March Book Report
talked about books with so many friends!
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It was such a fun month of books for me!! My actual reading of books was scattered — I’ll get to that — but I did a lot of talking about books, and let’s be honest, that’s almost more fun than reading itself!
Tournament of Books
First, March is the Tournament of Books. I always try to read the complete bracket before March, but what usually happens is I’m only halfway through 5-7 of the remaining books when the tourney starts. Each day’s judgement is then like a luxurious conversation about two different books and contributes to how I realign my reading focus on any unfinished tourney books on my list.
Do you follow the TOB? If not, I highly recommend— the best kind of March Madness out there! I’m a little disappointed that the championship this year was between two books that were already very notable (though both are very worthy of their acclaim!); some of my favorite tournaments are when the underdog sweeps or there’s a dark horse victory.
Yelling About Books
Also, this month, I went to a friend’s birthday party where we copied this ‘yelling about books’ activity, which was SO FUN. I’ve done white elephant book exchanges before, but the pitching element elevated the whole experience. A bonus was to be in such lovely like-minded company— how wonderful to find a group of women who were all equally ecstatic to yell about books!?
Some of the books that were yelled about most emphatically and/or stolen most frequently (and have thus been immediately added to my TBR) were:
Evil Eye by Etaf Rum
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Suntanto
Book Club
Finally, I kicked off my Book Club here where we’re talking about Brené Brown’s Gifts of Imperfection. My reread of this classic nonfiction resource inspires and challenges me in equal measure, and chatting about it with you all in the comments and subscriber chat has been so encouraging! (It’s not too late to join us! Catch us next week here.)
What about you? Have you gotten to talk about books with your friends lately? I hope so.
And now, onto the books I read this month.
March Book Report
Editor’s Note: March is also my birthday month so as a birthday gift from me to you, I’m keeping this Book Report paywall-free! If you love this book list, upgrade your subscription to paid to catch the rest and get access to the full archive. If you want to support my writing financially but fear the paid subscription commitment (I get it!), you could also buy me a coffee to sip on while I write. However you’re showing up, I’m glad you’re here 😊
Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
Our March Book Club book! Like most things produced by Brené, it’s wonderful. Catch all my thoughts in book club.
Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens
A silly little rom-com with some surprisingly introspective moments! To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure where the love triangle was headed at first, which was refreshing for this predictable genre. Laura’s trip to the Channel Islands made me want to visit, and I appreciated her quest for the truth within her estranged family history. Sophie Couses surprises me again with many unexpectedly insightful quotes in a story that seems very simple, at first blush!
The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez
Sweet short story that was set over Valentine’s weekend but wasn’t overly Valentines-y (and yes, that I read in March), which I appreciated. The palate cleanser I needed but wasn’t life-changing. And no actual smut, FWIW.
Book Censor’s Library by Bothayna Al-Essa
A delightful premise! I was so excited about this book— a satire of book censoring in an authoritarian state that has outlawed imagination. What fodder! The pace was hard for me to engage with, though it supported the narrative arc. The first 60% was very dull and incredibly slow, but full of detail as our protagonist ‘becomes a reader’ and reawakens his brain for thinking. Then, after the defining incident, everything chaotically spiraled out of control, causing some confusing whiplash for me as a reader.
Colored Television by Danzy Senna
I read this in a mix of print and audio and didn’t love either. I couldn’t connect with Jane, despite feeling deep empathy for her illogical actions fueled by a subconscious desire for a life she theoretically thought she wanted, but also deeply judged. I think there’s a lot under the surface here that I just didn’t engage with? I *wanted* to like it more than I did, which is why I think it’s worth mentioning here – maybe you will connect with and love it! I hope that you do.
Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski, PhD
As an elder millennial who had basically zero useful sex ed or puberty conversations with a trusted adult in the 90s, this was wildly (hilariously? embarassingly?) eye-opening. I remember when I was pregnant, how shocked I was by all that was happening in my body that I absolutely did not have any clue about. Reading this was a lot like that. 🫣
Funny Story by Emily Henry
[This was the book I contributed to the birthday party mentioned above, and I’m thrilled to pitch it to you here!]
An Emily Henry rom-com is a beloved classic at this point, and Funny Story is no different. The plot here follows Daphne, a children’s librarian, after her fiancé comes home from his bachelor party to tell her he’s actually in love with his childhood best friend, Petra. Womp, womp. Daphne moves in with Petra’s ex, Miles, and we all know where things are headed.
I loved all the normal romance elements, of course, but especially liked the subplots of Daphne learning to make friends as an adult in a new place and both Daphne and Miles working on family baggage in their 30s. It’s also a love letter to summer in Northern Michigan as Miles plays tour guide, hoping to convince Daphne not to move away.
BONUS about this copy that I loved and made it the definite choice for my contribution to a 40th birthday—it was in large print, so your tired eyes can easily read it after a long day. (Shout out to Katy for passing along the large print goodness to me!)
The links above are from Amazon for reader ease - and I may get a small commission if you use the links to make a purchase — but I have been buying many of my books through one of my local bookstores. It is just so lovely to walk into a store, have a nice little human interaction, and go home with a new book (favs are Secret Garden Books and Phinney Books for my local pals!). I also LOVE the local library — use yours! Buying books from your local store and visiting the public library are lovely, simple ways to re-insert a bit of humanity and support local!
The TBR is long, and here’s a real-life snap of my current library pile. What should I read next?
As always, I want to hear what you’re reading now or next – tell me in the comments 💚
I absolutely LOVED The Three Lives of Cate Kay. Definitely one of my favorites for the year.
My birthday is this month and find me now scrambling to have a book yelling party. lol I am definitely adding Evil Eye to my TBR. I actually just finished Dream Count. All of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's books make me think and pack so many layers into beautiful narrative. I just purchased I Who Have Never Known Men. Let me know when you pick it up and we can read it together? And I will also go to bat for Vera Wong. That was such an unexpectedly fun read with so much packed in about friendship and community and aging. So good!!