🏠 I read four things in March: one of them was a re-read and another was a collection that I only finished the last story in March. Not my best reading month, but I enjoyed everything I read!
Loved The Sentence! A lot more than most Booktubers I’ve seen review it, though that was around the time the pandemic was a bit more of a sore spot, probably. I ended up picking it up I liked it so much.
...waiting the whole video to see the full shirt with cats on it 😆🤣 I am going to start the project of reading all Louise Erdrich because The Sentence had such an impact on me when I read it last year. I've already read her middle grade series The Birchbark House and The Future Home of the Living God. Both are great!
Love the review of Far From the Light of Heaven, I read it last month and felt that too many ideas were pushed into the book and I therefore I didn't connect with the characters as much and I felt it didn't build the suspense as well as I would have hoped. I think this is due to too many good ideas and not enough pages to develop them. Either needed to cut down on the ideas or make the book longer. The afterword was great 👍🏻
I come bearing more bird commentary. 😅 Every time I see that House with Good Bones cover I have to cringe a little because that is clearly an old-world Vulture, and since the book takes place in the Carolinas, it should be a new-world vulture, either a Black Vulture or a Turkey Vulture. And I know Ursula Vernon is a nature lover, and she knows her birds, and she probably had this discussion with her publisher. And I know their response must have been that new-world vultures just don't immediately read as vultures when rendered in silhouette like this to anyone but serious birders. And I agree and understand this. And yet, I cringe every time I see the cover. Can't wait to read the book, though. Sounds good. 😆
Oooh so happy to hear that The House with Good Bones was a hit for you, I can't wait to get to it! Kingfisher never misses! And you're really making me want to re-read Elantris now, haha. I miss those characters! 🥺 I found a new favourite in A Quiet Vengeance by Tim Hardie last month (it comes out April 15th) and I couldn't recommend it highly enough to you. Character-driven political fantasy set in a Middle-Eastern inspired world, it's SOOO good 🤩 Also adoring A Chorus of Dragons, though the cliffhanger at the end of book 3 was brutal. I am 100% gonna binge book 4 and 5 this month, nothing's gonna stop me, lol 🤣😍
House with Good Bones sounds so fun. I can't wait to pick it up. Since giving into the rereading urge, I am now halfway through Empire of Gold. Your walk through with Open Veins of Latin America reminds me of all the history nonfictions I have piling up that I need to take a bite at a time. I tend to get a bit too lost in trying to remember everything with them. I'm excited for this month, however.
I have House on my holds at the Library... just waiting! Good to know you liked it so well. My Highs were City of Brass, Rise of Empire, This Is Happiness, and The Beatryce Prophecy. Lows - Remainders of the Day (bythell), The Familiars, Amber & Clay, & Whale Day (poetry).
I’m looking forward to A House with Good Bones. Nettle and Bone wasn’t for me, but I’ve always gotten along with T. Kingfisher’s horror. The Sentence was great. Erdrich had a lot going on in that book, but she balanced it well. My favorite read of March was A Storm of Swords. Take care. 😀
I finished A House With Good Bones yesterday and really enjoyed it too. T. Kingfisher manages to come up with the creepiest stuff in her cozy horror stories! (❤ Loved Hermès so much!!)
Ah I'm so happy about your rating for Babel. Everyone has been raving about it and I was quite disappointed. The end was great which pushed up my rating but otherwise there were some issues...
Yea I was just happy it wasn't a 2.5-3 star read haha cause without her changing her approach to character work I knew it would never be more than a 4 star for me
Way to go on finishing Open Veins of Latin America! That one seemed worthwhile, but daunting. And yay that you had some comforting reads with A House with Good Bones and Legends & Lattes! Legends & Lattes is definitely hyped, but it's also very sweet and fun, so I'm glad it ended up working out for you too.
Yea Jocelyn and I both found it to be worth it but it was a long read for how short it is. ALSO I think there is a chance that House with Good Bones is not too much for you. Like its not violence and gore focused horror. But there are bugs
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance I've read some of T. Kingfisher's other horror novels, and they weren't too much for me. I keep getting annoyed with her characters' decisions, though, so I probably will just wait and see if her stuff is on the Hugo shortlist before picking it up.
🐦⬛I'm going to read more Kingfisher, I was pleasantly surprised by Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking. Just very cute middle grade. I think I prefer the first Red Rising over Golden Son. A lot of my problems with characters in the plot are explained way more easily by the restricted setting. I still need to start my Louise Erdritch adventure.
Really looking forward to the Elantris live show! I'm slowly making my way through the Sanderson bibliography and having read The Emperor's Soul, Elantris and the first three Mistborn books, I'm now about halfway through The Way of Kings. I was intimidated by the size of the book but I'm enjoying it so much. I still think Elantris is my favourite so far though!
Do you have a book video with you list of favorite "fixing the boat" type books. I'm looking for some cozy adventure fantasy vibed with chosen family and some thrills.
Babel isn't my usual genre but I'm interested because it's so popular and I would like to read more about the effects of colonialism. I might end up liking a nonfiction more.
I think if you know nothing about why colonialism is oppressive and how that bleeds into systems Babel is a pretty good primer but if you already know even a little bit its theming might be cathartic but its not going to be educational.
Oh I fully make it up. I don't know if its a trope with a name but the "Everyone comes together to actually fix a thing" trope and I see it done most of the time with boats and when they were fixing a boat in liveship I was also watching Falcon and Winter Soldier and they fixed a boat and that was the moment I realized I liked this "trope"
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance Oh haha that explains it. But yes, I remember loving that scene in FWS too! I bet I’ll start to see it pop up more now that I’ll be looking for it.
A House With Good Bones started off good. Was jiving with the tone, but it grew to be one note after while. I think the horror genre isn't for me as I found the horror element was silly and this has been a common theme for me when consuming horror. Glad you loved it though. Hermes was my favorite part of the book. I'll give the author props for making me love vultures now.
My favourite book in March was The Silent Companions (Gothic, Victorian, Paranormal). I'm 60% through Babel and I feel like Open Veins of Latin America is kind of required reading now 😂 also, looking forward to watching that Elantris video, the sense of community and determination to build something when everyone else has given up is one of my favourite aspects of the book! 🦜
Interesting with all the parallels with Open Veins while reading Babel, that seems like it potentially improved your reading experience of Babel. Vultures...adorable? That is definitely not a descriptor I ever would have applied to vultures lolol 🐦🏚
![March '23 Reading Wrap-up [cc]](/img/n.gif)
🏠 I read four things in March: one of them was a re-read and another was a collection that I only finished the last story in March. Not my best reading month, but I enjoyed everything I read!
Loved The Sentence! A lot more than most Booktubers I’ve seen review it, though that was around the time the pandemic was a bit more of a sore spot, probably. I ended up picking it up I liked it so much.
...waiting the whole video to see the full shirt with cats on it 😆🤣 I am going to start the project of reading all Louise Erdrich because The Sentence had such an impact on me when I read it last year. I've already read her middle grade series The Birchbark House and The Future Home of the Living God. Both are great!
Love the review of Far From the Light of Heaven, I read it last month and felt that too many ideas were pushed into the book and I therefore I didn't connect with the characters as much and I felt it didn't build the suspense as well as I would have hoped. I think this is due to too many good ideas and not enough pages to develop them. Either needed to cut down on the ideas or make the book longer. The afterword was great 👍🏻
I come bearing more bird commentary. 😅 Every time I see that House with Good Bones cover I have to cringe a little because that is clearly an old-world Vulture, and since the book takes place in the Carolinas, it should be a new-world vulture, either a Black Vulture or a Turkey Vulture. And I know Ursula Vernon is a nature lover, and she knows her birds, and she probably had this discussion with her publisher. And I know their response must have been that new-world vultures just don't immediately read as vultures when rendered in silhouette like this to anyone but serious birders. And I agree and understand this. And yet, I cringe every time I see the cover.
Can't wait to read the book, though. Sounds good.
😆
lmao what I learned from this video is that theres a vulture on the cover and not a turkey like i thought 😂
Honestly I thought it was a wild turkey too haha cause we have them all over the place here in Boston 😂
🏠🦴😍 Haven't read House with Good Bones yet, but I have liked the two T. Kingfisher books I have read!
Oooh so happy to hear that The House with Good Bones was a hit for you, I can't wait to get to it! Kingfisher never misses!
And you're really making me want to re-read Elantris now, haha. I miss those characters! 🥺
I found a new favourite in A Quiet Vengeance by Tim Hardie last month (it comes out April 15th) and I couldn't recommend it highly enough to you. Character-driven political fantasy set in a Middle-Eastern inspired world, it's SOOO good 🤩
Also adoring A Chorus of Dragons, though the cliffhanger at the end of book 3 was brutal. I am 100% gonna binge book 4 and 5 this month, nothing's gonna stop me, lol 🤣😍
That is a very good plan!
House with Good Bones sounds so fun. I can't wait to pick it up. Since giving into the rereading urge, I am now halfway through Empire of Gold. Your walk through with Open Veins of Latin America reminds me of all the history nonfictions I have piling up that I need to take a bite at a time. I tend to get a bit too lost in trying to remember everything with them. I'm excited for this month, however.
The Sentence is so good 😍😍 and absolutely such a great documentation of 2020
I have House on my holds at the Library... just waiting! Good to know you liked it so well.
My Highs were City of Brass, Rise of Empire, This Is Happiness, and The Beatryce Prophecy.
Lows - Remainders of the Day (bythell), The Familiars, Amber & Clay, & Whale Day (poetry).
So happy to hear City of Brass was a highlight for you!!
haunting was the category for me! both of those books are on my TBR, and your reviews only made me want to read them more 🦤🏠
Yessss hope you also have fun!
I’m looking forward to A House with Good Bones. Nettle and Bone wasn’t for me, but I’ve always gotten along with T. Kingfisher’s horror. The Sentence was great. Erdrich had a lot going on in that book, but she balanced it well. My favorite read of March was A Storm of Swords. Take care. 😀
I think you will get on with Samantha better, she is very different from Mara and I know that was one of your issues with Nettle and Bone.
I finished A House With Good Bones yesterday and really enjoyed it too. T. Kingfisher manages to come up with the creepiest stuff in her cozy horror stories! (❤ Loved Hermès so much!!)
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It truly was a cozy horror, which honestly didn't know could be pulled off 🤣
I also loved A House With Good Bones. I have been telling people it's a good starter book for horror!
I agree! Like it has some big creep factor and tension at the end but its also just so delightful
Ah I'm so happy about your rating for Babel. Everyone has been raving about it and I was quite disappointed. The end was great which pushed up my rating but otherwise there were some issues...
Yea I was just happy it wasn't a 2.5-3 star read haha cause without her changing her approach to character work I knew it would never be more than a 4 star for me
Way to go on finishing Open Veins of Latin America! That one seemed worthwhile, but daunting. And yay that you had some comforting reads with A House with Good Bones and Legends & Lattes! Legends & Lattes is definitely hyped, but it's also very sweet and fun, so I'm glad it ended up working out for you too.
Yea Jocelyn and I both found it to be worth it but it was a long read for how short it is.
ALSO I think there is a chance that House with Good Bones is not too much for you. Like its not violence and gore focused horror. But there are bugs
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance I've read some of T. Kingfisher's other horror novels, and they weren't too much for me. I keep getting annoyed with her characters' decisions, though, so I probably will just wait and see if her stuff is on the Hugo shortlist before picking it up.
🐦⬛I'm going to read more Kingfisher, I was pleasantly surprised by Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking. Just very cute middle grade.
I think I prefer the first Red Rising over Golden Son. A lot of my problems with characters in the plot are explained way more easily by the restricted setting.
I still need to start my Louise Erdritch adventure.
Where do you think you might start with louise Erdrich??
Really looking forward to the Elantris live show! I'm slowly making my way through the Sanderson bibliography and having read The Emperor's Soul, Elantris and the first three Mistborn books, I'm now about halfway through The Way of Kings. I was intimidated by the size of the book but I'm enjoying it so much. I still think Elantris is my favourite so far though!
Oh yay, another person with a hot take favorite of Sanderson with me!
I’m glad you enjoyed A House with Good Bones, I’m so excited to read that! 🏠
I think you will have a blast!
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I'm properly excited for A House With Good Bones, I've been looking for a good haunted house story.
yesss read it and tell me all your thoughts!!
Do you have a book video with you list of favorite "fixing the boat" type books. I'm looking for some cozy adventure fantasy vibed with chosen family and some thrills.
Babel isn't my usual genre but I'm interested because it's so popular and I would like to read more about the effects of colonialism. I might end up liking a nonfiction more.
I think if you know nothing about why colonialism is oppressive and how that bleeds into systems Babel is a pretty good primer but if you already know even a little bit its theming might be cathartic but its not going to be educational.
Am I the only one who hasn't heard of the fixing the boat trope haha? But if it's a community thing then it sounds delightful
Oh I fully make it up. I don't know if its a trope with a name but the "Everyone comes together to actually fix a thing" trope and I see it done most of the time with boats and when they were fixing a boat in liveship I was also watching Falcon and Winter Soldier and they fixed a boat and that was the moment I realized I liked this "trope"
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance Oh haha that explains it. But yes, I remember loving that scene in FWS too! I bet I’ll start to see it pop up more now that I’ll be looking for it.
A House With Good Bones started off good. Was jiving with the tone, but it grew to be one note after while. I think the horror genre isn't for me as I found the horror element was silly and this has been a common theme for me when consuming horror. Glad you loved it though. Hermes was my favorite part of the book. I'll give the author props for making me love vultures now.
Right? That was the biggest twist for me, how cute I suddenly thought vultures were lol
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My favourite book in March was The Silent Companions (Gothic, Victorian, Paranormal). I'm 60% through Babel and I feel like Open Veins of Latin America is kind of required reading now 😂 also, looking forward to watching that Elantris video, the sense of community and determination to build something when everyone else has given up is one of my favourite aspects of the book! 🦜
Open Veins is a dense difficult nonfiction but I do wish more people have read it! And yes that part of Elantris is my favorite!
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Interesting with all the parallels with Open Veins while reading Babel, that seems like it potentially improved your reading experience of Babel. Vultures...adorable? That is definitely not a descriptor I ever would have applied to vultures lolol 🐦🏚
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