March Wrap-Up

Happy April everyone!

I’ve been feeling pretty burned out from work lately, so I haven’t been reading as much as I would’ve liked. But hopefully after having had a week off for Spring Break, I’ll be feeling ready and able to read a little more in April!

I only managed to read three books this month, but I really enjoyed all of them! I’m also really close to finishing an audiobook. I considered rushing to finish it before Friday (so that I could include it in this monthly wrap-up), but I decided I’d rather take my time with it than force myself to rush to meet some arbitrary deadline.

I chose books for Women’s History Month in March, but in April I’m not sticking to any theme. My plan is to try to get myself out of this reading slump by reading mostly YA and middle grade books. We’ll see how it goes!

Without further ado, here is my wrap-up of all the books I read in March:

To learn more about a book, click on the photo to find the Goodreads synopsis.

Stats and Overall Thoughts:

Books read: 3
Physical books: 1
(Books that I physically own: 1)
Audiobooks: 2

Fiction: 1
(Historical fiction: 0)
Nonfiction: 2

Average monthly rating: 4.0
Top Book of March: Educated

*To learn more about a book, click on the photo to find the Goodreads synopsis.

5-star books:

• Educated by Tara Westover (Memoir, Audiobook)
  • I was just enthralled while reading this. It’s such a powerful, riveting, and at times disturbing memoir. It’s almost unbelievable, but I felt like the author did a good job of being direct and honest when her memory faltered or when her account differed from others involved in the same situation. Obviously, as humans our memories aren’t perfect, but I rarely read memoirs where authors are so up-front about the possibility of their memories being incorrect, so I actually appreciated that perspective and writing style. The audio narration by Julia Whelan was also fantastic, and is probably a huge part of why I enjoyed this as much as I did. It added a suspenseful, almost sinister tone to the story that made it difficult to put down. If anything, I maybe wish she had waited a little longer before writing this memoir so that she could have had more time to reflect on all of her experiences and come to terms with the abuse she faced. But it was still a really eye-opening and powerful story about the power of education and discovering who you are.

4-star books:

• Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez (YA Fiction, Hardcover)
  • I really enjoyed this book! I just didn’t love it quite as much as I thought I would. I love how it’s set in Argentina as I don’t think I’ve ever read a YA book set in South America before, so this was one of my favorite aspects of the book! I also thought it was a good depiction of teenagers (and why they do the things they do) and being young and in love. My favorite thing, though, was the ending. It really surprised me! I, of course, won’t spoil it here, but I thought it defied typical YA trends and I was pleasantly surprised by it. The only thing I struggled with was the pacing, as it moved pretty slow at times. But the ending really made it worth it. Full review coming soon!

3-star books:

• Challenge Accepted! by Celeste Barber (Memoir, Audiobook)
  • I want to start this by saying that I love Celeste Barber, and her Instagram account brings me so much joy! She’s hilarious. However, I’m not sure this book was completely… necessary. I enjoyed her audio narration of it and there were definitely some interesting chapters, but there just wasn’t enough actual substance or content to fill a whole book. I enjoyed learning that we have some things in common, such as our love of the show Friends and that we’re both tap dancers! I also really enjoyed learning more about why she started her account and how it became as popular and famous as it is. It was fascinating to learn her perspective on social media fame and the false expectations that social media can create. However, this may have been better as an essay in a magazine rather than a whole book. Regardless, I enjoy her and hope that her success continues!

How did your reading go in March? Any stand-out books to recommend?

Let me know in the comments! And thanks for reading (my blog, but also just in general)!