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Hi there! 👋🏽 I’m sorry for abandoning you all and not posting a book review last week. Unlike in February, I don’t have a good excuse like a climate change-induced natural disaster. This time, it was just a perfect storm of a malfunctioning brain chemistry set and a healthy dose of creative impostor syndrome. I’ve been thinking about a redesign, but the thought of it is kind of daunting. The last thing I want is someone to stumble across this blog with its web design pants down 😳. Let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions or if you have any blogs you follow (book-related or not) that inspire you! Anyway, let’s get on with the wrap-up, shall we?
Today, I’m sharing my March 2021 Wrap-Up and April TBR. The month started off strong, but I must admit I’ve been in a bit of a slump recently. Hopefully, I snap out of it soon. Keep reading to see what I’ve been up to!
⏮ What I Read in March 2021
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
Kindle Edition, 267 pages
Social Justice | BIPOC Author | Woman Author
Read for Prompt #34 of the 2021 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge.
Buy it on Amazon or Bookshop.org.
The first book I read in March 2021 was Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall. In this book, Kendall attempts to highlight how traditional (read: white) feminism has either failed or forgotten economically disadvantaged women of color. Kendall does an excellent job putting faces and personal stories (often her own) to the often faceless group of “poor black and brown women.” However, I found myself wishing the book was more intersectional and more evidence-based than it was.
If you are a white or otherwise non-marginalized feminist looking for ways you can be a more effective ally to your marginalized brothers, sisters, and siblings, Hood Feminism might be for you.
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
Hardcover, 463 pages
Mystery | Thriller | Historical Fiction
Read for Prompt #21 of the 2021 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge.
Buy it on Amazon or Bookshop.org.
The next book I read in March 2021 was The Devil and the Dark Water, the sophomore novel from the author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I, like many, adored Evelyn Hardcastle. So, it thrills me to say that I loved this book too! As a somewhat paranormal murder mystery on the high seas of a seventeenth-century East Indiaman, this book could not be more different from its predecessor. Stu Turton does it again, however, and is now officially an auto-buy author for me.
If you like locked-room mysteries and always wanted one with a little more ghost shenanigans and the added layor of grime that comes with being trapped on a colonial-era cargo ship, The Devil and the Dark Water is definitely for you!
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Paperback, 416 pages
Read for Prompt #14 of the 2021 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge.
Buy it on Amazon or Bookshop.org.
The final book I managed to finish in March 2021 was the late, great chef Anthony Bourdain’s memoir: Kitchen Confidential. I don’t read many memoirs, so I don’t have much to compare this book to. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Kitchen Confidential and am happy to report it didn’t make me too sad! Throughout the book, I could just hear Tony’s voice in my head, telling me all the awful and hilarious stories he writes about in his book. It made for such an enjoyable reading experience, and I’m gald I picked this one up!
If you’re interested in chef culture, if you love and/or miss Anthony Bourdain’s hilarious irreverence, or want a well-written memoir to entertain you for a few days, then Kitchen Confidential might be for you!
🔁 Currently Reading
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Reading for Prompt #15 of the 2021 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge.
I started reading Crime and Punishment in the final week of March. Of course, as soon as expressed a determination to finish the book by the end of the month, my brain chemistry decided to trash all my reading plans. So, yeah, I’m still making my way through this one, though that is through no fault of the book. The book has a very quirky writing style, and I can’t tell how much of that is Dostoevsky and how much is P&V. Still, I’m finding all the characters quite interesting and am really invested in seeing this one through. It just might take me a while 😔.
Buy Crime and Punishment on Amazon or support a local bookstore by purchasing it on Bookshop.org.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Historical Fiction | Woman Author
Reading for Prompt #9 of the 2021 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge.
At the moment, I’m also currently reading Hilary Mantel’s Tudor Era historical fiction: Wolf Hall. When I started struggling with Crime and Punishment, I thought something more familiar and less intellectually demanding would pull me out of my slump. Turns out it was 😎 mental health issues 😎 all along, and now I’m stuck in the middle of two books with nothing to show for it. Wolf Hall is incredibly well-written, though. I’m reading the Kindle version along with the audiobook, and Ben Miles’s narration is *chef’s kiss*.
Buy Wolf Hall on Amazon or support a local bookstore by purchasing it on Bookshop.org.
⏭ April 2021 TBR
Non-Fiction
- Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
- The Future is History by Masha Gessen
Classic Lit
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (continuing)
- Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Everything Else
- Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (continuing)
- Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
⏹ Wrapping Up the March 2021 Wrap-Up
And there you have it! This is everything I have read recently, am currently reading, or will be reading soon. Almost everything I plan to read this year is for the 2021 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge. You can check out the complete list of my selections here! You can also keep up with my ratings and reviews on Goodreads here! Remember to check back every week for new book reviews (or wrap-ups, if it’s the first Tuesday of the month… like today)!
What did you read in March 2021? What are you planning to read in April? Let me know how your reading goals are going so far this year. And, let me know if you have any bloggers whose web/graphic design inspires you!
No matter what you want to talk about, I want to hear it! 📣 Sound off in the comments below! As always, thanks for reading!
Share your thoughts!