Well we’ve made it to April! Spring is in full swing in Georgia. You can tell not only from the stuffy, sneezy, poor suffering people with allergies, but also from the very things make those people so miserable.

Pollen.

Granted the clip below is someone shaking the tree to make it release a pollen cloud. However, that is what every tree is doing. It is gross.

Everything you can see changes overnight and takes on tints of yellow. If you own a white car – it is now yellow. You look outside after it has rained, there are little yellow rivers traveling to the drains. Want to see which way someone walked? Just look in the pollen dusting and you can see their footsteps marking the way. The wind kicks up and a wave of yellow starts to move towards you like a horror scene from a movie. You are faced with two choices can either run and try to take shelter before it hits. Or hold your breath and stand your ground once it hits; however, choosing this you will be shunned from everyone until you throughly shake and dust yourself off. Because those with allergies will want nothing to do with you if you are causing them to sneeze. Seriously it is everywhere. It is horrible. And no matter how long you live in the south, we complain every year about it because it is really that horrible.

Now that I’ve gone on my tirade of pollen! I hope you all are enjoying your start of the year!

This next month has Jennifer Armnetrout’s new book The Crown of Gilded Bones coming out. I am super excited for it! The first 2 books were amazing. I couldn’t put them down they were so good. And the rest of the reads for the month actually has a lot of history related stories. I went on a searching spree a little while back and found them. I always say you should learn something new everyday! Enjoy a wonderful April everyone! Happy Easter to those who celebrate it! And I wish all with allergies a good luck, then pollen will be slowing down soon and you will all be able to breathe a little better then. But until then don’t forget to bring some tissues with you where ever you go, along with a great book!

My Reading List for April 2021:

The Crown of Gilded Bones By Jennifer L. Armentrout

She’s been the victim and the survivor…

Poppy never dreamed she would find the love she’s found with Prince Casteel. She wants to revel in her happiness but first they must free his brother and find hers. It’s a dangerous mission and one with far-reaching consequences neither dreamed of. Because Poppy is the Chosen, the Blessed. The true ruler of Atlantia. She carries the blood of the King of Gods within her. By right the crown and the kingdom are hers.

The enemy and the warrior…

Poppy has only ever wanted to control her own life, not the lives of others, but now she must choose to either forsake her birthright or seize the gilded crown and become the Queen of Flesh and Fire. But as the kingdoms’ dark sins and blood-drenched secrets finally unravel, a long-forgotten power rises to pose a genuine threat. And they will stop at nothing to ensure that the crown never sits upon Poppy’s head.

A lover and heartmate…

But the greatest threat to them and to Atlantia is what awaits in the far west, where the Queen of Blood and Ash has her own plans, ones she has waited hundreds of years to carry out. Poppy and Casteel must consider the impossible—travel to the Lands of the Gods and wake the King himself. And as shocking secrets and the harshest betrayals come to light, and enemies emerge to threaten everything Poppy and Casteel have fought for, they will discover just how far they are willing to go for their people—and each other.

The Thousand Orcs By R.A. Salvatore

Book 14 of the series! Working my way through them book by book.

When a blood-thirsty band of orcs led by an as-yet-unseen enemy, comes rampaging out of the Spine of the World, it lays waste to everything in its path. Dark elf ranger Drizzt Do’Urden and his most trusted friends find themselves in the path of destruction. As blades slash and feet trample, even the heroes may not survive a desperate stand.

Beyond The North Wind By Christopher McIntosh

“The North” is simultaneously a location, a direction, and a mystical concept. Although this concept has ancient roots in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales, it continues to resonate today within modern culture. McIntosh leads readers, chapter by chapter, through the magical and spiritual history of the North, as well as its modern manifestations, as documented through physical records, such as runestones and megaliths, but also through mythology and lore.

This mythic conception of a unique, powerful, and mysterious Northern civilization was known to the Greeks as “Hyberborea”–the “Land Beyond the North Wind”–which they considered to be the true origin place of their god, Apollo, bringer of civilization. Through the Greeks, this concept of the mythic North would spread throughout Western civilization.

In addition, McIntosh discusses Russian Hyperboreanism, which he describes as among “the most influential of the new religions and quasi-religious movements that have sprung up in Russia since the fall of Communism” and which is currently almost unknown in the West. 

The Hidden History of The Holidays By Hannah Harvey

What are the origins of dressing in costume for Halloween? Why did the barbecue grill become an iconic image for Father’s Day?

From Halloween costumes to patriotic parades to belly-busting meals, every holiday tradition tells a unique story—one encoded in symbols and layered meanings that stretch back over the centuries. In 19 lectures, professional storyteller Dr. Hannah B. Harvey takes listeners through the seasons and investigates the surprising stories behind seemingly odd holiday traditions. Dr. Harvey explores the social, political, and performative history of holidays, ranging from Hanukkah and Mardi Gras to Mother’s Day and Thanksgiving, illustrating the way traditions survive across time and cultures.

In these fascinating lectures, Dr. Harvey turns the spotlight on the histories of American and international holidays, and listeners will discover the answers to such questions as

• How did Charles Dickens and Queen Victoria save Christmas from disappearing into obscurity in the 19th century?
• Why is “Auld Lang Syne” considered the “official” song of New Year’s celebrations?
• How did the iconic masculine images of fishing rods, barbecue grills, and lying in hammocks become synonymous with Father’s Day?
• Why should we thank ancient Rome’s Romulus and Remus for Valentine’s Day?
• To what cultures do we owe such loveable creatures as Easter bunnies and spring-predicting groundhogs?
• Why did Puritans seek to stamp out Christmas celebrations in America?
• How are the ancient Roman festival of Hilaria and today’s April Fool’s Day alike?

The Hidden History of Holidays is an eye-opening and entertaining look at what makes these festive celebrations so pervasive and powerful. By the end of these lectures, listeners will never think about greeting cards, broomsticks, or barbecues in the same way again.

When Women Ruled The World By Kara Cooney

This riveting narrative explores the lives of six remarkable female pharaohs, from Hatshepsut to Cleopatra–women who ruled with real power–and shines a piercing light on our own perceptions of women in power today.

Female rulers are a rare phenomenon–but thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt, women reigned supreme. Regularly, repeatedly, and with impunity, queens like Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra controlled the totalitarian state as power-brokers and rulers. But throughout human history, women in positions of power were more often used as political pawns in a male-dominated society. What was so special about ancient Egypt that provided women this kind of access to the highest political office? What was it about these women that allowed them to transcend patriarchal obstacles? What did Egypt gain from its liberal reliance on female leadership, and could today’s world learn from its example?

Celebrated Egyptologist Kara Cooney delivers a fascinating tale of female power, exploring the reasons why it has seldom been allowed through the ages, and why we should care. 

Don’t forget to grab your books where ever you go because there is always time to read something!