Books I Read in March

This post should more aptly be titled The Books I Didn't Finish Reading in March. Because that's kind of how March went down for me. I scrambled to read just enough of the assigned novels to not look stupid in class, but didn't finish any of them, and personal reading got sucked away in the stress-pit that was mid-term essays.

Yay for grad school!

So, I have one measly book to talk about that I actually read for pleasure and finished.

I'm so glad summer starts next month.

Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay

I saw the audiobook version of this available for download from my library, and since the description (a contemporary epistolary novel with a delightful dash of Jane Austen) sounded right up my ally, I checked it out. And... there were things I loved and things I hated. I loved how, rather than just make this a shallow chick-lit novel, Reay really tried to incorporate some meatier substance. I really appreciated the premise, young girl who's been really hurt and battered by life and hides behind her Austen fandom (totally related to so many different parts). But the execution fell a little flat for me. Reay just didn't nail the epistolary genre, the themes were a little too heavy-handed, and the innocence of the main character considering her rough and tough backstory felt very unrealistic. Still, I found it sweet and charming and would totally recommend to any Austen fan looking for some good chick-lit.

And now, just in case you're curious, here are the books I didn't finish last month.

East Goes West by Younghill Kang - Rather interesting view of a Korean immigrant's experience in New York during the early part of the twentieth century. I might finish it some day.

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller - No! No! No! Never! No! These are the types of books that make me shudder as an English major. Ugh. Also, this is why I don't do modern American literature. I'll keep with Shakespeare over this crap any day.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - I've read this one before, but I'd forgotten most of it. I love Hurston's colloquial style and how she incorporates her anthropological work and folklore into her fiction. It's really beautiful writing. Highly recommend.