Eleven days into April and here's my April Reading List for any of you curious cats. We have two essay volumes, some magical realism and a novel Alexa Chung reportedly loves. All enough to get my attention...

Can You Tolerate This? by Ashleigh Young-I'll just come out and say it, I am an aspiring essayist and busy myself reading as many people's as I can. This is purely for my own enjoyment. I'd never aspire to be the next 'whoever' and only want my work to stand out on its own. Although if my work is as good as Ashleigh's one day, I'll be a happy lady. Her writing style is unlike any I've experienced in essay form and for that reason alone it is very refreshing. I find myself feeling like I know these stories and can familiarise myself with them, despite obviously knowing nothing. Such brilliant reading. Definitely grab a copy if you're in NZ and support our local talent. I'm not sure how readily available it is internationally but hopefully you can still acquire a copy if you're interested. 

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry-This book could not be further from what I usually find myself reading. For one, it's historical fiction and it's set in 1893 and contains elements of magical realism. Who am I? Have I been genre swapped? Of course it's set in Essex too which is somewhere I spent time so I like it for that reason. Apologies for the vagueness, I am just not very far into this and I don't have a real sense of where it is going, yet. I do love the writing so far though. 

I Love Dick by Chris Kraus-Aka 'the one I'm too embarrassed to read in public'. That cover design is hardly subtle, after all. I bought this with a voucher I received at Christmastime. Just seeing the list of reported fans, Alexa Chung, Tavi Gevinson, to name a few, had me intrigued. Part memoir, part novel exploring the nuances of love. Chris Kraus is appearing at the Auckland Writers Festival next month, tickets can be found here.

Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde-A feminist reading staple and a book I finally purchased recently. Audre Lorde's words and anecdotes on feminism and gender equality are said to be inspiring and I am always down for inspirational reading. I'll be starting this very soon (hopefully) so I will keep you updated.

-What are you reading during April?