March 2022 Reads
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
March was a tough (reading) month. Here’s what I read, and started, and stopped, and maybe am quitting, or just finishing very slowly:
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
I finished the longest book of 2022 so far, right at the start of the month. After that 640-pages, I had a hard time caring about or finding what to read next. It was that immersive and thought-provoking. It contained overlapping themes about the importance of books, and information in general, what people do to protect books (thanks librarians!), people living through the climate crises and war, and why accessing the truth is so vital. It follows 5 characters, most of whom are children, through three different historical eras: ancient Constantinople, modern day, and decades in the future. The jumping between characters and time made the book more interesting and I read it fast. It’s definitely a 5 star read. Hard cover, library book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heartstopper, Volume One by Alice Oseman
A lovely graphic novel about a queer romance navigating all of the high school stereotypes. I don’t read a lot of graphic novels, so I feel out of my element pitching it, but I loved how it dealt with legit issues while giving me that nostalgic school feeling. I also loved how the drawings depicted texting and visceral feelings. Soft cover, library book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Selection by Kiera Cass
Princesses meets The Bachelorette meets Hunger Games light. A friend sen this to me (thanks, Emily!) and I admit that at the start, I was sort of hate-reading it. But, it soon picked up and I was hooked. American Singer is living in a dystopian caste-based society where she is a trained musician whose family is barely making it by. When she has the chance to enter the Selection, a palace-run competition to match the prince to his future wife, she takes it, if only to bring her family some income and to maybe distance herself from her teenage romance enough to figure out what the heck she wants. It was just fine in some parts, and really interesting in others. Mostly, I loved book 2, which is an April read, and so am now commited to reading all three books in the series. Soft cover, gift.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Books I am slowly reading / may quit:
How To Not Always Be Working by Marlee Grace
Helpful, a bit of typical advice through a different lens (queer, anti-capital, anti-hustle/productivity), and also, slow. Soft cover, library book.
The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll
The reviews of this book made me think I wouldn’t like it, but I actually really am enjoying the viewpoint and advice. It’s also…slow. Digital book, library iPhone app.
In The Shadow of the Mountain by Silvia Vasquez-Lavado
I’m not sure I’m cut out for this one. It’s on my list because latinx person with major personal struggles climbs Everest (have I mentioned, I am obsessed with Everest?). BUT the personal struggles, which involve child sexual abuse, are really hard for me to read. Coupled with Vasquez-Lavado’s anxieties about getting a group of abuse survivors to Everest basecamp, it’s a very activating read for me personally. I’m not sure if I’ll quit it entirely or I just need a different headspace to get through it. The writing is beautiful. Hard cover, library book.
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
So far, this is funny and fast-paced, but I feel like it’s so fast-paced with so many characters, I keep losing track of what the heck is actually going on! I think I’ll enjoy it once I can keep up. Digital book, Kindle purchase.
The StoryGraph
I’m on Goodreads here, but I am trying to use The StoryGraph more for a few reasons: Goodreads is problematic (read this Time magazine article) and it’s owned by Amazon. And I like StoryGraph’s metrics much better, plus it was founded by a Black woman. So, I’m linking the books above to their StoryGraph page.