What I Read in March...

March wrap up!

March was a good reading month for me. I knocked out quite a few books, and I came away with some new favorites and some new dislikes. I also managed to play catch up with my Goodreads Reading challenge; I'm now only two books behind, which is easily manageable. Here are the eight books that I tackled in March.



Title: Skinny
Author: Ibi Kaslik
Genre: Young Adult; Fiction; Mental Health; Contemporary; Psychology; Eating Disorders
Goodreads Rating: 3.44/ 5 stars
My Rating: 5/ 5 stars
Pages: 256 ( Paperback )
Publisher: Walker Publishing
Published: January 1, 2008 (Original Publication: April 17, 2004 HarperCollins Canada)

Summary: Do you ever get hungry?  Too hungry to eat?
Holly's older sister, Giselle, is self-destructing. Haunted by her love-deprived relationship with her late father, this once strong role model and medical student, is gripped by anorexia. Holly, a track star, struggles to keep her own life in balance while coping with the mental and physical deterioration of her beloved sister. Together, they can feel themselves slipping and are holding on for dear life.

This honest look at the special bond between sisters is told from the perspective of both girls, as they alternate narrating each chapter.  Gritty and often wryly funny, Skinny explores family relationships, love, pain, and the hunger for acceptance that drives all of us.

"Now, at my father's graveside, looking at Jesus' downturned eyes brings back those old feelings. But it's like seeing someone you used to be in love with and being with a bunch of people making fun of him. I understand his terror at being up there all alone, watching the perpetual unfolding drama - the way our lives get cut up by seasons and weakness and change without out noticing."

Skinny is a poignant read that puts life and its preciousness into perspective. There are plenty of novels centered around the topic of mental illness, but there are very few novels that do it well. Skinny is one of those few novels that does it well.

My review for Skinny

Title: The Colossus and Other Poems
Author: Sylvia Plath
Genre: Poetry; Classics; Fiction
Goodreads Rating: 4.2/ 5 stars
My Rating: 4/ 5 stars
Pages: 84 ( Paperback)
Publisher: Vintage Books
Published: May 19, 1998 (Original Publication: 1960)

Summary: With this startling, exhilarating book of poems, which was first published in 1960, Sylvia Plath burst into literature with spectacular force. In such classics as "The Beekeeper's Daughter," "The Disquieting Muses," "I Want, I Want," and "Full Fathom Five," she writes about sows and skeletons, fathers and suicides, about the noisy imperatives of life and the chilly hunger for death. Graceful in their craftsmanship, wonderfully original in their imagery, and presenting layer after layer of meaning, the forty poems in The Colossus are early artifacts of genius that still possess the power to move, delight, and shock.

"Blind to what will be and what wasI dream that I am Oedipus.
What I want back is what I was
Before the brooch-pin and the salve
Fixed me in this parenthesis;
Horses fluent in the wind,
A place a time gone out of mind."

An excellent intro to Plath for any newcomers, and an equally wonderful addition to any seasoned Plath fan's collection.

My review for The Colossus and Other Poems



Title: The Crucible
Author: Arthur Miller
Genre: Classics; Plays; Fiction; Historical Fiction; Drama; Academic
Goodreads Rating: 3.54/ 5stars
My Rating: 3.5/ 5 stars
Pages: 143 (Paperback )
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Published: March 25, 2003 (Original Publication: 1953)

Summary: "I believe that the reader will discover here the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history," Arthur Miller wrote of his classic play about the witch-hunts and trials in seventeenth-century Salem, Massachusetts. Based on historical people and real events, Miller's drama is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. In the rigid theocracy of Salem, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town's most basic fears and suspicions; and when a young girl accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch, self-righteous church leaders and townspeople insist that Elizabeth be brought to trial. The ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor brilliantly illuminate the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence.

Written in 1953, The Crucible is a mirror Miller uses to reflect the anti-communist hysteria inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy's "witch-hunts" in the United States. Within the text itself, Miller contemplates the parallels, writing, "Political opposition... is given an inhumane overlay, which then justifies the abrogation of all normally applied customs of civilized behavior. A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence."

"Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven."

A wonderfully timeless read, that should be referenced whenever times of oppression and witch hunts/scapegoating slip back into our society. Better yet, reading and discussing this book from time to time would be beneficial in preventing witch hunts and scapegoating from occurring once more. The truth will always be the truth and a lie will always be a lie; and after the lie has been discovered and torn down, the truth will still stand.




Title: Vicious
Author: V.E. Schwab
Series: Vicious #1
Genre: Fantasy; Science Fiction; Adult; Paranormal
Goodreads Rating: 4.25/ 5 stars
My Rating: 2/ 5 stars
Pages: 364 ( Paperback )
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: January 20, 2015 (Original Publication: September 24, 2013)

Summary: A masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers.

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn't automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.

"Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of humans knew how to play at being human."

DNF at 30%. (DNF = Did Not Finish)

This was my second and, most likely, final attempt at enjoying Schwab's writing. I think that Schwab is brimming with some really intriguing and potentially fantastic material; however, everything she writes falls flat for me when it comes to the characters. Her world building is absolutely wonderful and the themes manage to hold my interest, but her characters leave me feeling so incredibly bored and disinterested. Victor and his status as the reigning villain/anti-hero (?) held great potential, but everything was so dragged out and watered down that I found myself skimming more than reading. Many of the other characters, including Eli were incredibly predictable and felt "over done". There was an overhanging sense of "trying too hard" to make the theme work; and to drive home the fact that the world and people are far more grey than they are black and white. Good and bad are not as easily defined as we would like them to be; which is a timeless narrative theme, that when executed well can become an unforgettable book. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Vicious.



Title: American Psycho
Author: Bret Easton Ellis
Genre: Fiction; Horror; Classics; Thriller; Mystery; Crime
Goodreads Rating: 3.81/ 5 stars
My Rating: 1/ 5 stars
Pages: 399 ( Paperback )
Publisher: Vintage Contemporaries/ Random House
Published: March 1991

Summary: Patrick Bateman is twenty-six and he works on Wall Street, he is handsome, sophisticated, charming and intelligent. He is also a psychopath. Taking us to head-on collision with America's greatest dream—and its worst nightmare—American Psycho is bleak, bitter, black comedy about a world we all recognize but do not wish to confront.

"All it comes down to is this: I feel like shit but look great."

DNF (DNF = Did Not Finish)
You know it's bad when you find yourself snorting and rolling your eyes as you're reading a supposed "ground breaking" horror story. The only ground breaking quality in this novel is the suffocating pretentiousness that wafts off the first page and continues to fester throughout the rest of the novel. Messy thoughts do not equate to sophistication, nor an excellent horror novel.



Title: Lord of Misrule
Author: Rachel Caine
Series: The Morganville Vampires #5
Genre: Paranormal; Vampires; Young Adult; Fantasy; Urban Fantasy
Goodreads Rating: 4.18/ 5 stars
My Rating: 4/ 5 stars
Pages: 244 ( Mass Market Paperback )
Publisher: Signet
Published: January 6, 2009 (Original Publication: December 17, 2008)

Summary: In the college town of Morganville, vampires and humans coexist in (relatively) bloodless harmony. Then comes Bishop, the master vampire who threatens to abolish all order, revive the forces of the evil dead, and let chaos rule. But Bishop isn't the only threat.

Violent black cyclone clouds hover, promising a storm of devastating proportions as student Claire Danvers and her friends prepare to defend Morganville against elements both natural and unnatural.

“In this whole screwed-up town, you're the only thing that's always been right to me," he whispered. "I love you, Claire." She saw something that might have been just a flash of panic go across his expression, but then he steadied again. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I do. I love you.”  

Rachel Caine's cliffhangers always create such a hate-love relationship...I'm still hooked though.



Title: We Should All Be Feminists
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Genre: Nonfiction; Essays; Feminism
Goodreads Rating: 4.48/ 5 stars
My Rating: 5/ 5 stars
Pages: 52 ( Paperback )
Publisher: Anchor Books
Published: February 3, 2015 (Original Publication: 2014)

Summary: In this personal, eloquently-argued essay—adapted from her much-admired TEDx talk of the same name—Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, award-winning author of Americanah, offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century, one rooted in inclusion and awareness. Drawing extensively on her own experiences and her deep understanding of the often masked realities of sexual politics, here is one remarkable author’s exploration of what it means to be a woman now—and an of-the-moment rallying cry for why we should all be feminists.

"I often make the mistake of thinking that something that is obvious to me is just as obvious to everyone else."

Adichie is as powerful and insightful as ever.

My review for We Should All Be Feminists



Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Author: Oscar Wilde
Genre: Classics; Horror; Fantasy; Gothic
Goodreads Rating: 4.05/ 5 stars
My Rating: 1/ 5 stars
Pages: 165 ( Paperback )
Publisher: Dover Publications
Published: October 13, 1993 ( Original Publication: June 20, 1890

In this celebrated work, his only novel, Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfectSummary: In this celebrated work, his only novel, Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind.

“You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit.”  

DNF at 50 pgs. (DNF = Did Not Finish)
Pretentious, repetitive, underwhelming, and painfully slow. The characters were all so one dimensional and forgettable. Wilde touched on a few highly interesting themes but he left them all unfinished; which gave the novel a feeling of incompleteness and left me wondering what it's purpose was supposed to be (because I didn't regard his message about humanity and sin to be a completed theme). Wilde's style of writing was beautiful, but his structure and execution were lacking, for me.

What were some of your favorite March reads?

Until next time! Thank you for stopping by! And if you have yet to do so, follow me here on my blog via email subscription to be able to stay informed on when new posts are uploaded.

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- Anisa

The Colossus and Other Poems - Sylvia Plath Review

Title: The Colossus and Other Poems
Author: Sylvia Plath
Genre: Poetry; Classics; Fiction
Goodreads Rating: 4.2/ 5 stars
My Rating: 4/ 5 stars
Pages: 84
Publisher: Vintage Books
Published: May 19, 1998 (Original Publication: 1960)

Summary: With this startling, exhilarating book of poems, which was first published in 1960, Sylvia Plath burst into literature with spectacular force. In such classics as "The Beekeeper's Daughter," "The Disquieting Muses," "I Want, I Want," and "Full Fathom Five," she writes about sows and skeletons, fathers and suicides, about the noisy imperatives of life and the chilly hunger for death. Graceful in their craftsmanship, wonderfully original in their imagery, and presenting layer after layer of meaning, the forty poems in The Colossus are early artifacts of genius that still possess the power to move, delight, and shock.

"Blind to what will be and what was
I dream that I am Oedipus.
What I want back is what I was
Before the brooch-pin and the salve
Fixed me in this parenthesis;
Horses fluent in the wind,
A place a time gone out of mind."

Sylvia Plath became a beloved author of mine after I read her novel, The Bell Jar; a book that still haunts me after three years. Plath also managed to instill in me, a love and hunger for poetry. What makes Plath unforgettable, for me, is how raw her writing is. She wrote from her heart, her soul, and the deepest recesses of her mind without any regard for how people would receive her work. When an individual is as authentic and unfiltered as Plath was, that individual has a story to tell that isn’t triggered by money or fame. Plath could even be regarded as a twentieth century “tortured artist”; to grasp her work in its entirety the reader must be able to see Sylvia Plath for who she was, outside of the spotlight. Plath was the physical embodiment of all that her work represented and continues to represent.

"Though a mist-wraith wound
Up from the fissured valley and hung
shoulder high
Ahead, it fattened
To no family-featured ghost,
Nor did any word body with a name
The blank mood she walked in. Once past
The dream -peopled village, her eyes entertained
no dream,
And the sandman's dust
Lost luster under her footsoles."

This collection of poems is an excellent dose of the writing fans have come to associate with Plath: despair over a father's absence; an individual's tango with suicide or suicidal thoughts; ugly truths of life; the simultaneous desire for and fear of love; and the human obsession with death. While I loved the beauty of Plath's flow and the aesthetic her work creates, I was slightly underwhelmed by and left wanting more from the poetry collection. But, there a few poems that I did fall in love with:

• "The Eye - mote"
• "Hardcastle Crags"
• "Lorelei"
• "The Ghost's Leavetaking"
• "The Beekeeper's Daughter"

This would be an excellent introduction to Plath's work for anyone who is unfamiliar with her writing. The Colossus and Other Poems would also make for a wonderful addition to any of Plath's fans' collections of her work. Whether you choose to down this book in one sitting or to read it over a larger span of time, these poems will be worth every second your time and will leave you with a sense of enlightenment.

"The sun rises under the pillar of your tongue.
My hours are married to shadow."

Until next time! Thank you for stopping by! And if you have yet to do so, follow me here on my blog via email subscription to be able to stay informed on when new posts are uploaded.

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- Anisa

Book Haul

February is ending and I decided to top off my February with a book haul. All four of these books have been on both my TBR list and my mind for quite some time, so I’m ecstatic to finally add them to my shelves. Let me know if you spot any favorites or any books that you’ve been considering picking up!

Title: The Colossus and Other Poems

Author: Sylvia Plath

Genre: Poetry; Classics; Fiction

Goodreads Rating: 4.2/ 5 stars

Pages: 84 (Paperback)

Publisher: Vintage Books

Published: May 19, 1998 (Original Publication: 1960)

Summary: With this startling, exhilarating book of poems, which was first published in 1960, Sylvia Plath burst into literature with spectacular force. In such classics, as "The Beekeeper's Daughter," "The Disquieting Muses," "I Want, I Want," and "Full Fathom Five," she writes about sows and skeletons, fathers and suicides, about the noisy imperatives of life and the chilly hunger for death. Graceful in their craftsmanship, wonderfully original in their imagery, and presenting layer after layer of meaning, the forty poems in The Colossus are early artifacts of genius that still possess the power to move, delight, and shock.

Hate is a strong word, but it does properly convey how much I detest two questions in particular, in regards to reading. Who is your favorite author? What is your favorite book? I feel as though I never have a consistent answer for either one of those questions. Which isn't all that surprising seeing as though in the moment, my favorite author, genre, and book are largely dependent upon my mood. Of course, I have an archive of all-time favorite authors and books, but the favorites that I gravitate towards daily are always subject to change. However, Plath will forever be on my mind and have a place in my heart. Both her as an individual and her writing, have moved me in ways that only great literature can. Not only has she moved me, but she has inspired me time and time again, as well as contributed to the individual and the writer that I have become and am continuing to become.

This past week I wrote up an explication on Sylvia Plath's 1962 poem, "Lady Lazarus", and then presented said explication in my Intro to Literature class. The experience of analyzing and writing about one of my favorite poems by Plath, made me nostalgic and hungry for more of her writing. The Colossus and Other Poems is without a doubt one of my top most anticipated reads to tackle this year.

Title: The Happiness Project: Or, Why I spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

Author: Gretchen Rubin

Genre: Nonfiction; Self-help; Autobiography; Memoir

Goodreads Rating: 3.57/ 5 stars

Pages: 352 (Paperback)

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: December 29, 2009

Summary: Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. “The days are long, but the years are short,” she realized. “Time is passing, and I’m not focusing enough on the things that really matter.” In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.

In this lively and compelling account, Rubin chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Among other things, she found that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that money can help buy happiness, when spent wisely; that outer order contributes to inner calm; and that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference.

Nonfiction and I tend to not see eye to eye. Reading works of nonfiction often leaves me feeling underwhelmed, frustrated, or even bored. I’ve just never been a huge fan of the technical/mechanical style of writing that many nonfiction authors seem to gravitate towards. However, I do enjoy nonfiction works such as published essays/letters or journals from some of my favorite authors.

Lately, I’ve been intensely proactive about doing all that I can to continue to work towards becoming the best possible version of myself. This endeavor has even extended to finding self-help and self-growth books that could potentially leave me inspired, or open new doors for me, or reveal new paths to take, or supply me with a new healthier mindset. I figured that the coming springtime would be best welcomed with some new self-help and self-growth material.

Title: The Handmaid's Tale

Author: Margaret Atwood

Genre: Fiction; Classics; Science Fiction; Dystopia; Feminism

Goodreads Rating: 4.03/ 5 stars

Pages: 311 (Paperback)

Publisher: Anchor Books

Published: March 16, 1998 (Originally publication: 1986)

Summary: Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...

Margaret Atwood is an author that I’ve had my eye on for quite some time, but I wasn’t sure which novel I should pick up by her. Atwood has quite a few published novels and stellar high praise for her writing and that combination can make selecting your introduction to said author, intimidating. But, after the mess of politics and social issues in 2016 and the current pitiful political climate in 2017 (all over the world), The Handmaid’s Tale began to pop up in my literary newsfeeds as THE book that everyone, particularly women, should make a point to read this year.

I can’t pass up an opportunity to experience a new author and to also continue to educate myself on social issues, and to add fuel to my hope for a better now and a better future (for all).

Title: Swamplandia!

Author: Karen Russell

Genre: Fiction; Magical Realism; Contemporary; Fantasy

Goodreads Rating: 3.21/ 5 stars

Pages: 400 (Paperback)

Publisher: Vintage Books

Published: July 26, 2011 (Originally publication: January 1, 2011)

Summary: The Bigtree alligator wrestling dynasty is in decline--think Buddenbrooks set in the Florida Everglades--and Swamplandia!, their island home and gator-wrestling theme park, is swiftly being encroached upon by a sophisticated competitor known as the "World of Darkness."

Ava, a resourceful but terrified twelve-year-old, must manage seventy gators and the vast, inscrutable landscape of her own grief. Her mother, Swamplandia!’s legendary headliner, has just died; her sister is having an affair with a ghost called the Dredgeman; her brother has secretly defected to the World of Darkness in a last-ditch effort to keep their sinking family afloat; and her father, Chief Bigtree, is AWOL. To save her family, Ava must journey on her own to a perilous part of the swamp called the "Underworld," a harrowing odyssey from which she emerges a true heroine.

Karen Russell was recommended to me by a friend and trusted fellow reader, about a year ago, and I’m just now getting around to her. I’m a sucker for well written Magical Realism novels so I’m hoping that Russell and I end up becoming fast friends. I’m excited to dive into her work, but I’m not certain on whether I’ll pick up Swamplandia! in spring or if I’ll save it for summer. As of right now, I’m leaning more towards summer but we’ll see!

Until next time! Thank you for stopping by! And if you have yet to do so, follow me here on my blog via email subscription to be able to stay informed on when new posts are uploaded.

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- Anisa