Mid-Month Reading Update: March Is ✨Giving✨
Plus this month's collection of really good links.
Hi, book friends.
We made it — to Daylight Time, to the part of March when spring is definitely just around the corner (even if it’s not ready to move all the way in yet, as I write this to you with a dusting of snow outside), and to the promise of outdoor reading weather soon.
My reading in the first half of this month has been excellent. Here’s where my TBR progress stands, plus all the links I’ve collected for you over the past month or so.
What I’ve read so far this month
I’m not quite halfway through my 12-book March TBR with 5 books finished, but that isn’t too surprising since I normally top out at about 10 books a month. Still, no regrets for taking my time with these excellent books! (Click each title for my full review.)
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo: Queen Leigh can do no wrong. This is super different from her other books, but I loved it. That ending! (Out in April!)
Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy by Angela Garbes: A mom friend gifted this to me, and I really enjoyed it. I’m skeptical of parenting books in general, but the part-memoir nature of this one made it feel 0% preachy.
James by Percival Everett: Do I think this is going to win next year’s Pulitzer, like many people are speculating? Actually yes, yes I do. (Out tomorrow!)
Tadek and the Princess (Mahisti Dynasty, #1.5) by Alexandra Rowland: This is a quick, fun follow-up novella to A Taste of Gold and Iron, which is one of my all-time favorite fantasy novels. And…my heart!!
The Morningside by Téa Obreht: I still think The Tiger’s Wife is Obreht’s masterpiece, but this was really well done and I can’t wait for more people to read it. (Out tomorrow!)
What’s left on my TBR this month
I’m definitely still planning to get to these:
A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft
Sunbringer (Godkiller, #2) by Hannah Kaner
The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
Faebound (Faebound, #1) by Saara El-Arifi
And I hope to get to these, but they may have to get bumped to April:
A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke (out 4/9)
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods (To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, #1) by Molly X. Chang (out 4/16)
Links!!
No, you don’t need to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn before you read James. I didn’t! That said, I do think it’s important to familiarize yourself with the story before you dive in.
Sparknotes has a super-detailed, chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis that I found to be the most helpful
- of Fiction Matters, who used to teach high school literature, did a whole newsletter on what you should know about Huck Finn before reading James, plus an episode of her cohosted Novel Pairings podcast on some of the challenges of reading the book as a modern reader
Speaking of James, the New York Times’ review of it is 🔥.
- of Culture Study blessed us not once, but twice this month:
Once with a deep-dive into the cultural phenomenon of ACOTAR
And yet again with a deep-dive into our collective obsession with the Kate Middleton thing
This month, we got a LOT of 2024 award lists, two of which were the Women’s Prize (which recognizes books by women published in the UK and Ireland) and the Carol Shields Prize (which recognizes books by US- and Canada-based women and nonbinary authors).
I was VERY excited to see Brotherless Night on BOTH lists. I read it in January 2023 and loved it a lot.
The inaugural Women’s Prize for Nonfiction longlist was also announced, and I was excited that they included Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, which you’ll remember I loved in January!
As always, thanks for sharing your corner of the internet with me! It would mean a lot if you were to take a second to like this post. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments, too.
Finally, if you like this newsletter, please send a few friends my way.
See you on Instagram!
— Deedi (she/her)
I'm reading the Bullet Swallower now and LOVING it!