What I Read ♥ March 2024

March wasn’t my best month for reading. I only managed to read 4 books this month and only one received four stars. However, my reading goal for this year requires me to read 3 books a month so I’m still over my reading goal so I don’t mind. I also DNF’d my second book of the year! I used to be someone who would never want to DNF a book because I would pride myself on finishing a book that I picked up but time is too short to be reading a book you’re no longer interested in so I’m no longer going to push myself.

Make sure to follow me on Goodreads to be updated on what I’m reading and on StoryGraph if you’re curious about my book statistics.

My star reading scale
★★★★★/5 – Loved it! Would reread and recommend it to others.
★★★★/5 – Kept me entertained. I would reread.
★★★/5 – Didn’t love or hate but would recommend to others.
★★/5 – Did not enjoy it and probably skimmed through most of it.
★/5 – I hated it and regret wasting my time with this book.
DNF – Did not finish. This will probably be rare because I like to finish every book I start.

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Bunny by Mona Awad ★★★★/5
The spellbinding new novel from one of our most fearless chroniclers of the female experience, Bunny is a down-the-rabbit-hole tale of loneliness and belonging, friendship and desire, and the fantastic and terrible power of the imagination.

This was a strange novel. Reading this was like one big hallucination trip! This is about a group of girls who call each other “Bunny” as a term of endearment, everything changes when they invite Samantha, the main character in this story, to join them in one of their Smut Salon sessions. There is also something off throughout the entire book that makes you think something about one of the characters and when you finally find out why this character is the way they are, you’re like WHAT!?!? I put this book up with Earthlings by Sayaka Murata as one of the weirdest books I have read.

This is my second book by Mona Awad and they both have similar elements like when the main character word vomits through multiple chapters. Awad also has a specific way of weaving together sentences which I strangely loved.

You can purchase Bunny here

Days of Distraction by Alexandra Chang DNF/5
A wry, tender portrait of a young woman — finally free to decide her own path, but unsure if she knows herself well enough to choose wisely—from a captivating new literary voice

I started reading Days of Distraction back in January but kept putting it off for another book. I finally made it my goal to finish this book in March, however, after reading Sourdough by Robin Sloan I wasn’t in the mood to read another book with tech talk and just couldn’t get back into it so I decided to DNF it. I have so many books I want to read so I’m going to start being more mindful about my reading instead of wasting my time trying to read a book that I’m no longer interested in.

You can purchase Days of Distraction here

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo ★★★/5
A fierce international bestseller that launched Korea’s new feminist movement, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 follows one woman’s psychic deterioration in the face of rigid misogyny

I wanted to love Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 because I’ve heard how impactful of a novel this is internationally. However, it just fell short for me. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 centers around Kim Jiyoung after she has a mental breakdown. Throughout the novel, you read about Kim Jiyoung’s childhood and her background. There is a main focus on gender discrimination and how women are treated in South Korea. I’ve read, listened to, and watched many entertainment on this subject already so this isn’t a new concept to me. However, this was released back in 2016 so for the time I can see this being a groundbreaking concept, especially in South Korea. The last chapter was also a very strange way to end this novel. If you read this let me know your thoughts.

You can purchase Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 here

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell ★★★/5
Every summer for the past ten years, six awe-struck bakers have descended on the grounds of Grafton, the leafy and imposing Vermont estate that is not only the filming site for “Bake Week” but also the childhood home of the show’s famous host, celebrated baker Betsy Martin.

This book is described as The Great British Bake Off meets Clue. As a fan of baking competitions and murder mysteries, I was very intrigued by this concept! However, it didn’t fill my cup. I found almost every character obnoxious and there wasn’t as much baking and food discussion as I hoped. With the baking show chapters, I felt a little let down, I was expecting more foodie talk if you know what I mean with scrumptious details about everyone’s bakes but we didn’t get that or at least it didn’t satisfy my sweet tooth. Towards the end, I felt like too much was happening to the point where some explanations were overlooked. It was a fine book but more heavy on the murder mystery than I would’ve liked, I wanted more baking! haha

You can purchase The Golden Spoon here

Witches by Brenda Lozano ★★★/5
This captivating novel of two Mexicos envisions the writer as a healer and offers a generous and distinctly female way of understanding the complex world we all inhabit.

One of my reading goals this year is to read more books by Latin American writers. Witches is about two women born in different times, Feliciana, an indigenous curandera (healer), and Zoe, a journalist from Mexico City. Both women meet when Feliciana’s cousin, Paloma is murdered. Feliciana’s character was inspired by Maria Sabina Magdalena Garcia an Oaxacan curandera born in the nineteenth century. Each chapter alternates with either a story of Feliciana or Zoe. I found Feliciana’s stories more engaging but her chapters were written in a way that I found repetitive which I found distracting. Zoe’s chapters were less engaging but still interesting. The major problem I had with this book was that most of the book felt like one giant ramble, there was no plot and only the last chapter mentions both Feliciana and Zoe interacting. I had high hopes for this novel but it fell flat for me.

You can purchase Witches here

Have you read any of these books? What did you read in February?