March 2026 Reading Wrap-Up

Hello and welcome to my March 2026 reading wrap-up!

Wow, I didn’t post to this blog at all in April. Somehow it went by in a blink, and I suddenly realized I’d had this post in my drafts for over a month! So… my bad, here it is!

 

I finished reading 12 books in March, plus continued working on The Secret History by Donna Tartt and La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle, started but didn’t yet finish Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, and DNF’d How to Get Away with Murder by Rebecca Philipson, Crawlspace by Adam Christopher, and Dollface by Lindy Ryan. I also read one story from the Creature Features Collection on Kindle, The Pram by Joe Hill, which I’ll talk about once I’ve read all 6 of the stories.

PLEASE NOTE: The title of each book links to its corresponding Goodreads page in case you want more information. Beside each title are affiliate links to each book on Bookshop.org (a great resource for Americans and Brits who would like to order books online but still support their local independent bookstores) and also on Booksellers.ca (the Canadian version of the same concept). If you don’t want to click on the affiliate links, I totally understand. But if you do, I’ll receive a small commission from any purchase you make through them, which I will put towards paying the blog bills. And maybe buying books. (And by maybe I mean almost definitely.)

On to the 12 books I finished reading in March!

Beginning with the least faves

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James ( buy on Bookshop.org | on Booksellers.ca )

⭐⭐

This was a miss for me. I spent most of the book waiting for the characters to actually DO something, and most of the rest of it wondering why they took the actions they took when they finally took them. And maybe I’m just not well-versed enough in ghost lore, but I’m pretty sure the ending didn’t make sense.

I enjoy St. James’ spooky writing, but the plot and the characters didn’t work for me this time.

Searching for Terry Punchout by Tyler Hellard ( buy on Bookshop.org | on Booksellers.ca )

⭐⭐⭐

So this is the point where I confess that I’m a Canadian who hates hockey and the whole toxic culture around it. Given that that’s 98% of what this book is about… I didn’t exactly have a good time reading it. Honestly, I eye-rolled through a lot of it. My bad.

Terry’s story was interesting for the most part, but I didn’t really care about the narrator’s journey or all his redneck friends rednecking. A lot of people seem to love it, but it wasn’t for me.

This was a Canada Reads 2026 pick that ended up at #2 in the final 5.

My only classic of the month

The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore ( buy on Bookshop.org | on Booksellers.ca )

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a classic Indian novel written and set in the early 20th century, around the time of Bengal’s partition and all the political unrest surrounding it. It’s told from the perspective of 3 characters: Nikhil, a good man under political pressure; Bimala, his traditional and sheltered wife who is slowly claiming the independence offered by her husband; and Sandip, a radical political leader attempting to take advantage of the other two.

A lot of the politics and some of the religion went over my head, but I really enjoyed the character study of these 3 extremely different personalities. And I have to award Sandip the honour of being probably my most hated character in all of literature. My blood would boil every time he opened his mouth, as anyone could tell by reading the comments I wrote in the margins, haha! I rarely do that, but I needed an outlet for my rage! It was really great writing, though, to portray the thought process of a narcissist so believably.

A 4-star horror

The Burial Tide by Neil Sharpson ( buy on Bookshop.org | on Booksellers.ca )

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a really fun, unique take on a certain branch of mythology that I’ve always been fascinated by. I didn’t love some of the moments of almost farcical humour, and sometimes the pacing felt a little slow when characters were trying to figure things out, but the suspense and plot twists were really well done. If you like creature horror, body horror, and/or psychological horror, I recommend it.

A couple of strong women

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy ( buy on Bookshop.org | on Booksellers.ca )

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a tough read. I admire McCurdy’s strength to not only have overcome all she has but also to share her story.

Becoming by Michelle Obama ( buy on Bookshop.org | on Booksellers.ca )

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Really good memoir. I found it kind of repetitive after a while, which made it seem to drag towards the end, but she’s a cool and inspiring lady, and I enjoyed reading about her life in and out of the spotlight. I’d love to read another memoir about her post-White-House life.

A unique and moving read

Son of Nobody by Yann Martel ( buy on Bookshop.org | on Booksellers.ca )

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a NetGalley ARC that I really enjoyed and reviewed here. Now available!

The strongest woman of all

A Hymn to Life by Gisele Pelicot ( buy on Bookshop.org | on Booksellers.ca )

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What can I say? This woman is a force of nature. Her “husband” and all his r*pe buddies are the scum that even the scum of the earth would scrape off its shoes.

Just hearing about this case, let alone reading the details of it here, can give you PTSD and/or paranoia and/or a raging desire to set the entire world on fire, so reader beware.

A 5-star horror

You Did Nothing Wrong by CG Drews ( buy on Bookshop.org | on Booksellers.ca )

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was another NetGalley ARC that I loved, and I reviewed it on the blog here.

A couple of weird rides I loved taking

Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang ( buy on Bookshop.org | on Booksellers.ca )

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is the kind of unhinged mess I love to read. 🤣 Reminded me a lot of Bunny in places, but very much its own thing. Any time someone wants to pull apart the “influencer” lifestyle in a satirical way, I’m here for it.

Reboot by Justin Taylor ( buy on Bookshop.org | on Booksellers.ca )

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Not a new release, but I was so impressed by it that I reviewed it for the blog here.

My favourite read of the month

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer ( buy on Bookshop.org | on Booksellers.ca )

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you read one nature book this year, let it be this one. I want to live in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s vision of what the world could be. If we all lived lives of gratitude and valued reciprocal giving over self-accumulation, life would be as sweet as a serviceberry.

Also, I just about cried during the chapter about libraries, especially the Little Free Libraries shoutout. My personal favourite example of a gift economy. 🥰