March: What I Read

Goodreads tells me I am up to 57 books for the year and that seems kind of like a lot of books.  I brought 8 library books on our road trip and read them all on the way there and then ordered 2 more and read those but was too cheap to buy anymore books so I read New Yorkers.

Here are this month's 18:

You could skip these:

18. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson:  Nope.  Terrible.  Sexist.  Blind with privilege.  Gross.  Listen to this podcast episode-- that's basically exactly right.

17.  Every Note Played by Lisa Genova:  Big nope from me, which is a pity because I truly love her other books.

Buy this to have, but it's not a page-turner:

16.  A Mother's Book of Blessings edited by Natasha Tabori Fried and Lena Tabori: I really did love this one, but you guys, I read some BOOKS this month.  You can see my review here.

These are kind of meh for the month, but in terms of book, they're still good.

15.  You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero:  I have heard nothing but praise for this one, but it was just OK for me.  I'd love to know what you think.

14.  Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman:  I went on a bit of a Backman binge this month, and this book was my least favorite of all of them.  But it was still charming and delightful and a pretty good beach read THAT I READ ON THE BEACH.

13.  The Importance of Being Little: What Preschoolers Really Need From Grown Ups by Erika Christakis:  This book is wonderfully written and researched, but it made me so sad. Christakis does such a good job of calling out the tension between the importance of good early childhood programs and our cultural unwillingness to understand what that means. I feel even better about my own children’s excellent (half day) preschool program and their lazy early childhoods full of play at home, but I am so sad/frustrated that this can’t be the norm for all of us. In the final chapters, Christakis interrogates daycare and the inherent babysitter/teacher conflict as well as the impossibility of recreating the home in an institutional setting and our collective unwillingness to value early childhood workers. An excellent, thought-provoking read. 

Funny, light, and relatable. It's a Twinkie of a book.

12.  Class Mom by Laurie Gelman:  You guys!  This book is charming and delightful.  I feel like it's a little bit like a celebrity who makes an album whose voice is edited to sound amazing, but still I loved it.

The Best of Backman

11.  Beartown by Fredrik Backman: YES.  READ.  Especially if your kids play hockey.  And!  It's the first in a series about the same town (I think that's what the series will be about). The next one comes out in June, and I have already put it on hold at the library because that's my favorite thing to do: read about books I will probably like and put them on hold.  You guys know I usually don't read dudes, but I will make an exception for this guy.

10.  A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman:  LOVELY and DELIGHTFUL.  I had a bit of a hard time getting into it, but my friends told me this would happen, and it was worth the effort.

9.  My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman:Oh my this was good-- it read like a fairy tale and I cried and cried.

Excellent girl reads

8.  Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson:  Oh, I love her, and I was delighted to find one of her books that I had not yet read.  This one is just as great as the rest.

7.  Still Me by Jojo Moyes:   Like most moms and old ladies, I loved the first book in this series, Me Before You.  And I loved the movie.  The second one, After You, was... less great.  But this one!  Oh, I loved it so much!

Terrific memoirs

6.  This Will Be My Undoing:  Living At the Intersection of Black, Female,and Feminist in (White) America by Morgan Jerkins:  These essays are wonderful, and you should read this book.

5.  A Series of Catastrophes and Miracles by Mary Elizabeth Williams:  This is a wonderful memoir, one of the best I have read in recent memory. It's about cancer, but it's not just sad and scary-- I loved it.

A Top 4 that will be really hard to beat

4.  Red Clocks by Leni Zumas:  Yes yes yes-- this is as good as you have heard.  I loved all of the characters so much, and even though it was just a leeeeeeettle too close to reality for comfort, it was an excellent read.

3.  The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert:  SO SCARY you guys.  It reminded me of Night Film but less terrifying because it is YA.  And!  I think it is going to be a series.  Loved it!

2.  An American Marriage by Tayari Jones: Oprah didn't pick this for nothing, you know?  READ IT.  Quick and sad and so lovely.

1.  I'll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos:  I LOVE HER!  She is one of my very favorite authors, and she doesn't put new books out very quickly. So when she does, I gobble them up.  This one even has characters related to characters from Love Walked In which you should for sure read if you haven't already.  She is a poet, too, and her books are just lovely.