed the crime.

If you haven’t seen it, this is your chance to see it for free if you live in the US. It’s four episodes, or a little under four hours to see the whole thing. And really well done.

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Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

And now the blogs…

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But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

Dear John updates her late husband on their daughter’s upcoming graduation and life this spring. She writes, “You’ve missed all the triumphs and the drama. The friends, the crushes, the dating, the dances, the driver’s license, her work experiences…” It’s a bittersweet post about life continuing.

Lastly, All & Sundry has a post about lasts. She muses on what we can get used to, even when it feels like we can’t in the moment. She writes about a time when both kids will be in college: “It’ll be all too soon before he’s also off figuring out his next steps in life and I’ll be having to get used to a house that’s too quiet and too clean. And I will, even though it won’t feel like it at first. It’ll all keep going and changing, if we’re lucky enough.” I like the hopeful note that she ends on.

The roundup to the Roundup: Watch Mr. Bates vs. the Post Office for free (until May 18). Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between May 2 – May 9) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.