Reading Wrap Up / March 2021

It's book prize season so I've read some of my first titles from different award lists as well as some other debut novels and new books. Click ‘Show More’ for info.

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Books discussed & my full reviews:

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller

Kololo Hill by Neema Shah

The Manningtree Witches by AK Blakemore

A Burning by Megha Mujumdar

Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope

Gay Bar by Jeremy Atherton Lin

The High House by Jessie Greengrass

The Employees by Olga Ravn

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

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Get in touch

[jessicalowe]

You mentioned you were a bit melancholy in March so I'm sending good energy your way. Hopefully April will be a better month : )

[RunwrightReads]

I really loved Transcendent Kingdom too. I felt like her comparison of faith and scientific exploration was excellent and those are two of my favorite things to read about in novels as well.

[MrAppelvink]

I noticed the same. I have friends on GoodReads that rate books like me, like 95% the same. But some books that all my friends like I do not like at all, although I should have liked the subjects and auteurs. And I think too the mood you're in when reading a book effects the appreciation. I even wonder if I would have liked any book at the time I'm in a bad mood or suffering from something else. On the other hand, sometimes a book can lift you out of a difficult time. So, keep reading :-)

[shawnbreathesbooks]

Jeepers, I have almost all of these books sitting here on my TBR pile(s) and you make me want to pick up most of the others, especially Kololo Hill and Gay Bar, both of which I’d had my eye on for a while but your enthusiasm has sent me over the edge.

The pandemic has been so stressful. I’ve been surprised to discover that children’s lit really gives me a mental health break. I had never read any Beverly Cleary, not ever, so her death prompted me to try a couple of her Ramona novels this past week (the audiobook versions being narrated by none other than Stockard Channing!) and they were just what the doctor ordered! Hope you have, or find, something like that...to read and rest at the same time. 🥰

[barbarachmura]

I can relate to your sense of melancholy and reading books through the lens of the pandemic. My book club read for the month was "Year of Wonder" by Geraldine Brooks. This book was picked months ago but read during the month of March. I couldn't help comparing the times of a plague in England with the current times: the devastation of a community which decides to self-isolate, the power, the courage of people who try to help, the people who bank on fear to profit from people who are suffering, the power of the wealthy who can afford to make choices no one else can. I also agree about The Burning.

[MarilynMayaMendoza]

Thank you for commenting about dealing with poverty regarding Unsettled ground.
During various times in my life I’ve dealt with crushing poverty. I almost lost my modest house while trying to feed my four children after a divorce. Another time suffering from severe anxiety I had to quit a teaching job and open my home to travelers on a budget. The main thing is that you survive. And I did survive. I hope you have a peaceful happy April. Aloha

[BookwormAdventureGirl]

I am definitely a mood reader so if I'm not in the right mood it can taint a book for me. When that happens I try to postpone reading it until another time. Hopefully April will be less melancholy for you. Thanks for adding more books to my TBR pile!! 😊💙

[TutankhamunReads]

The cover of high house is great and the plot sounds interesting too!

[colbyo]

Great wrap up! The Employees has been on my TBR for a bit and looking forward to reading it.

[JasmineReads]

So nice to hear your thoughts on Transcendent Kingdom! I really enjoyed it, but it couldn't live up to Homegoing for me. Such an amazing writer, though x

[JentheLibrarianreads]

You’ve reminded me I wanted to buy Unsettled Ground, so I’ve just purchased a copy now ☺️

I think my mood definitely has an influence on how I feel about a book. Sometimes I stop reading and put something aside just because I know I’m not in an emotionally good place to appreciate it.

[jf]

Thanks, Eric! I am ordering The High House immediately-sounds so good.

[hollyc]

I just received the Claire Fuller book today from Book Depository! It sounds excellent. Thanks for the fun update.

[HardcoverHearts]

What a phenomenal month! I look forward to so many of these and absolutely my reading is impacted by my mindset and mood. I hope you all had a great birthday celebration.

[cindyhaiken]

So many reactions! First, I think this year’s Women’s Prize longlist is terrific. I’ve read 12 of the 16 as of today, including Transcendent Kingdom and Unsettled Ground, both of which were wonderful. I am just starting the International Booker longlist. Summer Brother was really good, as was At Night All Blood is Black, but both were depressing and difficult. I think there is such a thing as the right book at the wrong time, but sometimes we just don’t like the books we think we are going to like (or we are surprised by books we had expected not to like). That’s the inherently subjective thing about reading, and so long as we respect each other’s views, it’s all good.

[anaovejero]

Borges said we, the readers, were the real creators of th stories we read. (Quite a debate!) So maybe you're right when you say that the novels are technically well- done but, Borges would say, they aren't moving enough.
I'm also feeling a bit under the weather. During March I didn't finish one single book, there was one week that I didn't read at all.
Love to you my darling! What is important is not to give up!

[martininnes]

Some good recommendations. I have been reading Anna Karenina for months, dipping in and out. I read the Naked Civil Servant over a few weeks in March. I am now looking for contemporary recommendations so I will try some of these I think.

[ella]

wonderful list- many are on my tbr as well.much love and stay safe 💛💗

[josmith]

I’m always a bit nervous about environmental apocalyptic novels in case they get a bit preachy or are entirely unrealistic but High Ground sounds like it works. I’m also so glad you’ve found Trollope Eric- and yes, Miss Dunstable is one of my favorite characters too- I think I’ve mentioned before how much comfort he gave me last year and has become a firm favorite.

[lizdorrington]

Such interesting books, I'm really excited to read High House, Transcendent Kingdom, Unsettled Ground and Kololo Hill.