March 2025 Reading Wrap Up
Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!
March has come and gone, my friends. For some reason, March went by very slowly for me. I find that particularly odd considering January and February went by so fast, but March was crawling along at a snail's pace. Though I suppose it doesn't really matter, as it's over now. Hello April!
I managed to do a lot in March, though it wasn't all book related. Since the beginning of the month I was feeling less than enthused about my bullet journal set up. I've been bullet journaling for six years now, and I haven't really changed my setup. Normally I'm pretty excited to open up my journal at the end of the day and record all that I did, but I just wasn't feeling it the past few weeks. Instead, I decided to try out the Hobonichi Cousin notebook. I've been watching YouTubers who have used Cousins for years, and every year I think "this is the year I'm going to try it" but by the time they go on sale, I've already bought my next bullet journal and set it up. This time however, I knew I needed a change of pace. I got the April start, and I will be using it for the rest of the year. This will be a sort of trial year. If I like the Cousin enough, I'll buy another for 2026. But if it doesn't work out, I'm okay with going back to bullet journaling.
Another big change that happened in March was my e-reader purchase! You can read more about it in my latest reading update.
In the month of March, I read a total of 12 books: 10 novels, 1 nonfiction, and 1 short story collection. Four of these were translated works, which makes me feel pretty good about my reading goals. However, only two were on my physical TBR for the year. I really have to get going on my TBR Takedown if I want to make my goal by the end of the year.
Alright, enough yapping. Let's get into the wrap up!
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Novels
Genre: Fantasy, Political Fantasy, Adult
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 5 stars/9.89 CAWPILE
Page count: 445 pages
Day(s) read: 3.01 - 3.06
Final thoughts: I have found a new favorite! This will definitely be making an appearance in my final "best books of 2025" post at the end of the year. I can't believe it took me so long to actually get around to reading it! Everything about this book was perfect to me. I loved following Maia as a main character, he gives off serious cinnamon roll vibes but he's so much more. He's the naive prince, reluctant hero, and untrained apprentice all rolled into one character, and I want to just reach through the pages and protect him. I'm slightly upset that this is just a standalone, but I know that the Cemeteries of Amalo series takes place in this same world, so I'm looking forward to starting that soon.
Genre: Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, Adult
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars/7.92 CAWPILE
Page count: 286 pages
Day(s) read: 3.03 - 3.07
Final thoughts: This was technically a reread for me, but it's been fifteen years since I first read this book (and even then, I read an abridged version meant for a classroom). I was pleasantly surprised by how much of the story I actually remembered, considering how long it's been. I felt so much empathy for Charlie, especially towards the end of the novel. As someone who puts a lot of self-worth into my intelligence, I could really relate to the fear that Charlie felt. And of course as a massive rodent lover and advocate, everything to do with Algernon just broke me into a thousand tiny pieces.
Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Adult
Means of reading: E-book
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3 stars/5.61 CAWPILE
Page count: 361 pages
Day(s) read: 3.07 - 3.12
Final thoughts: I read this for the World Tour Book club on Fable, sort of. This month's pick was actually a different book, but it was completely unavailable where I live, so I just picked another story from the same country, which was the UAE. I don't think I would have read this book otherwise, it's not really my taste. I didn't find myself particularly moved or impressed by the story. I will say that I think it came across incredibly modern for a book published 26 years ago in 1999.
Translated from the Japanese by David Boyd and Lucy North
Genre: Literary Fiction, Magical Realism, Adult
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 3 stars/5.00 CAWPILE
Page count: 213 pages
Day(s) read: 3.17 - 3.18
Final thoughts: This was incredibly odd, but in that fantastic way that all Japanese-translated fiction seems to have. This was my first novel from Japan of the year, and I have to say I missed the writing-style. It was like seeing an old friend again. As far as the actual story goes, it was decent. Again, not really something I would naturally gravitate towards. I think if this wasn't a Japanese novel, I wouldn't have picked it up. Reading about pregnancy and motherhood is not my favorite thing in the world. But the main character was pretty fascinating, and I found myself understanding her motives the more the book went on.
Genre: Horror, Classic, Adult
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars/8.00 CAWPILE
Page count: 659 pages
Day(s) read: 3.18 - 3.24
Final thoughts: This was such a surprise, and a very pleasant one at that! Before reading this, my track record with Stephen King was rocky at best. I didn't like Carrie at all, and while Pet Sematary was better, I still didn't quite understand the reviews saying it was "the scariest book I've ever read." But this book definitely matched my expectations when I think of a King novel. It was atmospheric and terrifying, and that's exactly what I wanted from it. There were more than a few moments that gave me genuine chills. And, I think the scariest moments were actually the topiaries. The way they moved like weeping angels from Doctor Who, that gave me the creeps to the extreme. This book has given me hope for continuing on with Stephen King (I think my next read will probably be Salem's Lot).
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Middle-Grade
Means of reading: E-book
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars/7.12 CAWPILE
Page count: 384 pages
Day(s) read: 3.21 - 3.29
Final thoughts: This is the third book in the Dragonwatch series, which is a continuation from the Fablehaven series, a childhood favorite of mine. I have been enjoying my time with this series, seeing familiar characters but in brand new settings and with new adventures ahead of them. This book in particular was actually pretty thrilling, due to something that happened to one of the characters at the end of the last book. I kept waiting for the threat to end, but it just kept going! Now we're on our way to a brand new location for book four. I'm really hoping that this conflict is resolved in the next book, because I don't know if I can handle these characters being kept apart for one minute longer.
Translated from the German by John E. Woods
Genre: Literary Fiction, Classic, Adult
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 2.5 stars/4.50 CAWPILE
Page count: 706 pages
Day(s) read: 2.01 - 3.28
Final thoughts: This book was a challenge to get through. I read it for the Game of Tomes book club on Fable, run by Emma and Carolyn. No doubt, if this wasn't for the book club, I would have DNF'd probably 400 or so pages in. I thought the actual story was interesting, but the author would go on a thousand tangents about random stuff, like medical textbooks, astrology, and so much philosophy. I think at a point, Mann just got wrapped up in the philosophy of it all and completely forgot about the plot. There was absolutely no reason this book needed to be 700 pages.
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Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, YA
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 5 stars/9.57 CAWPILE
Page count: 374 pages
Day(s) read: 3.25 - 3.26
Final thoughts: The reason I'm reread the entire Hunger Games series is, of course, because Sunrise on the Reaping came out this month. I don't have my copy yet, but I will be starting the book as soon as I have it in my hands. I also used this opportunity to annotate my copies of the first three books. Really just underlining. I've read The Hunger Games I think four or five times now, and it always blows me away. This series has stood the test of time for seventeen years now. I have no doubt it will be talked about and studied for many more years to come. Despite how dark and gruesome the story is, I had a wonderful time revisiting it.
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, YA
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 5 stars/9.71 CAWPILE
Page count: 391 pages
Day(s) read: 3.26 - 3.30
Final thoughts: The reason I'm reread the entire Hunger Games series is, of course, because Sunrise on the Reaping came out this month. I don't have my copy yet, but I will be starting the book as soon as I have it in my hands. I also used this opportunity to annotate my copies of the first three books. Really just underlining. I've read The Hunger Games I think four or five times now, and it always blows me away. This series has stood the test of time for seventeen years now. I have no doubt it will be talked about and studied for many more years to come. Despite how dark and gruesome the story is, I had a wonderful time revisiting it.
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, YA
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 5 stars/9.29 CAWPILE
Page count: 390 pages
Day(s) read: 3.30 - 3.31
Final thoughts: The reason I'm reread the entire Hunger Games series is, of course, because Sunrise on the Reaping came out this month. I don't have my copy yet, but I will be starting the book as soon as I have it in my hands. I also used this opportunity to annotate my copies of the first three books. Really just underlining. I've read The Hunger Games I think four or five times now, and it always blows me away. This series has stood the test of time for seventeen years now. I have no doubt it will be talked about and studied for many more years to come. Despite how dark and gruesome the story is, I had a wonderful time revisiting it.
Nonfiction
Translated from the Finnish by Douglas Robinson
Genre: Travel, Memoir, Adult
Means of reading: Mixed Media
Star rating/CAWPILE: N/A (I don't rate memoirs)
Page count: 312 pages (15 hrs 32 mins audio)
Day(s) read: 3.12 - 3.17
Final thoughts: This is a blend of history, travel, and memoir. Mia Kankimaki writes about ten different women throughout history, her "night women" who had a significant impact on her own life. She then travels to where those women lived, walking the same streets and experiencing the same things. I enjoyed the history chapters much more than the memoir chapters, though I think that's just because I'm a history nerd. This was the perfect book to read for Women's History Month, and I didn't even plan that, I just picked this up from my shelves on a whim! Even though this book is about a whole group of women, I thought it was an excellent introduction to Mia as a person. I'd like to meet her at some point, she seems very cool.
Short Stories
Translated from the Russian by Alan Myers
Genre: Classic, Literary Fiction, Adult
Means of reading: Physical
Star rating/CAWPILE: 4 stars/7.14 CAWPILE
Page count: 132 pages
Day(s) read: 3.13 - 3.16
Final thoughts: I read this collection primarily for White Nights, which everyone always says is the ultimate love story. I don't know if I fully agree with that, but I can definitely see why people say that. White Nights as it's own story was 5 stars. A Gentle Creature, the second story in the collection, was 3.5 stars. I didn't care for the narrator very much, and that pulled my overall enjoyment of the story down. The third story, Dream of a Ridiculous Man, got 4 stars. It gave me A Christmas Carol vibes, though it was overall more depressing than Dickens. I loved the writing in every story, because Dostoevsky's writing is incredible.
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Total page count: 4,653 pages (15 hrs 32 mins total audio)
Favorite book of March: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
No DNFs this month
No unfinished books this month
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And that's another month in the archives! I'd love to know what your favorite book of the month was. Let me know in the comments, or DM me on Instagram (link in sidebar under the heading "More Media").
Until next time, friends!
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