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March Reading Recap

March 31, 2023

march reading

March has been a month of extremes. There was no middle ground to my reading. I had six books four stars and higher, but I also had four books I didn’t finish. This could be due, in part, to the fact that I overcommitted on books to read for March. Where I might normally push through on a book (and sometimes be rewarded with a turnaround) I had to jettison anything that wasn’t working after 20%. Much like the weather here I was unusually cold this month.

 

march

A Country You Can Leave by Asale Angel-Ajani
Published by Knopf
Publication date: February 21, 2023
three-half-stars
Amazon

As the child of a Russian mother and an Afro-Cuban father Lara has never fit in. She’s never even met her father and her relationship with her mother Yvegenia is fractious and tenuous at best. A Country You Can Leave takes place in a decrepit trailer park, the latest hopscotch landing spot for Yvegenia. Lara just wants to stay in one place and finish high school. This is a harsh-life novel, but debut author Asale Angel-Ajani’s writing is cutting in its insight into the darker side of human relationships.

 

The Shadow of Perseus by Claire Heywood: Loved this fresh take on the Medusa myth. My review.

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati: More Greek mythology retold. Review to follow

 

march

Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls
Published by Scribner
Publication date: March 28, 2023
dnf

Sadly, Hang the Moon was a complete miss for me. I’ve loved Jeannette Walls’ previous books, but her foray into historical fiction fell flat. A story of a Prohibition era woman in the bootleg hills of Virginia couldn’t hold my interest.

Women are the Fiercest Creatures by Andrea Dunlop: Review to follow

Hello, Beautiful by Ann Napolitano: My review

 

 

know

I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever by Barbara Rae-Venter
Published by Ballantine
Publication date: February 7, 2023
three-half-stars
Amazon

I Know Who You Are is a true crime book about an amateur genealogist who uses modern day DNA technology and databases to aid in the search for criminals. For some, this is a sensitive topic, and she addresses that, but the bulk of the book is about the various high-profile cases she helped solve. The most important being the golden state killer. Much of this is fascinating reading, but Venter is abrasive in her superiority- as evidenced by the book’s subtitle. Even if warranted, it’s unpleasant. A good book for skimming.

 

Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal: Review to follow

Dust Child by Que Mai Phan Nguyen: Outstanding fiction about the aftermath of the VietNam War. My review

 

That’s all for March. On to April with lots of new books and everything blooming here is Seattle!

 

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on a link and make a purchase of any kind, I get a small commission (at no cost to you).

*I received free copies of the books from Scribner and Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review.*

 

three-half-stars

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2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: contemporary fiction, mini-reviews, true crime

Comments

  1. Laila Archer says

    March 31, 2023 at 6:18 am

    I’m more and more ready to abandon books that aren’t working for me. I think it’s a factor of aging!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      April 9, 2023 at 4:04 pm

      I don’t know what it is but I’m becoming ruthless! And then I feel guilty because I know someone worked hard on it.

      Reply

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