{"id":179751,"date":"2025-04-10T04:42:50","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T04:42:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/books\/march-2025-reading-round-up-nose-in-a-book\/"},"modified":"2025-04-10T04:42:50","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T04:42:50","slug":"march-2025-reading-round-up-nose-in-a-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=179751","title":{"rendered":"March 2025 reading round-up | Nose in a book"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

\"Three-cornered<\/a><\/p>\n

The sun has started to show its face; the clocks have changed; our cherry tree is in full blossom. The herb seeds I planted a month ago are varying from just peeking through the surface to recognisable plants on various windowsills around the house. I do like spring.<\/p>\n

Health-wise, I\u2019ve been getting out on my bike at least once a week and even started running again. My shoulder isn\u2019t 100% recovered but I\u2019m inching closer.<\/p>\n

I joined BlueSky last year and so far my favourite part is the Banned Book Club, which names a different book each month to discuss. This month\u2019s selection was Parable of the Sower<\/i> by Octavia Butler and I\u2019m so glad I was pushed to finally read this terrifying modern masterpiece. It\u2019s definite a good candidate for discussion. In fact, I think the discussion prompts really helped me to process this challenging read.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s particularly tough to read about the US descending into apocalyptic chaos considering the state of the actual country right now. It is scary and I am still trying to figure out what I can do besides feel angry and share news stories.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s to a better April.<\/p>\n

Books read<\/h3>\n

The Skin and Its Girl<\/a> <\/i>by Sarah Cypher<\/a>
<\/b>In this novel Betty Rumanni tells the story of her life so far, starting with the day she was born with blue skin. Betty is trying to figure out whether to stay in America to take care of her mother, or to follow her girlfriend overseas to build a new life together. But more than that, she is trying to piece together her aunt\u2019s story and that of her Palestinian family. This is a beautifully told modern fairy tale.<\/p>\n

The Other Black Girl<\/i> by Zakiya Dalila Harris<\/a>
<\/b>A satire about publishing in New York City, dealing with race and snobbery? This sounded right up my street. And I quite liked it. But there is a thriller element that I found confusing and convoluted and honestly I\u2019m not sure what it added exactly.<\/p>\n

Parable of the Sower<\/i> by Octavia Butler<\/a>
<\/b>In diary entries starting from 2024, teenager Lauren details what it takes to survive in an alternate California, first in a gated community and later out on the open road. The world is descending into chaos. Lauren has hyper empathy, literally feeling the pain and ecstasy of any people near her. Which is not helpful when surrounded by violence. She rejects her preacher father\u2019s Christianity and forms her own ideas of who or what God is. This book is gripping and brilliant and deeply dark. I will definitely read the sequel Parable of the Talents<\/i> but I\u2019m not in a rush to be back in that dark place.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Tyrant<\/i> by Xiran Jay Zhao<\/a>
<\/b>Sequel to the fantastic Iron Widow<\/i>, I was so excited about this I started it within hours of getting it. And despite it being over 500 pages I read it in a couple of days. Our heroine Zetian has achieved political power but it puts her in a precarious position. Widely hated and not a natural appeaser, Zetian must find a way to make the reforms her country desperately needs. But at what cost? And there\u2019s the little matter of the revelations from the end of the previous book that need to be dealt with. I loved this.<\/p>\n

Dallergut Dream Department Store<\/b><\/i> <\/b>by <\/b>Miye Lee <\/b><\/a>
Translated from Korean by Sandy Joosun Lee
A sweet, odd novel. Penny is excited to start work at the Dallergut Dream Department Store, which sells dreams to people who are sleeping. We meet the characters who create and sell dreams; learn about the system of emotion payments; even meet some of the customers and see the effect on them of the dreams. It\u2019s a little twee but just unusual enough to get away with it.<\/p>\n

Significant Others<\/i> by Armistead Maupin\u00a0<\/a>
<\/b>I found a couple of Tales of the City books on sale and thought this would be perfect for the Trans Rights Readathon<\/a>. Turns out this particular entry in the series features very little of its central character Anna Madrigal and zero other trans characters. But it\u2019s still really good and I\u2019m glad I finally came back to these books. I\u2019m also realising I skipped book 4 in the series, Babycakes<\/i>, which deals with the arrival of the AIDS crisis \u2013 something that is still a huge looming cloud in this instalment. However, the bulk of the story here is a few separate groups of people who have gone upstate for rural retreats in the woods who cross paths in unexpected ways. There\u2019s a women\u2019s festival, a Republican men-only camp and a couple of log cabins swapping horny residents. Maupin satirises the conservative men and the hippy women but he also shows that all the characters are human.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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