We’re back with another month’s reading! March was the last month on my contract with my previous job, so I might read more in April while I continue looking for work. But despite the stress of March, I did manage to get a lot read!
I just… bought a lot too… which is a problem. But retail therapy, y’know?
But let’s get into the actual stats!
In the month of March, I managed to read 22 novels and 2 manga books!
I’m delighted with how many books I picked up. I have been struggling with reading, and I’m at a point where I very much want to be picking up the books I own physically and actually reading them. I did, admittedly, have to read many of them through audiobooks. I was still working, and I had limited time. So I set myself this goal that I could read a few more of my physical books through audio if I could get them from the library, and then in April, I wouldn’t be able to do that. Unless I’m really struggling with physically reading a book. But since I aim to pick up mostly smaller books this month, I think that’ll be fine.
On the other hand, my manga reading was a disappointment. I did at least read some. Well, one manga book and one manhwa. But when you compare the amount I read to the amount I bought? I really should have read more.
In March, I bought 23 books in total. 8 of these were novels, most of which came from subscriptions. But 15 of them were manga books. I’ve been in a big manga mood, so I know I’ll get to them. But my manga TBR is a single pile, and it’s gotten precariously tall.
What I wound up doing when I got some random money from my Grandpa as a gift was I used it to basically buy a few more books in some of the series I’m reading and enjoying. It was so that when I pick up a manga book, and I likely go for one of those, I’ll have a bunch to sit and enjoy. I hope it’ll stop me from buying more manga for a bit, as I have a bunch that I want to pick up. I finally completed my Karneval collection, so I just have to finish reading it…sob. But I also got some Yona, Servamp, Snow White with the Red Hair etc.
I also wound up preordering a bunch of new series, but since I may wind up cancelling them at some point, I’ll leave those out for now.
So, it’s a mixed bag, really. I did well when it came to my novels and terribly when it came to my manga. I’m hoping that April is going to be great on both counts.
So let’s finish this post with a couple of mini-reviews of some of the things I read!
Mini-Reviews
Blue Lock vol. 1 – Muneyuki Kaneshiro & Yusuke Nomura – I’m not big on sports manga. Still, I’ve been curious about this one as I like the character designs. In this series, we’ll follow Isagi Yoichi, a high schooler who has entered a death-game-style competition to become the best striker in Japan. This was kind of fun; I definitely like Bachira best, as I assumed I would. But I’m not feeling particularly strongly about it yet. – 3/5 Stars
The Book Eaters – Sunyi Dean – I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, but it’s short and sounded interesting. In a version of our world where there are people who can eat books, and others’ minds, Devon is on the run trying to find a cure for her son as her former family tries to hunt them down. This book was completely fascinating. The intrigue was so high that I didn’t want to put it down. I’m not usually big on books that jump between different times, but this one did well. I hope Dean does wind up giving more in this world, especially after the bonus chapter at the end of my Waterstones exclusive as oof. – 5/5 Stars
Icebreaker – Hannah Grace – I got a chance to read this one thanks to Tandem Collective, and it was definitely fun to read. This was a new adult romance following Anastasia, a figure skater and Nathan, an ice hockey player, who have to spend time together after an accident. I was kinda worried that I’d wind up annoyed at this book as there would be too many alpha male jerks as…ice hockey. But fortunately, the only douche was Stasi’s figure skating partner. I loved all the guys from the team this book focused on so much, especially Henry and JJ. So I’ll definitely pick up the other books in this series. An adorable romance. – 4/5 Stars
Lace and Dagger Books 