Disclosure: some of the titles within this post were previously sent to me for free in exchange for an honest review. I’m an affiliate for Blackwell’s so this post contains affiliate links to their sites. If you buy a book via my links, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you – thank you!
Even though vaccines are being rolled out quite swiftly in the UK (yay!) in March we were still under ‘stay at home’ orders. Last year during the first full month of lockdown in April I attempted to read a book a day all month but didn’t quite make it. So I thought why not give it another go? If nothing else I will make a sizeable dent in my owned unread books. Obviously I included audiobooks in this. If you’re one of those people who doesn’t think audiobooks ‘count’ then… You need to go and have a sit down and sort out this ableist kind of thinking.
I feel the need to make a disclaimer because this is the internet after all. In no way is this post meant to be shaming people for their reading speed or inciting any sort of competition. I’ve always been a pretty speedy reader and I’m not working full-time right now. I did this for fun and that is that!
Instagram also took a backseat during March. I usually post about every book I read (or most), and in March I just… didn’t. It felt quite nice to just read a book, sit with my own thoughts, and then put it back on my shelf. I can get caught up in the rigamarole of read a book, take a photo, write a review, post it and repeat. It was refreshing to break that cycle!
Now, we’ve got a lot of books to get through so I’m going to try my best to do teeny tiny reviews for all 31 books here! These are listed in the order that I read them, not by favourites. Hopefully those will be clear from the mini reviews!
1. Unicorn: The Memoir of a Muslim Drag Queen by Amrou Al-Kadhi
A beautiful memoir exploring queerness, gender fluidity, drag faith and family. I loved Al-Kadhi’s tone throughout (especially on audio): funny and frank, vulnerable and honest. An empowering read about finding your place in the world.
2. Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux, tr. Tanya Leslie
Annie Ernaux never disappoints, especially if you’re looking for something short, sharp and poignant. This one explores a time when the author’s entire life was consumed by a clandestine love affair. She also offers up some insight into how it feels to bare your private life to a public audience through books.
3. A Perfect Cemetery by Federico Falco, tr. Jennifer Croft
I thought I’d love this short story collection more than I did. If you enjoy quiet stories with a great ear for dialogue, then give it a try. The titular story is a real gem.
4. Summon by Elizabeth Ridout
The first of several poetry collections I tried in March, and probably the least successful for me. While there are some lovely turns of phrase, I spent much of this collection scratching my head.
5. Eve Out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi, tr. Jeffrey Zuckerman
This book starts off unassuming and builds with a quiet furore that will leave you quite breathless. It exposes the dark underbelly to Mauritius, a very different portrait to the one tourist brochures would have you believe.
6. Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan, tr. Irene Ash
A book I’ve been meaning to read for years. I’m glad I finally read it but overall it didn’t leave much of an impression on me. The ending is impactful but it struggled to hold my interest until then. Good job it was only 112 pages!
7. Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
A modern depiction of millennial Black British love told from the perspective of the man. It took me a minute to get attuned to the second-person narration but then I really did enjoy the intimate nature of this book!
8. Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour
This book was responsible for a huge spike in my blood pressure. Although the audio was a bit much at times, this is a super sharp and dark satire, exposing the microaggressions and racism in start-up culture. Definitely more plot-driven than I’m used to.
9. A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo
I really enjoyed this book, especially the way we get to ‘see’ Zhuang’s development through her English improving. She could be quite naïve at times, but I loved her observations on Western ways of life and people. A great reminder that there’s more to understanding another person than just sharing a language.
10. Journey by Moonlight by Antal Szerb, tr. Len Rix
Sadly this one was painful to read. Exceedingly dull and all the women in the book are portrayed as vapid or stupid or both.
Buy the book (If you really want to, ha!)
11. What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons
This one sat on my TBR stacks for years but it was worth the wait! A touching book about a young woman whose mother dies, grappling with identity, belonging, race and sex. It’s profound yet quick to read because of the short chapters. Perfect if your attention span is lacking.
12. Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
I really appreciate how Onyebuchi managed to pull off a sci-fi novel in under 200 pages! Huge info dumps are most of what turn me off science fiction, so this slim yet powerful book was just what I needed to get me back into the genre.
13. How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones
I’m a sucker for anything about motherhood and parent-child relationships, so the second half of Jones’ memoir floored me. His work as a poet shines through his prose. Another intimate and vulnerable memoir which I’m grateful to have been able to read.
14. Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith
This is like the tenth book or so I’ve read by Ali Smith and once again she does not let me down! A retelling of the myth of Iphis, Smith juggles the ethics (or lack thereof) of big corps, gender fluidity and sexuality. Her prose is as whimsical as ever, at this point it feels like coming home for me.
15. On Reflection by Adjoa Wiredu
This is the second collection I’ve read from Jacaranda’s Twenty in 2020 and it was another winner! Wiredu has a gift for summoning a vivid sense of place in just a few lines, bringing the scene directly to you through the pages. I also loved the exploration of the dynamics between first- and second-generation immigrants.
16. If You Kept a Record of Sins by Andrea Bajani, tr. Elizabeth Harris
Another one exploring a mother-son relationship, this one an absent mother who has passed away. I didn’t really know what to make of this one. I struggled to get past the weirdly fatphobic subplot.
17. This Brutal House by Niven Govinden
This book was so good! It’s a protest novel set in and around the drag scene of New York. Written in hypnotising experimental prose, Govinden shows the struggle Black and brown queer folks face when it comes to getting justice for their lost loved ones.
18. Hag-seed by Margaret Atwood
Shakespeare isn’t my jam at all, but despite that this was still a pretty readable book. I shouldn’t be surprised, since I love Atwood and always enjoy her prose! However, it’s probably right down the lower end of my Atwood books ranked. It got tiresome being in Felix’s head.
19. The Colour of God by Ayesha S. Chaudhry
One of my favourites of the month! This memoir is insanely readable, illuminating and insightful. Chaudhry utterly rejects the idea of her story being taken and used in the Western vs Islam argument. She tells it on her own terms. It’s so important to remember that no one’s story can represent the whole picture. Huge thanks to @sofia_reading on Instagram for highlighting this one!
20. The Yield by Tara June Winch
My other favourite of March! The audio of this was brilliant, since you can hear the Wiradjuri words read aloud which heightens the experience. I would love to read more about Indigenous Australians and this sweeping family saga with an environmental touch is the perfect starting point.
21. A Man by Keiichiro Hirano, tr. Eli K. P. William
This book is like a murder mystery sans the murder. A lawyer is embroiled in a strange case of a man who is revealed to be a different man entirely upon his death. Along with the mystery, there’s a lot of meditation on identity, xenophobia, and the plight of Zainichi Koreans in Japan. A really good book!
22. Brother by Ania Ahlborn
I previously really enjoyed The Devil Crept In by Ahlborn but Brother wasn’t really to my tastes. Turns out I prefer my horror supernatural to just all-out bloodbaths. I don’t feel like much happened until the last few pages – except carnage.
23. Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W. Moniz
I’ve been reading some incredible short story collections in 2021 and Milk Blood Heat just joined their ranks! Moniz explores some of my favourite themes like motherhood and friendships between young girls which quickly turn dark. Nary a dud in this collection!
24. Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Gyasi is really showing off her range with her second book after Homegoing. The two couldn’t be more different, one sweeping and one intimate. I love both! I love more personal stories and I was instantly invested in Gifty and her family. There’s also a super interesting discussion around the interplay of science and faith.
25. When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman
There’s a huge disparity between the first and second parts of this book. I was loving the first half, recounted when the MC was a young girl, dark with more than a dash of humour. Then the second half just tried to tackle too much, not giving enough space to serious subjects that deserved more. Read Tin Man instead.
26. Jamakespeare by Brenda Garrick
Abbie, if you don’t like Shakespeare, why are you reading two books inspired by him this month? That’s what I get for being a completionist, since one was Atwood and this one is part of the Jacaranda Twenty in 2020. While some of these poems did make me chuckle, I think a vague grasp of Shakespeare, which I do not have, would improve the experience.
27. Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan
While I appreciate Dolan’s perspective as a queer, autistic writer, this book just doesn’t quite work. I enjoyed the bisexual representation, but so much of it just screams white privilege. Many reviewers have pointed out that you can barely even tell it’s set in Hong Kong, so what’s the point of setting it there? And I’d have to concur.
28. Stroking Cerberus: Poems from the Afterlife by Jacqueline Haskell
I really enjoyed this collection from deaf poet Jacqueline Haskell! It’s a great combination of poignant and dark, exploring death from both sides of the curtain. A highlight from this Myriad Spotlight series, along with The Haunting of Strawberry Water.
29. I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya
An extremely powerful little book which I think everyone should read! Shraya exposes how much time women spend avoiding unwanted attention from men, drawing on her experience as a trans woman of colour. She also examines toxic masculinity, boundaries in queer spaces, and sensationalism in anti-homophobia and anti-transphobia work.
30. Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
This book is TENSE. I really liked this post-apocalyptic novel by Anishinaabe author Waubgeshig Rice, with a stunning audio performance by Billy Merasty. Rather than the cause of the apocalypse, this book focuses on what happens after, how the community on the reservation copes with being cut off from the rest of the world. So many ominous moments that had my pulse racing!
31. That Reminds Me by Derek Owusu
This book broke my heart. It’s semi-autobiographical, both K and Derek Owusu live with borderline personality disorder. This raw story of a young boy growing into a young man is fraught with episodes that will make your heart heavy. The audiobook was a poignant experience, as it’s written in a lyrical prose which sounds even better read aloud. A must-read for anyone wanting to read more about masculinity and mental health.
In conclusion
I may never read a book again. Kidding! But my eyes did need a break by the end of the month. The last three books were all read on audio as I couldn’t focus on print for a while. But this was a super fun challenge and I’m very pleased with the dent I made in my owned unread books!
Altogether I read 4,574 print pages and listened to 44 hours of audiobooks! Which is utterly wild. Maybe I’ll try this again next year!
This is amazing – what a feat! And I appreciate the mini reviews; many of these books sound so interesting. Looks like I’m about to make another sizable addition to my own TBR… 🙂
Thank you so much! 🙂