Goodbye March
Or the books I read in March
Every month so far in 2026 has been weirder than the last. The aura is off in the year of the horse for some reason, but we will persevere somehow and someway. My reading month was all over the place, from not reading a page for weeks to devouring two books in two days. While nothing totally blew me away literary-wise, the five books I managed to finish were all pretty solid for the most part. What DID blow me away was Project Hail Mary, which I have seen twice and want to visit a third time in theaters (just wanted to put that out there as I just started the book while trying to convince someone else to spend money on movie tickets with me.) Without further ado, here are the books I read in Marchβ¦
My first Anne Carson book wasnβt a hit for me, but it definitely wonβt be the last book I read by this famous writer. A poetic portrayal of Geryon, a red dragon longing for acceptance and love anywhere he can find it. Tormented as a child by his brother and ignored by society, Geryon becomes hardened to the human condition around him after his first love leaves him, then returns something different. I thought I was going to be blown away by this infamous poetic piece of work, but it just fell flat for me, like I was going through the motions of reading. BUT that has not discouraged me from trying my hand at any more Anne Carson at all.
The third novel of Jacqueline Harpmanβs to be translated into English, and my third Harpman as well. This is a collection of three short stories that showcase βthe forbiddenβ or the βothersβ in society. A woman and a group of thirty wander a post-apocalyptic world trying to find meaning; a teenage girl is defiant in her religious teachings and is punished unjustly for questioning; and a woman stuck in a loveless marriage and forced to perform patriarchal βwifely dutiesβ finds a new lover. This was a perfect look at different ways women can be trapped in their minds and by others holding them captive. While not as impactful as If I Have Ever Known Men, it is still a solid, worth-reading collection.
The first book in this roundup that found itself on the Booker Prize Longlist, and my favorite from this month. A woman narrowly escapes an arranged marriage, brought up in the confined, restricted nature of the laws in place. Sworn as a virgin and forwent her womanhood to live as a man. We see glimpses of childhood and queer identity being stripped away by the torturous nature of womanhood. This is one of those short books you can read in an afternoon, but it stays with you for much longer.
The second book to make it onto the Booker Prize Longlist is one that loosely follows the Danish Witch Trials. Women who deviated from any sense of βladylike normalcyβ must have had to be witches; a dark cloud hung over them, and only the men of the villages could see. Christenze Kruckow has long had accusations floating around her that included sorcery and creating a child made entirely out of wax. While these claims are narrowly skirted by time and time again, the violent nature of being a woman will catch up to her. This is beautifully written, no doubt, and I just thought I would have liked it more than I did. Would I still recommend it, though? Absolutely.
The last book of March finished down to the wire is about Mary Toft, a woman who βclaimedβ to be giving birth to rabbits. In 1726, the equivalent of an online controversy was sparked by claims that Mary Toft had given birth to rabbits. While seemingly like a harmless and laughable story about deluding the mind, deeper exploration leads to the underbelly of the hoax, with cruelty towards women and class power dynamics at the true center. Told through short sentences, almost like a nursery rhyme, you have a gruesome front seat to the torture Mary endured at the hands of her family and doctors. I was surprised to find out this was a debut, given how uniquely written it was, which made me go down a rabbit hole of Mary Toft, no pun intended.
Hereβs to a beautiful Springtime, a better April, and more Project Hail Mary rewatches in my future. Makayla xx