My March Wrap-Up – Chess, Owls, & Diabetes
Welcome back to another review of my reads for the month! My March wrap-up is all about recommendations I received in January and February, which took me from Philadelphia to Russia to Mississippi. Hope you enjoy these reads as much as I did!
Never Caught – Erica Armstrong Dunbar
Kicking off my March wrap-up was this story about Ona Judge, one of the more well-known slaves of George and Martha Washington’s family. This story in particular is so incredible because Judge was able to escape the most high-profile family in the nation and live out the rest of her life in relative freedom. I say relative, of course, because life as an escaped slave was laborious, draining, and a constant well of anxiety. This was a great way to start the month, as I generally do not read much nonfiction, but I found this really interesting.
Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls – David Sedaris
This was my first Sedaris read – I actually listened to him read the audiobook which was such a perfect introduction. His stories are funny, personal, and can even offer hints of empathy when he’s not regaling us with talk of taxidermy. This post is to say I’m now obsessed with Sedaris and his creative process. I will now be reading everything he’s written. 😊
The Queen’s Gambit – Walter Tevis
What a fun read. I’m going to gush about Tevis’s book for a sec because this was a super rare instance where I actually watched the Netflix limited series before I read the novel (blasphemy! Sin! I don’t care, praise Anya Taylor-Joy). I adored the series, and was ecstatic when I was immediately just as enraptured by the book. It is beautifully written with simple and easy detail that makes reading 100 pages at a time feel like nothing. This was definitely a book I did not want to reach the end of.
P.S. ~ For those of you who are detail sticklers like me, the series remains almost perfectly true to the book, with only a couple of minor alterations to the story.
The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides
I am not usually one for suspenseful thrillers, as I am admittedly a huge wimp. However, my decision to listen to the audiobook for this title helped pull me in immediately. There were two eerie voices, one for each protagonist respectively. The Silent Patient follows a psychotherapist as he tries to uncover the life of his patient, who has refused to speak since the gruesome death of her husband. I loved how chock-full of creepy twists this book was. Every time I thought I had something figured out, I was totally wrong, which I love in a thriller. Keep me clueless and in the dark until the last chapter, baby. Definitely a recommendation for my thrill and suspense-loving friends.
We Are All Welcome Here – Elizabeth Berg
This book was delightful. I read it in two days. We Are All Welcome Here is told through the eyes of fourteen-year-old Diana. She is attempting to navigate through her teenage years while caring for her mother, Paige, who is now a paraplegic as a result of polio. Diana and Paige are both incredibly lovable characters that I spent hours with at a time. Elizabeth Berg is one of those writers with a golden touch for narration. I will definitely be reading more of her in the future.
That’s all for now! Thanks for reading my March wrap-up; I’ll see you next time!
