March feels like it went by quickly, and it was a hectic month. Since it was so busy, I didn’t get as much done reading-wise as I was hoping to, but I also had some fun celebrating Purim, a Jewish holiday. However, it also meant that Passover is right around the corner, so prep work for that has been underway this week, along with moving my entire room around to accommodate more book cases. But since I now have enough room for all of my books in the cases, plus a little extra to fit more books, so I can’t complain.

March was Women’s History Month, and while I didn’t read any nonfiction about women’s history, most of the books I read were written by female authors. However, I do make an effort to read books about women involved in history all year round, just like I do with diverse authors and subject matter. Here are some of my highlights from March:

• My blog went from 732 followers to 750, and I’m thrilled about that! I’ve been trying to continue growing it and engage with other blogs more often.
• I’m continuing to struggle with my physical ARCs, although my NG ARCs are under control.
• Of the 33 books I read this month, 7 were nonfiction. This includes a cookbook, 1 about social sciences, 2 about true crime, 1 about menstruation (it was way more interesting than it sounds, I swear), a memoir, and 1 about incorporating therapy into tarot reading.
• As far as diverse voices, I read 5 books by a Black author, 1 by a SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) author, 4 by an LGBTQIA+ author, 5 by an Asian author, 1 by a Latine author, and 1 by a Jewish author.
• I committed to reading outside of my usual genres, so I read 2 horror, 1 science/nature book, 1 self-help/inspirational book, and 1 social science book.
• I read the third and fourth of my 12 in 12 challenge books for the year, I’ve read 14 out of 18 books by Jewish authors for the challenge, and I’m 74% done with my 2023 PopSugar reading challenge.

Here’s my breakdown of monthly/cumulative totals for March:

March Totals:

• Books read: 33
• Books DNF’d: 0
• Pages read: 5,609
• Hours listened: 9 days, 18 hours, 1 minute
• Average pages: 373.9
• Average hours listened: 14 hours, 7 minutes

Cumulative Averages:

• Days per book: 3.32
• Pages read per day: 173.13
• Books read per month: 35
• DNF’d books per month: 1.67

Genres Read in March:

• Biography/Memoir: 1
• Fantasy: 10
• General Fiction: 2
• Historical Fiction: 2
• Horror: 2
• Mystery/Suspense: 3
• Romance/Erotica: 7
• Science/Nature: 1
• Self-Help/Inspiration: 1
• Social Science/Current Affairs/Politics: 1
• Travel/Food: 1
• True Crime: 2

Backlist vs. New Releases:

• Backlist books: 16
• 2023 releases: 17

Fiction Vs. Nonfiction:

• Fiction: 26
• Nonfiction: 7

Format Read:

• Print: 7
• Digital: 8
• Audio: 18

Age Range:

• Adult: 27
• YA: 6

My favorite books of the month were The Rebel King by Gina L. Maxwell and The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart.

Here’s what I read in March:

• On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
• Seven Percent of Ro Devereux by Ellen O’Clover (YABC ARC)
• Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls (ALC)
• The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart (The Drowning Empire #1)
• Paper Cuts by Ellery Adams (Secret, Book, and Scone Society #6) (NG ARC)
• You Are My Sunshine: A Story of Love, Promises, and a Really Long Bike Ride by Sean Dietrich
• The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrea Stewart (The Drowning Empire #2) (Publisher ARC)
• Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat (Dark Rise #1)
• The Rebel King by Gina L. Maxwell (Deviant Kings #2) (Author ARC)
• The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart (The Drowning Empire #3) (Publisher ARC)
• Tarot Therapy: Harness the Healing Power of Tarot by Leona Nichole Black (NG ARC)
• The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan (Empire of the Wolf #2) (Publisher ARC)

• Chlorine by Jade Song (ALC)
• The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James 
• The Forever Witness: How Genetic Genealogy Solved a Cold Case Double Murder by Edward Humes
• The Mountain of Souls by Marcus Lee (The Chosen #1) (Author ARC)

• Tasty. Healthy. Cheap.: Budget-Friendly Recipes with Exciting Flavors: A Cookbook by Kevin Tatar (NG ARC)
• Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman (NG ARC)
• The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers by Adam Sass (YABC ARC)
• Lone Women by Victor LaValle (NG ARC)
• Period: The Real Story of Menstruation by Kate Clancy (ALC)
• The Witching Hour by Anne Rice (Lives of the Mayfair Witches #1)
• The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende (NG ARC)
• Lasher by Anne Rice (Lives of the Mayfair Witches #2)
• Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton

• The Cartographers by Amy Zhang (YABC ARC)

• Who Gets Believed?: When the Truth Isn’t Enough by Dina Nayeri (ALC)
• Tremors in the Blood: Murder, Obsession, and the Birth of the Lie Detector by Amit Katwala (ALC)

• Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell by Taj McCoy 
• Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles #1) 
• Taltos by Anne Rice (Lives of the Mayfair Witches #3)

• The Dark King by Gina L. Maxwell (Deviant Kings #1) — reread
• Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop by Darci Hannah (Beacon Bakeshop #1) — reread

How did March go for you? Drop your link below, so I can visit and check out your wrap up.