Well yikes, April really got away from me! Much of what I read in March feels like a really long time ago. I’m glad I have my journal to remind me.

I’m really loving this new way to share my reading; the single graphic (with all the little book covers, listed in the order I finished the books) with stars to highlight favorites – is a great snapshot … and memory helper. March was another stellar month of reading with seven (more than a third!) stars. and again, those standout books were spread across the month.

Here are the micro-reviews I shared on Instagram for those seven books (links to Goodreads):

📖Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar – Fiction Matters Buzzy Book for March lives up to the buzz. Akbar is a poet and it shows in the writing, especially the martyr essays/poems that open each chapter. I loved Cyrus’ exploration of what makes a martyr – or a life worth living?! and his dreams (“it feels so American to discount dreams”) were some of my favorite scenes.

📖Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh – Novel Pairings March bookclub selection. a re-read and nostalgic nod to 1980’s me who wanted to read the book before watching the PBS series. Back then I focused on the plot/setting/characters & now I marveled at the structure, the writing, and the themes. 

🎧/📖Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan – a story told by the daughter of a Tamil family caught up in the Sri Lankan civil war. ❤️ the writing and making me re-think “terrorist”  (the audio is fantastic & I loved the print to keep all the characters straight).

📖Aednan by Linnea Axelsson – a novel in verse about generations of two Sámi families, explores colonization, assimilation, and the continued struggle to reclaim the Sámi  heritage. translated from the Swedish, stunning poetry, heartbreaking stories, and a structure (multiple POV/non-linear timelines) that works beautifully.

🎧Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad – Palestinians stage a performance of Hamlet in the West Bank. also family stories & how art is political and can be an act of resistance (my current front-runner for the Women’s Prize).

📖The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft – a thoughtful exploration of translation & how it impacts/changes the original text. also meta, zany & fun. ❤️ a huge tribute to Olga Tokarczuk.

🎧/📖Inland by Téa Obreht – two stories – one day in the life of Nora, a strong woman living in the arid Arizona territory in 1893, her husband has left to find water, her two oldest sons are missing AND years of Lurie, an immigrant ~ 1850 who wanders the rivers – twist, turn, and ultimately converge in such a surprising way. I loved Nora & Lurie – seeing how their stories came together (with water!) & the last 2 pages ❤️

This post has been on my to-do list for while … and if I’d written it days ago like I’d planned, I’d be sharing my hopefuls for the Women’s Prize Short List that was announced this morning. Instead, I’m really excited that my three hands-down favorites from the five (nearly six) that I’ve read made the short list!

Two of those favorites – Enter Ghost and Brotherless Night – were March standouts; The Wren, the Wren was from last October, and it was also a favorite from all of last year. Here’s what I said about it then:

The Wren, the Wren, by Anne Enright – I love poets who write novels, and now I also love novelists who write poetry. Enright imagined Phil McDaragh, a narcissistic Irish poet, who leaves his family behind to pursue his art (Monsters anyone?) The story focuses on his daughter and her daughter, a beautiful mother-daughter relationship. And his poetry (all written by Enright) threads throughout their lives – it also gives us a way to judge … was it worth it for Phil to leave?

I’m currently reading The Maiden and enjoying it, but it is not stellar like those other three. and Hangman, which I also read in March … was not a favorite either. Soldier Sailor comes highly recommended and I’ll be reading it next month (or for sure before the winner is named). I hadn’t heard much about River East River West, but it sounds good; I ordered it this morning. I’ve heard mixed things about Restless Dolly Maunder and decided to hold off (also, my library still doesn’t have a copy). I also have A Trace of Sun on my shelf and I’ll be reading it at some point. So I have two more to read for the short list and one more from the long list.

I’d love to know what you think about the Short List and what your reading plans are before/after the winner is announced on June 13.

and now this post is getting (really) long! Here are a few highlight ♥s from my reading journal:

♥ prize reading! three for the Women’s (see above) and three for the Booker International (which sadly, weren’t as compelling. I did love The Details, by Ia Genberg … and even though it wasn’t a standout, I hope more of her novels get translated into English.)

♥ 12!! books checked checked either the diversity or translation boxes.

♥ Revisiting Brideshead Revisited. Novel Pairings did a great job covering the book and hosting our bookclub discussion. I also rewatched a bit of the movie and the PBS series and was struck by how well the series followed the book (maybe because the movie did a few things … so differently?!). The original NYTimes review of Brideshead claims this is Waugh’s finest novel, which makes me wonder where I might go next if I wanted to explore him a bit more?

♥ (not really a “heart”) what is up with all the autofiction and why is it having such a moment?

So much I loved (and one thing not so much) about March reading … what about you? a love, or a not so much, to share?