march 2025 reads
March somehow dragged and flew by at the same time. Honestly, I have no idea how that happened and it makes me ever more confident that the passage of time is a scam. That being said, I read a lot of books in March despite constantly feeling somewhat frantic—on second thought, that might be exactly why I read so much. Either way, I read hard and have lots to share. Hope you enjoy it!
Novels, Collections, & Nonfiction
Counterweight by Djuna (tr. Anton Hur)
Another book in translation I bought because it had Anton Hur's name on it. My review on Bookwyrm for this one was short and sweet it seemed. Liked it, but wanted to spend more time with the characters. A month later, I also have an itch that suggests I've read something like it before.
The Book of Witches edited by Johnathan Strahan
This anthology took me so long to read that by the end it was nearly impossible to enjoy the stories. I know a lot of people will appreciate that length and there were certainly stories I enjoyed, but I feel like the theme is a bit too broad for the number of stories. I burned out of it and as a result, don't have much memory left of what I even read.
The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin
Finally got to this after waiting months for it to become available from the library. It's the second of a duology and while there are overlapping characters and past events are referenced, it's a pretty separate story. As with the first book, the world Jemisin built, full of dreams that heal and nightmares that kill, is fascinating to me. I could read stories in it forever. Will definitely read another series from her soon.
Call of the Owl Woman by K.M. Huber
I read this as an ARC from Netgalley, so it's not actually released yet. You can read more about it from the in-depth review I wrote, but it's basically Peruvian YA fantasy based on pre-Spanish civilizations in South America. Very cool, especially given how little is known about the society portrayed in the book. Also gives clever homage to very cool stuff that is known.
Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer
This book was so incredibly cool. It's non-fiction spanning what we understand as the Renaissance, but Ada Palmer goes into it very critically and with humor to point out that the era is infinitely more grey than most like to admit. Very dense (30 hour long audiobook!!!), but it was so much fun. I'm now convinced thoroughly I will love the author's fiction, which is now on my list.
Harlequin Butterfly by Toh EnJoe (David Boyd)
I feel like I liked the idea of this book way more than the actual book itself. I mostly blame the publisher for the blurb being really subpar and doing poor expectation setting. This book is not actually about the translator character it says it is in my opinion. I don't think it's about any character at all.
Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
People must be tired of me gushing about Murderbot, but its back again! This was a change of pace after the full-length novel, both because of length and because this book takes place before all the development of the Network Effect. 10/10 experience as usual.
Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
My favourite gorey twins of the series were back for this one and it didn't disappoint. The Moors are so very cool that I can totally forgive that some of the descriptions make me a bit squeamish. This one touches on how important our bodies our to our sense of self and identity. Really enjoyed it (and just finished the sixth prior to writing this book).
Jackson hitori by Jose Ando
I bought this years ago when it was nominated for the Akutagawa and finally only read it two months before it gets a paperback release. Pretty experimental narrative styling in my opinion and it was great to see a book so laser-focused on Black (gay) life in Japan. The last I heard, there should be an English translation coming out at some point.
System Collapse by Martha Wells
You thought I was done with Murderbot? You were WRONG! I finished the audiobook and felt both joy and hollowness—joy in seeing Murderbot begin to understand itself and hollowness because there's nothing else to read. Anyway, I ordered every book in paperback over the weekend and the first four novellas in Japanese the author day, so expect more Murderbot even without new material I guess.
20 no tanpen shosetsu compiled by Shosetsu Tripper Henshubu
I got this because the JLPP contest (translation contest for Japanese to English translation) piece is published in it and tiny books are easier to carry about than piles of printer paper. A lot of variety in terms of genre, but I found the stories pretty forgettable. Guess it just wasn't for me.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
This is the most misogynistic thing I've read in a long time. I was going to read the next book in the series anyway, but the misogyny I face in my own life on a daily basis is enough as it is and it's not like this book even considers misogyny as a problem. Hard pass. May never read anything else by him again as a result.
Manga
I didn't manage to read any manga, but I did buy some...I think. And I have some signed out to read in April that will get to be talked about whenever I write that book log. Stay tuned!
Overall, I read (both with eyes and ears) a lot of shorter fiction in March and I definitely love that for me. Will probably keep that up while also trying to read a bit more from my own collection as well. I also have more ARCs to review and will definitely be writing a review later this month. There's always a lot to be existed about when it comes to reading!
Updated 4Â months, 2Â weeks ago