March 2026 - What are you reading?

[Anonymous]

Continuing on with the Neapolitan novels. Finished The Story of a New Name, and started Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just finished The Three Lives of Cate Kay, by Kate Fagan.

Light but not vapid, which was perfect for me this past week.

Next up is The Rest of Our Lives, by Ben Markovitz, which just came off the waitlist. It’s been awhile since I read a novel that centered a middle aged man … I’m curious if or how it’ll hold my interest.

Oh I did not like this one. I was initially excited, but after 50-60 pages, I returned it to the library. I actually enjoy male narrators, it’s a nice change of pace, but this book quite literally had no plot. The story just plodded along. The protagonist was such a sorry sucker. Really whiny and self pitying! I had a stack of great books to read and could not waste another second on this story.

[Anonymous]

Just finished The Original, a novel set in 1899 about a young art forger whose cousin reappears after many years at sea and may or may not be her actual cousin. I really enjoyed it and finished it in a day! Reminded me a bit of Fingersmith, of course for the poor young gay British woman at that time period but also the combination of somewhat literary style with page-turner story.

[Anonymous]

wrapping up the corespondent now and just grabbed broken country

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It's a masterpiece in many ways.

That said, I didn't love it. I've read everything he's written, and I'm not sure why, tbh, lol, because I'm often left cold by his books. But you are going to love the end -- kind of a twist.

I agree that it is a masterpiece in many ways and that I didn’t end up loving the book. I wanted more of the climate piece — which I thought ended up being just a way to move 100 years into the future.

The quoting got messed up on this thread but was about me reading What we can Know by Ian McEwan. Finally finished yesterday. I loved the beginning so much I read it very slowy, spacing it out, before reading the last hundred pages in one go. I really loved it, and I do think it is a masterpiece. I work in a climate related field and thought the climate stuff was really, really well done. It wasn't explicitly outlined, but given my background the climate piece made sense and I could fill in what he was covering. Loved also the geopolitical side - just last week there was news that AI wargaming picks a nuclear option in 90% of scenarios, so there's that.

I enjoy dual timeline stories that look at the past and attempt to make sense of it or resolve a lingering mystery. I loved the dual timeline that looked ahead while looking back to resolve the mystery. Remarkable.

[Anonymous]

Let me save someone the time and agony and tell you to not read Adrift by Will Dean. It's on a bunch of lists recently as a thriller and it is painful.

[Anonymous]

Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser

It's sold as a retelling of Cinderella, as told from the stepmother's point of view. I'm really enjoying it, and it's really disconnected from the fairytale in many ways. For example, Cinderella is not abused or mistreated. She's more of a soft spoken whimsical sort of girl. Lady Tremaine (stepmother) is a twice widow trying to maintain a large home and social status (between wealthy and working class) on her own with little in the way of income.

I'm about 1/3 of the way in and I'm enjoying it.

[Anonymous]

I’m reading Strangers by Belle Burden. I guess it’s a “hot” book which I didn’t realize, but I am loving it! I recommend it to any married woman.

[Anonymous]

Not new, but I got off the library waitlist for Lion Women of Tehran the weekend the war started.

Quick/easy read (though also emotionally hard), but I enjoyed it.

[Anonymous]

I’m reading The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende and loving it so far!

It’s a historical novel about the saga of the Trueba family in turn of the century Chile. I’m less than 1/4 of the way thru and loving the unusual characters, settings and adventures. Definitely the best I’ve read so far this year. I’ll update if my opinion changes as the book progresses.

[Anonymous]

Theo Of Golden!
I don't buy many physical books anymore, but after finishing this, I ordered 6 copies to give to my favorites. The audible version was great but I need to read it again with a highlighter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:wrapping up the corespondent now and just grabbed broken country

These were both so good!

[Anonymous]

Just started Canticle, about a group of religious women who live in a commune and refuse to answer to the church in the 13th century in Belgium. Really liking the first few chapters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not new, but I got off the library waitlist for Lion Women of Tehran the weekend the war started.

Quick/easy read (though also emotionally hard), but I enjoyed it.

It was really good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're going to Greece for Spring Break, so I'm reading The Odyssey twice, the Lattimore translation for myself and the more accessible Wilson translation with my kid.

How’s it going? I also have Lattimore-Wilson side-by-side reading of the Odyssey on my reading list this year (likely a summer project for me)! I also want to track down the Pope version…

If you haven’t read Circe, that would be a good one to tuck into your carry on.

Also maybe for you and not sure what age your kid is but I read Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder as a young adult before a trip to Greece and I loved how it made the early history of philosophy come alive (not a sentence I've ever said before or will ever say again).