Welcome to our wrap up for March in 2023. How was your month? Tell us in the comments.
March Book Selection
The Scotiabank Giller Prize Obsession
I made it! 🤩
I finally finished the last book from the Scotiabank Giller Prize finalists for 2022. We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama [Goodreads] is a thought provoking read about Tibet and its people. I loved the family saga spanning fifty years and reflected on how displacement changes a culture and its people. Though Tibet is so close to India and many people from there found shelter in India, its history is not one I had formally read about in books. This was my chance and a beautiful, heartbreaking story at all! Full review coming this month along with a wrap up about the five books.
Non-Fiction
I read some fantastic non-fiction this month! Two of these are actually related to marriage.
When I got back from my India trip, I wanted to know about work-life balance and housekeeping. Weddings are the celebration of a milestone. Generally, people move into their home together after the wedding but in my case, Clinton and I had already made home. I took the opportunity to learn more about house tasks, how to divide them and how to keep coming back to them. How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by K.C. Davis [Goodreads] is a perfect read for that. Here are my top three reasons why I love this book:
- It is short. The audiobook is about three hours of reading time with suggestions on which chapters to skip for an even abridged version.
- The chapters are short with a main point section. The book is geared to be accessible to neurodivergent folks and those with ADHD. I loved the organization.
- It is an honest conversation about house chores – keeping the house and car clean, laundry, dishes, meal planning – everything essential to living in a space that works for you. A lot of times parents and elders approach these conversations with gold standards on how the house should look and where things should be. But that doesn’t work for everyone and How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing reminds us to find our own new ways of doing things.
I heard about the tour for Wedded Wife: A Feminist History of Marriage by Rachael Lennon [Goodreads] and curiosity got the better of me. A detailed history and commentary on the current states of marriage in the UK and US, this is a well-researched book that is inclusive about the experiences of LGBTQ+ people. It tries to be an all-encompassing book and for the longest time, I thought it was, until I thought more about marriage and realized how complex that milestone in life is. Read my thoughts here. An author interview coming later this month!
Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft [Goodreads] is a must-read for writers. I have seen it come up in many writing books so it was good to finally give it a chance and see what the hype was about. Stephen shares about his life and then shares tools and tips specific to writing and publishing. I enjoyed his thoughts on what makes good writing and it was hard not to critique the books I was reading while I was reading On Writing.
Fiction
It was a good month for fiction!
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Sarah Chorn is a popular author amongst my avid indie reading friends and I was excited to get a few of her books during a promotional event. A Sorrow Named Joy [Goodreads] is a short and impactful novella about a husband and wife. Joy is a homemaker. Her day revolves around her husband, Mike. She does what she thinks he would like. He is truly the centre of her world. When Joy discovers a photo of them she can’t remember, their relationship unravels.
I read a dystopian thriller called Blind Spots by Thomas Muller [Goodreads]. In a world where humans rely heavily on technology to see as everyone lost their sight a few years back, this novel’s protagonist is a cop. Haunted by things he has done and the shocking leaps in technology coming up, Blind Spots was a thought provoking read. I worked with the publisher, Minotaur Press, to interview the author. Looking forward to posting it this month!
I loved The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi [Goodreads]! This desert fantasy has an old world feel and I could not put it down. The story of a 13 year old who embarks on a journey to find water for his city. Read my full review here.
Have you ever read a science fiction book set on Jupiter? The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older [Goodreads] has that setting, centuries from now. My review is on Goodreads and I will be sharing discussion questions about this book on Instagram during my tour stop on Monday.
Contemporary Fiction
Somehow, thankfully, I have found my way back to contemporary YA novels. First up, Brighter Than the Sun by Daniel Aleman [Goodreads]: This is a moving tale about the responsibilities on one young girl’s shoulders and how she begins to balance family expectations with pursuing her own dreams. Sol is born in the US to a Mexican family who live in Mexico. To give her a brighter future, she goes to school in the US. She is just in high school when, to support her family, she takes a job in the city when she studies. She is a strong protagonist who I was rooting for all the way!
Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick [Goodreads] happens in a small conservative town. The main character is a queer girl who has an accident and forgets the last two years of her life, including her sexuality, girlfriend and plans to get out of the town. This book was an enjoyable read and gave me a lot to think about. Review coming to the blog this month!
I read The Cloisters by Katy Hayes [Goodreads] with Stephen! We had a lot of fun discussing this book. The museum setting and tarot cards related plot was intriguing. Somehow, this book has a mystical historical fiction feel inspite of being a contemporary setting.
Rereads
I reread The Girl and the Goddess by Nikita Gill [Goodreads] this month! The audiobook is one I return to when I don’t want to read anything else. See my thoughts on this book when I first read it last year in March.
Total TBR: 323 (Mar 1) -> 336 (Apr 1)
The list just keeps growing. 🙂 Some noteworthy review copies that I added to my TBR this month were:
- Journalist Tony Ganzer shared his book, Kneading Journalism: Essays on baking bread and breaking down the news [Goodreads] that promises to be an insightful read. I am excited to dive into this one and learn more from Tony.
- Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey [Goodreads] is a multidimensional adventure that sounds very promising for the next time I am in the scifi mood.
- Coming in paperback in June, Morgan is My Name by Sophie Keetch is a retelling of King Arthur [Goodreads]. Historical fantasy with mythology, yes please!
From my personal list, I am excited about Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life [Goodreads] and Daniel Aleman’s debut novel, Indivisible [Goodreads]. Ikigai has been recommended to me by two friends and it’s an insightful read so far!
Writing
Updates on TBP (to be posted – reviews that I have written but not yet published to the blog) and TBW (to be written – books I have read but not yet noted down my thoughts about).
TBP: 13 (Mar 1) -> 18 (Apr 1)
TBW: 11 (Mar 1) -> 7 (Apr 1)
I enjoyed writing reviews for The Lies of the Ajungo, Brighter than the Sun, Forget Me Not and most books I got around to reading and writing about this month. Stephen and I read and discussed The Cloisters at length. That was great!
Have you written something lately?
Blogging
In case you missed it, the non-fiction feature of March was Ann Gomez’s Workday Warrior: A Proven Path to Reclaiming Your Time. From the horror side, I wrote about Craig DiLouie’s Episode Thirteen. Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalists made it to the blog (well most of them): Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English, Stray Dogs: Stories and The Sleeping Car Porter.
Ariel and I chatted about Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai. If you love historical fiction, you need to read this book.
For tours, I posted about The Lies of the Ajungo and Wedded Wife: A Feminist History of Marriage.
Two interviews I enjoyed sharing were with Craig DiLouie and Ann Gomez. I loved working with both of them and of course their books are quite amazing too. It feels great to build connections with authors again. You know I collaborate in many ways and it was a pleasure to host Cassondra Windwalker and hear her thoughts on all grown-up YA novels.
Ariel also shared her review of the May release, To Shape a Dragon’s Breath.
Staging
Finally found time to share about Well-Behaved Indian Women on Instagram!
Since it was the Scotiabank Giller Prize month on the blog, there were accompanying reviews on Instagram for Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English, Stray Dogs: Stories, and The Sleeping Car Porter. I shared a quote from We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies. I did so much highlighting in this book. 😀
I was on tour with B2Wierd and Tor for The Lies of Ajungo – my very first Instagram tour. But you guys, as my readers on the blog, will always get my reviews here first. 🙂
I also shared my review of Episode Thirteen and one of the questions from the interview with Craig.
My mother-in-law has given me her copy of Age of Vice. It’s a thriller set in India. I haven’t read it yet.
Poet and podcaster, Ayo did an Instagram live and recorded the episode.
Ariel and I did our first collaboration on her tour date for Dust Child.
I did a Book Scavenger Hunt challenge and made my very first reel!! I am unable to embed it here but please do take a look. You don’t need an Instagram account to see it. 🙂 See the art I made this month and 5 memorable reads this month.
Lastly, I dabbled in graphics and hosted two authors for cover reveals. I am going to be doing more collaborations on Instagram so if you have a profile there, follow me there. I am trying to do more visual and concise bookish things on Instagram. It continues to hone my graphics skill and it is so much fun to get feedback from Ariel and Lauren. ❤️
The Noteworthy: A random collection of findings
- I am trying to add video games to my routines. Ariel helped me find A Building Full of Cats, a fun and short game where I look for cats hidden in each room of a building. I did not want it to end. (image)
- Sushma Hedge has a new watercolor book out for which she created some buzz by a 5-day watercolor challenge. I enjoyed taking part and am looking forward to finding more of these challenges. Check out the book and Sushma’s Instagram.
- Clinton and I are watching The Last of Us! Have you seen this show?
Ariel’s March
This month was not an audiobook month for me, but that’s okay. I’ve been on and off re-reading the Murderbot series via audiobook here and there. This month I mostly focused on arcs– both physical for B2Weird tours and digital Netgalley arcs as well. I hope to catch up on most of them by next month so I can switch focus on reading my backlist.
Book Total: 8
Ebooks: 4
Physical Books: 4
Library Books: 2
Netgalley Arcs: 3
Physical Arcs: 3
Notable Favorites:
- Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee
- The Thick and the Lean by Chana Porter
Not books:
Favorite TV Show for this month: Star Trek: Lower Decks
Favorite Video Game this month: Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Favorite Board Game of the month: Flamecraft
Thanks for being a reader of my blog. Happy April! May you have a great one.
Lofi Girl art downloaded from UDH Wallpaper
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