March Reads

A few days late, but here are the books I read in March. Let me know if you have read any and what you thought. And as always, tell me what you’re reading that I should add to my list!

Read — 5 stars

Recommended by my friend Emily Lammers & read for book club

I was skeptical going into this book, but the story quickly captured me. I fell in love with Woody Nickel and the Old Man and Red and even the two giraffes. It's such a creative novel and one that will stay with me for a long time.

Listened — 5 stars

Recommended by Shannon Williams & Joy Thompson — also #51 on the Reader’s Choice NYT 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

This book should be required reading for everyone in America. Isabel Wilkerson makes an excellent argument that we live in a caste system. She backs up her argument with so much history and research that making a case against her would be hard. On top of that, Wilkerson is an incredibly engaging writer, beautifully weaving her own life experience into the longer arc of history. This is an exceptional book.

Listened — 5 stars

Recommended by Amy Grass & Melissa Kutsche (& read early for July book club)

This was such a fun read! Alison Espach did a masterful job of writing about a heavy topic (suicidal ideation) with respect while still creating a hilarious cast of characters.

Read — 5 stars

Recommended by — me! I bought it the week it was released at my favorite local bookstore, The King’s English.

I loved the variety Wesley Morris included in this year's edition. My favorites:

"Jenisha from Kentucky" by Jenisha Watts (Truly incredible! Can't wait for her memoir.)

"Mere Belief" by Sallie Tisdale

"The Lives of Bryan" by Jennifer Sinor

"The Ones We Sent Away" by Jennifer Senior

"As They Like It: Learning to Follow My Child's Lead" by Nicole Graev Lipson (Went out & bought her book the day after I read this one)

"Because: An Etiology" by Richard Prins

Listened — 4.5 stars

Recommended by NYT 100 Best Books for the 21st Century lists #24 regular list & #12 Reader’s Choice List

I love how Richard Powers started this book by writing a short backstory of each character. I knew they would all be intertwined in the rest of the book, but how he did that was incredible. He wrote in a way that pointed back to each character's original story so the reader doesn't get lost in the web of storylines. Powers ability to create an intriguing story while also weaving in research about trees and conservation was unlike anything I've read before.

That’s all! I also read The Major Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge for my LAST(!!!) common reading of grad school but didn’t feel like writing another review after annotating that one. I do plan to spend a bit more time writing more than book reviews in this space again now that I’m done with school though. See you back here soon!