March was a MARVELOUS reading month for me. I read six short stories for The Week of Weird Readathon and completed eight books. Of those eight books, I read five for Middle Grade March. Both readathons were new reading adventures for me. I read quite a few new authors and discovered new middle-grade favorites. In addition, I completed The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson which I had been buddy reading with my sister Rachel since January. I completed Tranquility by Tuesday by Laura Vanderkam which I had been reading since January while also participating in Vanderkam’s Tranquility by Tuesday Challenge. Lastly, I finished Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier which was the January/February selection for the FOMO Book Club.

The Week of Weird Readathon

I have been wanting to read more short stories ever since devouring three collections by Joe Hill back in the spring of 2020. These collections are Strange Weather, Full Throttle, and 20th Century Ghosts. For those of you who do not know, Joe Hill is Stephen King’s son. He is a fantastic writer, and his books and short stories are wonderful! I sprinkle short stories into my reading life sparingly, so when The Week of Weird Readathon was announced by Crystal @ fiberartsy and Jason @ Jason’s Weird Reads, I was excited to add a few of them on my March TBR. There were five reading prompts for inspiration. I read a few of the stories and listened to a couple on the podcast, Levar Burton Reads.

• Old Weird: Read a weird fiction story or book published between 1910s – 1970s.
• New Weird: Read a weird fiction story or book published between 1980s to the present.
• Out of This World: Read a weird fiction story or book featuring science fiction elements.
• The Dark: Read a weird fiction story or book featuring supernatural or horror elements.
• Flora and Fauna: Read a weird fiction story featuring nature.

For Old Weird, I listened to Levar Burton read “Childfinder” by Octavia Butler. This story was my introduction to Butler’s work. It is about a rogue telepath that defies the establishment to protect telepathic children who have not yet tapped into their abilities. It was a good story; however, I felt like it was the prologue to something bigger. 3.5 stars

For New Weird, I read “Afterlife” by Stephen King. Anyone who has followed me for some time knows that Stephen King is my absolute favorite author, so it should be no surprise that one of his short stories made this list. Bill, an investment banker, dies and ends up in a purgatorial waiting room of sorts. He meets Mr. Harris and is given the opportunity (again, because he has been there before) to choose between two doors. Bill can choose to relive his past life with no previous memories or choose finality of existence. It is an interesting dilemma, and I was surprised by Bill’s decision. 4 stars

For Out of This World, I listened to Levar Burton read “I Was a Teenage Space Jockey” by Stephen Graham Jones. This story was my introduction to Jones’s work. Two 6th grade Native American boys spend Halloween evening in a video arcade and have a surreal experience while playing Galaga. I loved this nostalgic story centered around these two characters. 5 stars

For The Dark, I listened to Levar Burton read “The Story We Used to Tell” by Shirley Jackson. This story was my introduction to Jackson’s work. Katherine visits her friend Y at her late husband’s family mansion. During the visit, they come upon a creepy painting in one of the bedrooms that disburbs both women. The next day Y goes missing and is later discovered inside the off-putting painting by Katherine. This story was incredibly dark and eerie, and I loved the goosebumps it gave me. 5 stars

For Flora and Fauna, I listened to Levar Burton read “Cricket” by Kenneth Yu. This story was my introduction to Yu’s work. (I thought I had listened to another story of his, but that story, “The Paper Menagerie” was actually written by Ken Lui. HA!) Richard and his family were tasked with caring for his mother until her death. He held a grudge against his siblings for this arrangement, perceiving it more as a burden then a blessing. After the elderly matriarch’s death, a talking cricket mysteriously appears, dispensing wisdom to Richard and his wife Lucy. This unexpected guest intrigues Lucy, entertains the couple’s young son, but angers Richard. Lots of great messages in this short story. 4 stars

I read an additional story that could pretty much fulfill all of the reading prompts except New Weird, and it was “Colour Out of Space” by H.P. Lovecraft. An alien entity comes to earth and lands near a farm where it destroys the family who owns the farm as well as anything living in direct proximity of the farm. This descriptive story is scary, ominous, and exudes dread. If you read this short story, dear reader, make sure to check out the movie with Nick Cage afterwards. It was a terrific film adaptation. 5 stars

Middle Grade March

The Middle Grade March Readathon on BookTube was hosted by four lovely ladies, Krista @ Books and Jams, Amanda @ The Curly Reader, Katie @ Life Between Words, Jenna @ Jenna Reads n Writes (Instagram). As you know, dear reader, I enjoy reading children’s literature, and I read some fabulous middle-grade books throughout the month of March. There were five reading prompts for inspiration plus a group read, A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga.

• An award winner, but not Newbery (The Voyage of the Frog by Gary Paulsen)
• A Sci-fi/Dystopian book (A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga)
• Sky or Sea on the cover (Odder by Katherine Applegate)
• Book with a neurodiverse character (Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling)
• Book published in the last year (Odder by Katherine Applegate)

Even though I enjoyed everything I read for Middle Grade March, my absolute favorite story was Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. It was heartfelt, humorous, and had wonderfully written characters. I fell in love with the spunky main character Aven Green. Dear reader, if you want to hear more about my thoughts on any of the books I read during Middle Grade March, please check out my Middle Grade March wrap up video. It also includes my thoughts on Vacancy by K.R. Alexander which was my March book club selection for the Chills, Thrills, and Kills Book Club. I also hosted my first book giveaway on my channel. Since I loved Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus so much, I gave away 6 copies to readers who expressed interest. I have 3 more copies to give away, so if you are interested, dear reader, please leave me a comment on this blog post, and I will enter you into a drawing. Giveaway ends on Sunday, May 7th at 11:59 PM.

FOMO Book Club

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier was the January/February book club selection for the FOMO Book Club. This online book club is run by three brilliant British booktubers, Alice @ Alice and the Giant Bookshelf, Gemma @ Gem of Books, and Jack @ Spread Book Joy. I must confess that Jaimaca Inn is my first Daphne du Maurier story, and I was not disappointed by this classic tale. Jamaica Inn gives off gothic vibes with its suspenseful atmosphere, gloomy and dark setting, and mysterious characters, including Jamaica Inn.

Despite her naïveté and lack of good judgement on occasion, I really liked the protagonist, Mary Yellin. She is young and inexperienced; however, I admire her sagacity, determination, and courage. After the death of her mother, Mary leaves her home in Helford to live with her Aunt Patience, her mother’s sister, and Uncle Joss at Jamaica Inn. Soon after her arrival, she is disheartened to learn that Aunt Patience has married an unsavory man, and Jamaica Inn has unpleasant secrets. This novel is considered romantic suspense, but it is my kind of romance. While I was not too surprised by Mary’s decision at the end of the novel, I did enjoy all of the twists and turns, the mystery surrounding Jamaica Inn, and Daphne du Maurier’s storytelling. 4 stars for Jamaica Inn!

Buddy Read

Back in January, my sister Rachel and I started the personal development book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (Caring): A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson. Yes, I covered up the expletive so as not to offend anyone; and, yes my sister laughed at me and pointed out it is just a word. Personally, I do not think it was necessary for Manson to use this word to effectively get his information out to his readers. However, he probably would not give a f*ck what I think anyway.

Once I got passed the cuss word in the title and the first chapter, laden with foul language and crude examples, I actually learned some valuable information that I could apply to my own life. There were quite a few takeaways from this book, but a few that really resonated with me included: happiness comes about through problem-solving, there is value in suffering, distinguishing between good and bad values, failure is a way forward, and the “do something” principle. I personally like how instead of looking for motivation to inspire action, you can take action to inspire motivation. Manson states, “If you lack motivation to make an important change in your life, do something – anything, really – and then harness the reaction to that action as a way to begin motivating yourself.” This self-improvement book earned a solid 3.5 stars.

23 for 2023 List

Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters by Laura Vanderkam is #20 on my 23 for 2023 List. I was not planning to read Vanderkam’s book until the summer; however, she hosted a Tranquility by

Tuesday Challenge in January, and it became the perfect time to dive in and get reaquainted with a few of the rules to see if they could help calm the chaos in my own life. My plan is to write a separate post specifically about my overall thoughts about this book and my experience with participating in the challenge. As I have mentioned in a previous post, I was excited to read Tranquility by Tuesday because I was one of the 150 participants in her time study to gather the data for this book. A couple of the rules had become habits or modified habits during the original time study, but most of them had fallen by the wayside and were forgotten. However, after reading the book (which I thought was fantastic) and completing the challenge (which I thought was eye-opening and fun), I am excited about how most of these rules can become effective habits in my life over time if I intentionally put them into practice. 5 stars for this personal development gem.

As you can see, I had a productive month of reading, dear reader. If you want to hear more about my thoughts on this book or the other books I read in March, please check out my March wrap up video.

My sister and I are taking a break in between now and June. Rachel is an actuary and started her busy season at work at the end of March, and I have commitments in April with Old School April and in May with Zombiethon. I have been reading a bunch in April. I finally got around to reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. The Chills, Thrills, and Kills Book Club chose a rockin’ selection by Grady Hendrix. And, I finally finished reading Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley. Hopefully (always hopeful), I will be writing a post soon about what I read in April. Lots of terrific reads to share with you!

Lastly, do not forget about my book giveaway. Leave me a comment on this blog post if you are interested in a chance to win a copy of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. Giveaway ends on Sunday, May 7th at 11:59 PM. To see my current book reviews or books I have read in the past, follow me on Goodreads at Katherine Loyacano. Happiness!

“Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light.” ~ Vera Nazarian

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