Bloggin' On: My April 2020 Reading List & Update

© 2020 Del Rey Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)

Hi there, Constant Reader! Welcome to another edition of Bloggin' On, the no-reviews, no-politics section of my original blog, A Certain Point of View. Today is Sunday, April 12, 2020, and as I start this, morning is ending, and noon is not that far away. (By the time I'm done writing this, it'll be afternoon here in my corner of Florida.)

Before I get to the main topic of this post ﹘ my reading list for April 2020 ﹘  I need to update you on what's going on with my blog and why I'm not posting here as often as I was before late March.

I have had to slow my pace of one-post-per-diem on Blogger for one reason: Facebook has blocked this blog from its site. I have two theories as to why this was done, though I'm more inclined to put more weight on one of them above the other theory.

• Theory No. 1: Someone on Facebook, more than likely a Trump supporter, reported one or more of my posts to Facebook's Community Standards department. This is the theory I am leaning toward
• Theory No. 2: With many of Facebook's staff working remotely from home, the "bots" that look for spam and fake news looked at my posting habits and determined I was "spamming." 

Like I said, I am more convinced that an angry Trump supporter saw one of my posts, didn't like the content, and reported me to Community Standards. The message I received from Facebook Support said as much, saying that one post had violated its policies, although it did not explain which ones were violated. 

Because Facebook is (or rather, was) the main source of pageviews for A Certain Point of View, I had to start a new blog over on WordPress that is more or less an extension of this one. I thought about deleting this one, but I have been on Blogger (on and off, admittedly) for a decade and, despite the loss of Facebook traffic, A Certain Point of View still gets traffic. The average number of pageviews is between 150 and 200, and I can still share posts on Twitter, Pinterest, Tumbler, and even the Internet Movie Database.

So, you'll still hear from me here at least three times a week, maybe four, depending on my levels of enthusiasm and/or creative energy. For the time being, I'll probably spend more time trying to "grow" A Certain Point of View, Too, since my WordPress site is new and isn't as well-traveled as this one. 

As you can see, A Certain Point of View, Too has a long way to go before I can get it as "healthy" as this blog. 

Reading List for April

Now that we have that bit of business out of the way, let's get to today's main topic, which is my reading list for this month. As of April 11, I am reading, or attempting to read, the following books:

© 2020 Del Rey Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)

© 2020 W.W. Norton & Company

© 2007 Bantam Books

• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Expanded Edition, Rae Carson: I already skimmed through the novelization of the ninth and final film in the Star Wars Skywalker Saga, just enough of a read to be able to write a book review for A Certain Point of View, Too.  Now I'll probably read it at my leisure to fully enjoy Carson's writing, especially those embellishments she added that were not in the film. 
• Star Wars: Resistance Reborn, Rebecca Roanhorse: This is a canonical Journey to The Rise of Skywalker story set between Episodes VIII and IX which deals with the efforts to rebuild the shattered Resistance after the Battle of Crait and the death of Luke Skywalker. 
• Star Wars: Dooku, Jedi Lost, Cavan Scott: The script to last year's audio drama that depicts the life of Count Dooku from his days as a Padawan learner in the Jedi Order to his fall to the dark side of the Force.
• Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, July 1937-April 1942, Richard B. Frank: This is the first book of a new trilogy about the Japanese Empire's war against China and various Western nations, including the Netherlands, Great Britain, and the United States. 
• A World Unmade: The History of the Great War, 1914 to 1918, G.J. Meyer: A one-volume history about the First World War, told mostly with a focus on the major powers on the warring side.
• The World Remade: America in World War I, G.J. Meyer: The second book in a loose duology about the war that changed the world early in the 20th Century, this work focuses on the United States' role in the Great War. 

© 2017 Bantam Books

As with most lists, even though I am reading from each book on this list, it remains to be seen if I'll finish all of these by the end of the month. So don't be surprised if at least one, or maybe two of these books appear on a future reading list.

Well, as I predicted earlier, it's now afternoon here; I'm a faster thinker than I am a typist, after all. So that is a wrap for this edition of Bloggin' On. Until next time, be sure to check my WordPress site for new takes on familiar media products or, if you prefer, stay tuned for my next Blogger post. In the meantime, stay safe, stay healthy, and I'll catch you on the sunny side of things!