March 2020 reading recap

March continued my fantastic reading of 2020. As I did in February, I read twelve books, which brought my yearly total to 35. In 2019, I didn't hit 35 books until July.

Comics



Everything Is Teeth by Evie Wyld 
I've read one of Evie Wyld's novels before, and I've had this graphic memoir checked out from the the library for years (art by Joe Sumner.) I finally read it, and like All the Birds, Singing (my review), it left me wanting more. The prose is sparse and focused on Wyld's fascination with sharks. It's an interesting, quick read. (3 stars)

The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg
I didn't know what to expect from this graphic novel, and after reading it, it's both hard to describe and better if you go in with no expectations, so I'll simply say: it's a delightful, fascinating fictional history and mythology. (4 stars)

Mysteries & Thrillers



Blessed are the Peacemakers and Blessed are the Merciful by Kristi Belcamino
Blessed are the Peacemakers, the fifth in the Gabriella Giovanni, a San Francisco crime reporter, mystery series is a wild ride that could be read as a standalone if you haven't read the first four. It's a departure for the series and its sets up the final book, Blessed are the Merciful, beautifully. I really enjoyed this series and its characters. (Peacemakers 4.5 stars, Merciful 4 stars)

The Silent Patient
This was the March pick for my in person book club, which I hope can one day meet to discuss it! I listened to the audio, which features two great British narrators. Overall, it was a compelling, quick (about 8 hours) listen. I listened to it all in three days, so it was an entertaining read, but I didn't find the book, as a whole, as clever as the author did, but it would be a good pandemic read or listen. (4 stars)

First Cut by Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell
Five years ago I listened to Melinek's memoir (also co-written with her husband Mitchell) about being a medical examiner in New York City beginning the summer of 2001. Now they're back with this first in a mystery series featuring a new San Francsico medical examiner. It's a solid debut. There were a few too many coincidences for my taste, but they were also quite a few twists. Dr. Jessie Teska is a dynamic, flawed heroine, and I look forward to her next adventure with an intriguing cast of characters. (4.5 stars)

Nonfiction



Untamed by Glennon Doyle
I liked Glennon Doyle's last memoir, Love Warrior, so I was glad to get first in the library holds line for the audiobook of her new memoir, which she again narrates herself. I wouldn't call Untamed a memoir. It's more a collection of essays. On audio, some felt quite abrupt. I loved some, but others underwhelmed. All in all, it was a good lesson, but I was partly disappointed. I think I would have preferred it in print. (4 stars)

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb
Early on in our adventures staying home and self-isolating as a family of three, I struggled with my reading. I was an even moodier reader than usual. I went to my Midwinter stack of galleys and decided to grab this one. It was the perfect pandemic read. Sometimes the best reads are the ones I pick up on a whim and have no expectations for. This is a matrilineal memoir written in the voice of Kalb's grandmother after her death. It's a touching family history filled with stories that me laugh and cry. Kalb's grandmother is a strong, fascinating voice. Kalb is the only daughter of an only daughter of an only daughter of an only daughter, hence the nesting dolls on the cover. Kalb's great-grandmother escaped the pogroms of Belarus, which really put my initial struggles with staying home in perspective. There are elements of sadness in this memoir, but it's mostly joy and heart and the ties that bind generations. I loved it. (5 stars)

Fiction



How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee
This novel, longlisted for the 2020 Women's Prize, is a brutal, devastating piece of historical fiction about World War II comfort women and the impact of the Japanese occupation of Singapore. There are two timelines and narrators, which help give the story momentum. (4 stars)

Girl by Edna O'Brien
Also longlisted for the 2020 Women's Prize, Girl is the story of the young women abducted by Boko Haram. It's a powerful, tragic, and devastating novel. O'Brien's writing is beautiful, and Sheila Atim's narration is stunning. (4.5 stars)

Dominicana by Angie Cruz
This novel, inspired by Cruz's mother's life, tells the story of a fifteen-year-old girl who moves from the Dominican Republic to New York City with her much older husband in the 1960's. The characters shine in this novel, but Cruz also masterfully uses place and setting to tell a story that is both of the time in which it is set and timeless. Also on the 2020 Women's Prize longlist. (4.5 stars)

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld 
Curtis Sittenfeld is one of my all-time favorite authors, and this novel, that imagines what would happen if Hillary Rodham didn't marry Bill Clinton. (She famously said no the first two times he asked in real life.) It was the novel I was most looking forward to in 2020, and it exceeded by expectations. I'm still thinking about it (and talking to anyone who has also read it.) It comes out May 19, so look for my full review around then, but pre-order it now from Amazon or an independent bookstore (or get in those library queues!) We'll all be talking about this one all summer. (5 stars)

Want to read for yourself? Order from an independent bookstore, Book of the Month (for many of these titles!), or Amazon.

As an affiliate, I receive a small commission when you make a purchase through any of the above links. Thank you for helping to support my book habits that bring more content to this blog!