March was a month of two halves.
At the beginning I was keenly finishing off books started in February and moving onto Irish and Welsh short stories for Begorrathon and Dewithon, with plans to read at least one Welsh and one Irish novel as well. But then I got a nasty dose of an old problem, sinusitis, which blew all my reading plans out the window. My ability to concentrate was drastically reduced, while writing or reading other blogs became almost impossible. I could still read, but I needed uncomplicated, light, easy reads to tide me over.
Which was perfect for my TBR.
I finally read Lessons in Chemistry and books two and three from the Thursday Murder Club series, all of which have been lurking on my TBR for a couple of years now. And I have just started Pip Williams new book, The Bookbinder of Jericho.
I had hoped to write one more review, especially for Begorrathon and Dewithon by the end of the month, but it wasn’t meant to be. I don’t like being eight book reviews in arrears, but even mini reviews are beyond me right now.
| MARCH: TITLE | AUTHOR | COUNTRY | GENRE | PUB DATE | ORIGIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How To Be Remembered | Michael Thompson | Australia | Fiction | 2023 | ARC |
| Victory City | Salman Rushdie | Set in India | Historical Fiction | 2023 | ARC |
| The First Branch of the Mobinogi | Trans: Sioned Davies | Wales | Short Story | 2008 | TBR |
| An Indiscreet Journey | Katherine Mansfield | NZ (set in France) | Short Story | 1915 | Reread |
| Bliss | Katherine Mansfield | NZ | Short Story | 1918 | TBR |
| The Second Branch of the Mobinogi | Trans: Sioned Davies | Wales | Short Story | 2008 | TBR |
| A Meeting in Middle Age | William Trevor | Ireland | Short Story | 1964 | Reread |
| Cursed Bread | Sophie Mackintosh | Wales (set in France) | Historical Fiction | 2023 | ARC |
| Thirst for Salt | Madelaine Lucas | Australia | Contemporary Fiction | 2023 | ARC |
| Lessons in Chemistry | Bonnie Garmus | USA | Historical Fiction | 2022 | TBR |
| The Man Who Died Twice | Richard Osman | UK | Crime Fiction | 2021 | TBR |
| Charles II | Clare Jackson | UK | Biography | 2016 | TBR |
| The Bullet That Missed | Richard Osman | UK | Crime Fiction | 2022 | TBR |
Story of the month: Victory City. Trying to write something that does it justice is the hard part!
| This post was written on the traditional land of the Wangal clan, one of the 29 clans of the Eora Nation within the Sydney basin. This Reading Life acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are our first storytellers. |
bronasbooks.com 
I hope you’re feeling better soon!
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It’s a slow process! Looking forward to the Easter break though and hope to be fully recovered after some serious R&R.
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I too, am having the yearly respiratory infection then turns to bronchospasm. But I’m feeling much better now. Hope you are too! Audiobooks are my consolations during the worst, and so I’ve enjoyed Zola’s The Ladies’ Paradise way earlier. 😛
I envy you for getting to read the 2nd and 3rd Thursday Murder Club! Are they as good as the 1st?
Get well soon, and enjoy more good books in the meantime! 😉
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Sorry to hear you’ve been unwell too! Hope you’re on the mend.
I’ve tried audio books before, but I always tune out within minutes or fall asleep. But I have just started The Assommoir (the OUP editionwith translation by Brian Nelson).
The Thursday Murder Club books were great fun, and yes I think they were just as good, if not better than the first 🙂
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I hope you are doing better now. I totally get the need to read lighter books. I will look up Victory City but have loved Lessons in Chemistry and the Two Richard Osman books. They are exactly the kind of sick day read one needs.
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I can now also highly recommend the new Pip Williams book too – The Bookbinder of Jericho is wonderful historicial fiction, set in Oxford during WWI.
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Take care and feel better soon!
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Thanks I’m hoping the upcoming Easter break will be the R&R I need to get over it properly.
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Getting better is paramount, so we forgive you for not keeping up your usual schedule of reviews! And what’s reading for if not to console and soothe away cares, especially if it’s light and not too demanding? 🙂
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Thank you Chris, I do love delving into the nitty gritty of a book, but sometimes pure escapsim is the only way to go 🙂
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Sinusitis is horrible. Comfort reading is a good remedy. I hope you liked Lessons in Chemistry–I thought it was terrific and definitely something that could help with feeling under the weather. Hope you are on the mend now. I have never read Salmon Rushdie–maybe I should consider fixing that!
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I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading Lessons in Chemistry and the Richard Osman books are great fun too, even with the high body count!
I really hope I can finish my review for the Rushdie this week. Victory City is certainly a good one of his to start with to get a sense of his writing, although Midnight’s Children is still my favourite. (I haven’t a fan of his more recent books in general).
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Why do you have Charles II on your TBR – he had a Trumpian sense of self-entitlement if I remember correctly. I hope Charles III does as well: his son gets a short go and then Parliament calls on the Dutch (read the European Union) to do a takeover.
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There is a series of books called Penguin Monarchs that we stock at work. Elizabeth II and Charles II were the 2 RC’s we had. I thought I’d give them a try out of curiosity. They’re a mini-bio – only about 100 pgs each.
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Such an impressive list given your sinusitis problems! I hope you’re feeling much better now.
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Having five short stories and a mini-bio of Charles II that is only just over 100 pgs long makes the list look a little more impressive 🙂
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Hope you feel better soon. I’m glad you still managed to get a fair amount of reading done even if it means the reviews are piling up!
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We have a quiet Easter break planned, so I’m hoping to catch up with blogging stuff then….
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Hope you have been recovered by now. Sometimes one just don’t have the energy to write reviews or posts. I am very slow for the time being, but hope to improve. You did well with your TBR. I have not read any of them. I am travelling so my physical books are far away. I have to rely on e- and audio books, but that is also ok.
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I’m much better thank you, but the last part is still lingering, hoping the Easter break will give me the R&R I need to finally get on top of it for good.
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