Recent reads: March 2025

What a start to the year it’s been. I’ve been heartbroken to see what’s going on in both my country and the world, it’s hard to imagine that it will ever get better, but books step into that gap for me and help me see what’s possible. I’ve read a lot and just keep on going with several books out from the library at a time so I’m never without the next read. I’ve also dipped my toes into poetry and enjoyed it, so I expect to read more of it in the future. Stories have become very important to me, they’re not only a way to escape, but also, more importantly, a way to imagine and think about a better future.

Before You Knew My Name

A mystery that is told in a really interesting manner. Two women arrive in New York City on the same day but they end up having very different experiences and become connected when one finds the other murdered. I really enjoyed this and the way the story inverted the typical way a mystery works.

Little Fires Everywhere

I saw this book in my local used bookshop and picked it up. It took me a bit to get into the story and I’m not really sure I ended up liking it that much but I did finish it. I have a hard time when I don’t like most of the characters and that was the case in this book. I saw where things were going and was hoping the ending would be better than it was.

The Carrying

A book of poems by Ada Limón that are unsparing in their emotions. I read this over a series of mornings and was always taken aback by her style and way of using so few words to say so much. That’s poetry, isn’t it? Since I haven’t read much poetry, I found this to be a great way in. Limón writes about it all and I so appreciate her way of cutting to the quick, especially when it comes to dealing with other people.

American Primitive

I continued with poetry with a volume of Mary Oliver’s work that I’ve had for quite some time. Oliver always makes me see the outside world differently and as I was reading this I went into my walks looking at the animals, trees, and everything around me a bit differently. I’m particularly noticing the early signs of spring that are popping up around me.

Think Little

A slim volume that consists of two essay written by Wendell Berry in 1968 and 1971. What’s always amazing to me about Berry’s writing, and many other folks as well, is how much something written 50 or more years ago holds up. Talking about movements for change in various areas or about how we treat the land, the descriptions and words aren’t shy in telling it like it is but also in reminding us that we can be better. I’ll be coming back to this one in the future I’m sure.

The Nix

A story spanning decades about a son and his mother, The Nix goes back and forth in time to tell both their stories. I didn’t absolutely love all of the story lines in this but I was most curious about the mother and wanted to see her story through to the end so I finished the book. This was published in 2016 and some of the story did bring back the beginnings of the current era in the US, at least policitally, and it was interesting to see that juxtaposed with historic events from 1968.

Echoes of Memory

I didn’t enjoy all of the poems in this collection, but several made me stop and reread and I’ll come back to them. The final section on love spoke to me the most, but I found others sprinkled in that stopped me in my reading. I’ve found reading some poems each day to be a good way to think about words and the world differently and am really enjoying it.

Oribital

A lovely read from the perspective of different astronauts on the space station at it does it’s orbits during a 24 hour day. The international crew all bring different perspectives of what they’re seeing as well as their daily lives on the station. The meditations on the views of Earth from the station are particularly beautiful.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

I tore through this thriller in a day and a half as I couldn’t put it down. I really like the way the story moved back and forth from the daughter’s and mother’s perspectives. Cleo arrives home from NYU to her childhood home in Brooklyn to find the front door ajar and blood on the floor in the kitchen, food burning, and her mom isn’t there. The book moves at a fast clip, taking you through Cleo’s perspective of after the incident and her mom’s perspective of the days leading up to it. Highly recommend this one if you like this genre.

The Importance of Being Earnest

My first read from the Standard Ebook Project and it was such a well laid out ebook! I also love this story although I don’t think I’ve ever read it and it was great to slow down and savor the lines. Wilde’s humor and his skewering of the upper classes of his period make for a fun and light read, exactly what I needed at the time.

The Demon of Unrest

Erik Larson’s way of writing non fiction draws me in every time. I always feel like I’m reading a novel, but it’s not a novel and that’s why I keep reading his books. I also find, during hard times, that reading stories from the past (along with dystopian fiction) comforts me and helps me see ways forward. This is the story of the months from when Lincoln was elected president to the when Fort Sumter was attacked. I learned a lot in this read and it gave me hope.

Unnatural Death

I’d never read any of the Lord Peter Wimsey series of mysteries and was glad to see some of them on Standard eBook. This is a mystery in the same vein as Ms. Marple or Poirot and I really enjoyed it. Wimsey is hilarious and I was especially pleased to see how Sayers crafted a strong female character who Wimsey enlists for help, she reminded me of Poirot’s assitant in many ways. I’ll definitely be reading more of these.