March Reading Wrap Up!

 March it seems, turned out to be kind of a slow reading month for me. I can't say why but I have been busy with work, and have been reading some print books which take me much longer than the audio books, and I had a significant amount of books I struggled with and finally DNF this month, So here we are in April! 

In March I read a total of 19 Books. I really do feel like I dropped the ball on any of my goals to read more diverse books and I did take a header into the Romance/Fantasy realm because things just seemed to require it but, lets see how I did do. 

Statistics!

Books in Translation: 1/19  Oracle by Thomas Olde Heuvelt takes the sole spot for books in translation.  I was not even sure it was translated, but I did some looking and indeed it was originally published in Dutch. I do have some room for more, so we will see what happens in April. 

Books by Diverse Authors: 21% of my reading was a book by an identified diverse author. This is a bit dismal, and I just did not seek it out as much, so that will change, I hope in April.  In April i have several Non-fiction books about water piling up, so... this may be a challenge, but I think I can diversify more. 

What was my TOP read? 

That is so difficult.  In general this month I read some amazing books and some really mid-tier romances. 

For Pure enjoyment- I think I am going to go with Mira Grant's Into the Drowning Deep. 

This novel was compelling, held my attention, and Grant does a very nice job with character development that doesn't sacrifice the plot.  I loved that it was so readable and that it had me thinking about how we interact with our oceans, and each other.

A close second would be Heuvelt's  Oracle. 

It really was a clever telling of a wholly original (to me) tale of ghost ships, the Doggerland Mastodons, the resilience and strength of people, but especially of those young and elderly. I could not put it down until i had finished, and it did actually halt a lot of progress I had on other books because, I had to get to the end. This was glorious. More people should read this one, it just... pulls you in, and doesn't let you out until it's done with you. 

A book where the lack of water was almost a main character was Sanora Babb's Whose Names are unknown , which I found to be a wildly interesting read. 

Somehow I never did review this on the blog, and I think it's an interesting story even about how the book came to be. So expect that soon. I swear I wrote about it,... 

What else did I read in March? 

Well, I did delve into Romance as a way to escape the reality of our world. 

I'm a bit ashamed but I did enjoy this gem...

I accidently borrowed it from the library on the app, and then since it was there, I felt compelled to read it.  A marriage of convenience and lies set in Montana during perhaps "Little house on the Prairie" days? Did I learn anything from engaging with this literature. Not a thing. Did I enjoy myself? Apparently, since I finished it  and within a few days. I felt a bit like the ladies I used to see checking out 10-15 of these novels each week at the library. TO be honest, it was a romance, there was a plot and I enjoyed the story. I did alo, errr, like the cover a bit.  

Among other not extremely brain nutritive reads- 

This is a series and it was, sort of like a fan fiction mash up of Star Trek, and Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarians.  If you are wondering, and I know you are- Ice Planet Barbarians is better. But this was entertaining enough that I will likely continue the audiobooks. 

 And then there was the Water theme: 

Oracle fell into the theme because of the Ship elements.  Into the Drowning Deep was also a choice for that reason. and then I really only hit 3 other books for that specific purpose. 

The Color of Water by James McBride

This is definitely a Back List book and it's stood the test of time.  I enjoyed it despite it really having very little to do with water. It addresses the human ecology system and I think that's enough. It's a book I would recommend for book clubs and curious readers alike. 

The Amalfi Curse by  Sarah Penner.

This book was so easy to read it went down like a smooth Bellini.  It felt like a total beach read, set in a gorgeous location with a dual narrative of pirates, sunken treasure and a modern day treasure hunter with combined love stories made this a fun read!

All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffal was also a favorite of mine! 

I suspect it hasn't gotten the critical acclaim it deserves, as the story moves a bit slowly, and that is often an issue with readers. I loved it and felt it gave space to think about how the world might be,  how we might be and the new life concerns that might be faced in the future. 

Some of my water reads didn't pan out too well

I did enjoy Born of Water, but I can't say that I felt it added much to my thoughts. It is a YA book and aimed more for that audience, so I'm going to defer and say maybe this would have been an important book  for me at age 14.   For me now, it was... enjoyable but not earth shattering. 

And then I did the audio book for this one... Take me to the Lake by Kaci Rose. 

 Yes, I read it. yes the lake featured in the book. Did I enjoy it? Actually not that much. I honestly feel like Kaci Rose comes up with really interesting characters, and a sort of plotting plot, but then as an author she inserts a bunch of tropes that romance readers like and it just become predictable.  I also had issue with the narration, the narrator did her southern accent and it seemed to make the character sound as if she was 58. (which would be ok, but she is NOT 58). 

    Now that water is out of the way, I can give high acclaim to Johnny Compton's Devils kill Devils! 

  This was a fantastic book that combined European vampiric lore with some local Texan folk culture in a way that just worked for me.  I do want to read more from Compton. 

Additional Kudos to Kendare Blake's Champion of Fate 

  I considered putting this under the Water theme as there is some oceanic voyages, and a well they peer into for information, but in the end the water isn't that much of a feature.  That said, this was a super well written epic fantasy that's been filed into Young Adult, and not really discussed much. (as is wont to happen to female writers, and especially non-white ones) This book had everything an epic fantasy needs, an interesting world, hero-makers, heros and epic battles  and journey's a "chosen one"  kind of vibe, with lots of mysticism and magic. I've borrowed the second book and can't wait to jump into it. 

   The others were all, enjoyable, but not really... top of mind.

 What were your favorites in March?  Let me know in the comments!  Recommend me a Book!