March Reading Wrap-up

I didn’t realize until I started writing this post how many of the books I read in March were actually audiobooks. Out of the six books I finished, only two of them were in print (both ebooks). The other four were all audiobooks!

What I read in March:

• Let Your Mind Run by Deena Kastor and Michelle Hamilton — As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve been slowly getting more and more into running. For most of my life, I’ve been a competitive swimmer, but we don’t have a lap pool where I live. We do have some excellent trails to run on. I’ve been finding books like this one to be really helpful to me as I attempt to learn how to train myself to build my endurance and speed. This one was especially good for better understanding how to improve my mindset around running. I listened to this on audiobook and really enjoyed it.
• Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott — I listened to this on audiobook as well, and the narrator was great. This book is pretty dense on the world-building and politics, which is exactly the type of thing I appreciate in epic fantasy and sci-fi. It’s supposed to be a sort of Alexander the Great retelling (in space and gender swapped), but I don’t really remember that much about that bit of history, so I’m pretty sure that any of the cool connections made between history and this retelling were lost on me. I wasn’t reading it for that, anyway, so it didn’t matter to me. I did love the ensemble cast and am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series (or listening to it on audiobook).
• Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree — This was pretty much what I expected it to be. Cozy fantasy. Not a lot of plot or character development. Just characters that you grow to love doing things that are (mostly) domestic in a D&D-like fantasy world. Glad I read it, but I think I probably should have saved it for a time when I was really craving a chill fantasy read. Instead, I read this at the same time as the next book (a murder mystery), and found myself gravitating more to that one.
• Sense and Second-Degree Murder by Tirzah Price — Another one I listened to on audiobook. This was another solid Austen re-telling and murder mystery. Though, if you know the original story, it’s somewhat obvious which characters you should trust vs. not. And since I’ve always been more of an Elinor than a Marianne, I was predictably annoyed by Marianne’s actions and her stupid infatuation, which is exactly as it should be. Basically, if you love Austen and cozy mystery, you should definitely be reading this series.
• The Bomber Mafia by Malcom Gladwell — I wasn’t planning on reading this book, but it was available on audiobook (so many audiobooks in March!) and was something both me and my husband could agree on for a long car trip. This book was actually produced as an audiobook before being turned into text, so the audiobook contains snippets of interviews from history and from present day. Listening to it was kind of like listening to an episode of This American Life. I enjoyed the deep-dive into a bit of history that we only covered at a high level in school. The narrative sparked lots of discussion and maybe even planted a few seeds for future space opera novel plotting.
• That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming — This was a fun read, and I enjoyed it. I don’t have too much to say about it beyond that. Just be aware, even though the setting is semi-medieval (like Bookshops & Bonedust), the language is really modern. So, if that’s going to bug you, then you may want to skip this book. I didn’t mind it. In fact, I thought the set-up in the first couple of chapters was a nice twist on what you usually see in these types of stories. I’m curious to see how the writing and the world progress over the course of the series.

I’m ending the month with two — no, technically, three — books in progress. One is a contemporary romance (ebook), another is a Fairyloot hardcover (fantasy) that I’m listening to on audiobook, and the third (the one I almost forgot) is the Fairyloot hardcover (also fantasy) that I started reading in January and set aside (because, hardcover). It’s really too bad that I’m enjoying the Fairyloot selections so much, because I really REALLY don’t like reading hardcover books.

Anyway, none of these books are going to count for the Orilium Spring Equinox readathon. I think I’m still going to try to finish reading at least the audiobook (Immortal Longings) and the ebook (It Happened One Summer) before the end of April. I’m far enough along in both that I don’t think it will prevent me from finishing the other books on my April TBR.

Given how long it’s taking me to make progress on physical books, I think I may start off April with A Fate Inked in Blood, which I have in hardcover (another Fairyloot selection). If I want to finish it before the end of the month, I should probably get started on it right away. Besides, that’s the one I get to use my book bingo card for, which will make it extra exciting! 🙂