Spring is creeping in, book friends, and I don’t know if I’ve ever been happier to see it. After a pretty solid 3.5 cold winter months of keeping my 2-year-old busy primarily indoors, spring looks like salvation. Here’s to fresh air and a glorious season of reading, too!
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Ashley
I haven’t had too much time to read lately, but I’m currently reading The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk. This book explains the physiological effects of trauma on the body, and it describes ways to reverse it. There are several studies and anecdotes included to illustrate the findings, and it’s very illuminating.
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Becky
After not reading much for awhile, I got busy when a few library holds come in and also have a couple books in the mail!
I am currently halfway through The Lions of Fifth Avenue (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by Fiona Davis which I’ve seen mixed reviews for. I’m kind of on the fence myself, so we’ll see how it wraps up!
I am also listening to the audiobook of Emmanuel Acho’s Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads). I plan to write up a brief review of this book, so I won’t say too much here, but I am incredibly glad I chose the audiobook format for this one!
Lastly, I have Chip Gaines’ No Pain No Gaines (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) coming for another non-fiction read, and Kate Quinn’s HIGHLY anticipated The Rose Code (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) is on its way to me courtesy of a fabulous friend who preordered it for me as a gift! (Hint – the friend also manages a book blog… 😉)
Caleigh
Oh gosh, I cannot believe (but also I totally CAN believe) that winter is almost done and spring is finally on the horizon! My March TBR is as follows:
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) caught my eye a couple of weeks ago and since it has been on my TBR list for forever and a day, I’m tackling it for Spring. So far, good call in that it “sucks you in” but also gave me a nightmare after I began reading last night 😬 #covid
I started Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) in February, and I hope to finish it this month. It’s a super interesting take on corporate culture in a world of capitalism, and I already would recommend it (and anything else by Mr. Sinek) because he is one of my very favourite speakers out there.
All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads): Oh my gosh, I’m almost at the end of the series. I have been Penny-ing along for about 2 years now, and I’m going to miss the clan so much when I run out of books in the series! I believe I have this one and one more – and then we will see what happens next to my TBR!
Cathy
I’m reading A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness this month. I watched the first series on TV with my mum and we were absolutely obsessed! And I can say with 100% certainty that it’s the same for the book – I can’t put it down. I think it’s a trilogy so it should keep me going for a while.
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Jessica
Well I pretty much have been MIA from LQ lately as life suddenly took over a lot of my writing time. But. I have been reading. A lot. I will share the current highlights:
I just finished How to Write an Autobiographical Novel (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by Alexander Chee. I personally have never read any of his novels, but this book is a series of essays about his experiences about being a writer and artist, being biracial (he is half-white, half Korean), being gay, being an activist during the AIDS epidemic, living in New York during 9/11 – the list goes on. His writing is sharp and his observations are poignant – needless to say this book really resonated with me.
I am currently listening to The Time Traveler’s Wife (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by Audrey Niffenegger on audiobook. This is about a guy named Henry who can time travel (duh!) but he can’t control when he goes or what time he goes to. He accidentally mets his wife, Claire, when she is 6 years old. The story is about their relationship, and Claire in particular, having to deal with the fact that Henry can be around one moment and gone the next with no idea when he will return again. It reminds me very much of the movie About Time.
I have sooo many books on my nightstand right now but, thanks to How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, I am in the mood to read more about writers. I have just started Scratch (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by Manjula Martin. This is a book about essays and interviews by writers all about making a living as a writer. Alexander Chee is featured as well as Cheryl Strayed, Roxanne Gay and a whole host of others. Very excited about this one!
Joli
The last book I finished was Things You Save in a Fire (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by Katherine Center and man, did I love it. It was a “girly” read, which I don’t typically like as much as other books, but it was a girly read with more complicated feelings and issues and…substance. I fell in love with the main character, her toughness but inner softness, and I rooted for her so hard. I think I’ll be writing a review of this one, so stay tuned!
My current read is Boy Swallows Universe (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by Trent Dalton. I didn’t realize how long it was going to be when I put it on hold, and was surprised at its heft. Thankfully I’m now glad that it’s long, because it’s really, really good. It’s a coming-of-age story set in Australia about a boy who grows up in some difficult, drug-related situations.
Katie
I have several books on my TBR list this month! First up is The Lost Apothecary (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by Sarah Penner, about an 18th-century apothecary that specifically catered to women looking for poisons. A modern-day Londoner finds a vial from the apothecary on the banks of the Thames and it draws her into the mystery of the “apothecary murders” from centuries ago.
After that, I’m eager to pick up Kate Quinn’s The Rose Code (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads), about three women working at Bletchley Park during World War II. It’s been a while since I’ve read historical fiction, so hopefully, this will be a good one!
Megan
I have several library books to read but am also trying to fit in Cemetery Boys (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by Aiden Thomas, which I recently got in my first Page One Books subscription box. As YA fantasy, it’s not my usual read, but it’s supposed to be recommended for fans of The House in the Cerulean Sea (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by TJ Klune, which was one of my favorite books last year. I also plan to read The Kindest Lie (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by Nancy Johnson and The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by Anissa Gray for a couple of my book clubs.
Rebecca
I’m currently juggling a few different books, which is very unlike me! I’m usually a 1-book-at-a-time kind of gal. I have so many interesting books on my TBR list right now, and they’re all so different so I’m having a hard time just picking one and sticking to it! I’m currently reading Sharks in the Time of Saviors (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by Kawai Strong Washburn, about a boy who is treated like a god after he is saved from drowning by a group of sharks. The writing is so beautiful and the descriptions are so vivid, it’s hard not to be completely immersed in Nainoa and his family’s story.
I’ve also started reading 29 Seconds (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by T.M. Logan for book club, and I’m really enjoying it so far! I’m only a few chapters in, but it gets QUITE intense QUITE quick. I also just finished Sex Power Money (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by Sarah Pascoe (the audiobook version), which was both frank and fascinating—I’d highly recommend it! And, last but not least, I’ve got Leopard is a Neutral (Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads) by Erica Davies sort of floating around in the background to read whenever I’m in need of some style inspiration (if I ever get out of my PJs again!).
