March 2021 Reading Wrap-Up

Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog! 

Wow, was March a month. I swear it lasted half a year. And so many things happened, too. First, Mochi is doing great. She's eleven weeks old and already over 25 pounds, so we're estimating her to get to about 75 pounds when she's fully grown. She's gonna be huge, her legs are so long already. Most likely, she'll be as tall as my hip. I'm relishing in her being lap-size for as long as I can. 

Alright, I read 23 total books this month: 12 novels, 10 graphic novels, and 1 manga. I read a variety of genres, but sci-fi was definitely the majority this month. Of the 23, 12 of them were sci-fi, including 9 of the 10 graphic novels. I also read 4 books off of my own physical TBR. I'm getting through my stack slowly but surely!

Let's get into it, shall we?

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Novels

1. Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab (Cassidy Blake #3)
Star rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Page count: 304 pages
Day(s) read: 03.02 - 03.03
Goodreads thoughts: Perfection.

Really, though. I don’t have a single complaint. This is definitely my favorite of the series so far, I love the atmosphere of New Orleans and Victoria Schwab captures it so well. The one-liners are well timed and clever, and the nuance of the characters is great.

2. When Women Ruled the World by Kara Cooney
Star rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Page count: 407 pages
Day(s) read: 03.01 - 03.06
Goodreads thoughts: Extremely captivating and educational. The writing was accessible and easy to follow, which made the book enjoyable as a whole. You can clearly tell how passionate Kara Cooney is about Egypt and it’s queens. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who is interested in this history.

3. The Electric Kingdom by David Arnold
Star rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Page count: 432 pages
Day(s) read: 03.06 - 03.07
Goodreads thoughts: That was wild. And sad as fuck. 

4. The Martian by Andy Weir (REREAD)
Star rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Page count: 387 pages
Day(s) read: 03.08 - 03.12
Goodreads thoughts: God I love this book. I stand by my “I don’t like sci-fi” statement only if the math is wrong, and if Andy Weir knows anything, it’s math. We need more physicists writing space sci-fi, that’s all I’ve got to say.

5. Poems 1962-2012 by Louise Gluck
Star rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Page count: 656 pages
Day(s) read: 03.01 - 03.13
Goodreads thoughts: Meh? Obviously with a collection as big as this one there is a very slim chance that I’ll actually like all of the poems, and that didn’t happen here. I appreciated that she referenced Greek mythology a lot and no surprise those were more my speed, but I really did not like the last collection in this bind up.

6. The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina
Star rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Page count: 416 pages
Day(s) read: 03.13 - 03.16
Goodreads thoughts: Equally about grief and love, The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World takes all of those messy feelings inside of us and lays them out before us, and tells us to be proud of them. Although this book follows Yui and her life, you can easily put yourself in her shoes and follow along the cycles of grief and learning how to accept love back into your life. This story was evocative and emotional, and touched something in me I hadn’t realized was there.

7. The Silence of Bones by June Hur
Star rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Page count: 336 pages
Day(s) read: 03.15 - 03.22
Goodreads thoughts: Very good!

8. Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie
Star rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Page count: 463 pages
Day(s) read: 03.18 - 03.23
Goodreads thoughts: I wasn’t expecting this book to make me cry as much as it did, but here we are I guess. The odyssey of Noriko’s life was so harrowing and emotional, I can’t imagine going through all she had to go through. And it hurts knowing she didn’t get her happy ending. I am simply distraught, and this has become one of my new favorites.

9. Bruised by Tanya Boteju
Star rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Page count: 336 pages
Day(s) read: 03.23 - 03.24
Goodreads thoughts: So good! I liked the exploration of grief in tandem with the MC’s acceptance of her sexuality and love. Also roller derby is clearly a superior sport and makes me feel things.

10. The Near Witch by V.E. Schwab (ONE DAY READ)
Star rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Page count: 349 pages
Day(s) read: 03.25
Goodreads thoughts: Not my favorite by her, but still very good!! I liked the story at the end about Cole’s origin more than the book, I think. I’d definitely read more about him.

11. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Star rating: 1 out of 5 stars
Page count: 803 pages
Day(s) read: 02.01 - 03.26
Goodreads thoughts: I hated this? I hated this. Honestly this book just made me feel stupid, the way Tolstoy writes is so pretentious and complicated that I derived absolutely no joy from reading it. And I couldn’t stand Levin. I was really only interested in Anna’s plot, and even then once she had her girl I got annoyed with her. None of the characters were likable and I didn’t root for any of the relationships. Ugh.

At least I can finally say that I read it, though.

12. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Star rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Page count: 316 pages
Day(s) read: 03.26 - 04.01
Goodreads thoughts: I loved this! I found it so fun and informational. It was a little dense in some parts but overall I was entertained to the max.

Graphic Novels

1. Saga vol. 1-9 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples
Star rating: 3.5 of out 5 stars
Total page count: 1,414 pages
Day(s) read: 03.01, 03.02, 03.14
Goodreads thoughts: vol 1 - Obviously this is an extremely mature comic. And some of the panels are just weird. Like I’ve seen a lot and I was gobsmacked by some of the artwork. But damn the story is good

vol 9 - Are you fucking kidding me?!?!?!?!!!!

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh WHAT

I AM NOT OKAY JFC

2. A Gift for a Ghost by Borja Gonzalez (ONE DAY READ)
Star rating: 1 out of 5 stars
Page count: 128 pages
Day(s) read: 03.17
Goodreads thoughts: I don’t get it??

I was really just confused the whole time and therefore didn’t enjoy it

Manga

1. I Want to Eat Your Pancreas by Yoru Sumino
Star rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Page count: 442 pages
Day(s) read: 03.04 - 03.05
Goodreads thoughts: I’m not crying, you’re crying!

(I’m totally crying.)

Whew, that got to me. Stories about death and mortality always do, but that one really hurt. Seeing Haruki’s growth was so wonderful but I hate that it had to happen along with Sakura’s decline.

(Side note, my dog doesn’t know why I’m crying but she’s cuddling me anyway, which is just making me cry harder. Thanks, Mochi.)

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Total page count: 7,189 pages

Favorite book of March: Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie

Least favorite book of March: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

DNF'd books of March: Descendent of the Crane by Joan He
                                         If You Keep a Record of Sins by Andrea Bajani

No unfinished books this month

Books bought this month: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
                                             Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
                                             The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
                                             The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
                                             The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

Books gifted to me this month: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

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Okay, that's all for this month's wrap-up! What was your favorite book of the month? Let me know in my comments or tweet at me @AllyEmReads (my Twitter is linked on the side of my blog, along with my Goodreads, my Instagram, and my Amazon Wishlist). 

Until next time!