My March reading has so far been pretty similar to February! I’ve liked most of what I’ve read, but there isn’t a runaway standout. I did get let down by two trusted authors, which always makes me a special kind of sad, but overall a solid month!
In addition to my March 2018 Books to Read, stay tuned for my full review of Alternate Side
Hosted by Modern Mrs. Darcy.
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Read These
Bachelor Nation
Nonfiction (Released March 6, 2018)
320 Pages
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon
Source: Publisher (Publisher: Dutton Books)
Plot Summary: Kaufman, a L.A. Times reporter who covered The Bachelor franchise until ABC shut down her access because they weren’t pleased with what she was writing about the show, exposes the inner workings of The Bachelor franchise.
My Thoughts: I’m an unapologetic fan of The Bachelor and am fascinated by all the behind-the-scenes drama. So, I’m almost the perfect reader for this book (my downfall is that I already know a lot of this stuff from reading Reality Steve). Kaufman investigates The Bachelor‘s cultural place in America, how producers get contestants to give them good TV, how and why contestants think they fall in love over such a short period of time, what happens to the couples after the show ends…and, a history of dating shows (which should have been edited out). This best part of the book are the excepts from contestant Sharleen Joynt‘s journal she kept during filming…she clinically picks apart the psychology of the show while she’s in the middle of it. She’s brilliant and her take is articulate and well thought-out. Kaufman doesn’t really dish on contestant-specific gossip (who’s hooking up with whom, etc), but raises the overall curtain to reveal Oz. Beware if you want to preserve the fairytale because you’ll for sure be watching the show differently after reading it.
Everything is just so designed for romance, I can see how if you were single, didn’t necessarily know what you were looking for, couldn’t tell a deep connection from a superficial one, and were somewhat naive, hopelessly naive and not very cautious, you could fall in love. The focus is so on it all the time. You’re constantly prompted to talk about him, what you two share, how it makes you feel, how seeing him with the other girls makes you feel. There is no escape. – from Sharleen Joynt‘s journal
Laura & Emma
Fiction – Literary (Released March 13, 2018)
352 Pages
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon
Source: Publisher (Publisher: Simon & Schuster)
Plot Summary: Laura, the somewhat quirky daughter of a blue-blood Upper East Side family, becomes pregnant after a one-night stand and wrestles with how to raise her daughter.
My Thoughts: The key to loving Laura & Emma is loving Laura’s voice and the writing style (which I did)…because there isn’t a ton of action to propel the story. It’s been compared to the TV show Gilmore Girls
As she sat across the table from this Republican lobbyist lunatic, she thought of what her mother had said of marriage: Anything, anything, anything would be better than this. That’s how others viewed her current situation as a single mother, she realized. How else to explain their rationale in matching her with such maniacs? They saw her and Emma as incomplete, stray people, a free-floating fragment; the goal was to make them whole and anyone, anyone, anyone would be better than no one.
Tangerine
Fiction – Literary (Released March 20, 2018)
320 Pages
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon
Source: Publisher (Publisher: Ecco Books)
Plot Summary: Alice Shipley can’t figure out whether to be relieved or unsettled when her college roommate (Lucy Mason), who she hasn’t spoken to in over a year after a deeply disturbing incident, shows up on her doorstep in Tangier, Morocco, where she’s living with her new husband (John).
My Thoughts: Told in dual perspectives, Mangan’s debut novel is the story of a fraught, obsessive friendship and all the wreckage it leaves behind. Tangerine is a very specific type of book that I generally adore (and I did in this case!), but that probably isn’t for everyone. It’s kind of a page turner, but not in the traditional sense. It’s taut with emotional and psychological tension, but doesn’t have much action until the second half. Mangan generates all this tension through her writing style, which reminded me of Tender (my review), Sunburn
Tangier and Lucy were the same, I thought. Both unsolvable riddles that refused to leave me in peace. And I had tired of it – of the not knowing, of always feeling as though I were on the outside of things, just on the periphery.
Skip These
The Flight Attendant
Fiction – Mystery / Thriller (Released March 13, 2018)
368 Pages
Affiliate Link: Amazon
Source: Publisher (Publisher: Doubleday)
Plot Summary: When Cassie, an alcoholic flight attendant, finds her hook-up (Alex Sokolov) from the night before dead in a Dubai hotel, she questions whether she killed him during a blackout and, if not, wonders who did.
My Thoughts: Chris Bohjalian has been a reliable standby for me in the thriller department for the past few years (The Guest Room, The Sleepwalker), but I think he stumbled with The Flight Attendant. I was initially interested in finding out what happened to Alex and what would happen to Cassie. How would she handle being questioned about Alex’s murder (given she makes terrible decisions most of the time)? Would she be charged with murdering him? But, as Alex’s story is gradually revealed, I became incredibly confused. Why he might have been killed is convoluted, yet it felt like white noise to me. That side of the story isn’t developed well at all…to the point that I didn’t really care. However, Bohjalian did a great job bringing the life of a flight attendant alive, which I enjoyed. Bohjalian has written a book a year for the past few years, which is a lot. I feel like he might’ve churned this one out too quickly…at the expense of quality.
She hoped her small joke would make him smile, but the truth of it made her cringe. It wasn’t merely the acknowledgment of her drinking; it was the reality that she was poisonous; she always risked diminishing the people she loved or might someday love. Too often she forced them to make the same bad choices she did or forced them from her life. Best case, she forced them to care for her.
Girls Burn Brighter
DNF at 13%
This novel about female friendship set in India got a decent amount of publisher hype. I had trouble getting into the characters initially and my mind kept wandering. I felt like I was viewing the story from an airplane window at 50,000 feet instead of feeling immersed in it. Since then, I’ve heard it’s an incredibly brutal story, which I just don’t have in me right now.
What’s the best book you’ve read so far this month?
I just added Tangerine to my list after hearing about it on a podcast, and your review makes me even more intrigued. Laura and Emma sounds up my alley too although I’m not sure how I feel about things left hanging at the end–I don’t need a super tidy ending, but I don’t like too much left up in the air either. Your comparison of Laura to Eleanor Oliphant though makes me want to give it a try–I loved that character.
There is an ending to Laura & Emma – it’s just I didn’t know how to interpret it. It’s not clear what exactly happened. And I liked the character of Eleanor, but didn’t like the book overall for other reasons.
I’m not exactly a fan of the Bachelor, but I adore any behind the scenes information about reality shows. Bachelor Nation sounds fascinating!
Then I think you’ll like this! It does sort of speak to reality shows in general!
We definitely agree on both Laura & Emma and The Flight Attendant! I’m glad you liked Tangerine. It sounds like the sort of book I’d like, so think I’ll give it a try soon. You’ve convinced me that I need to read Bachelor Nation. I’d love an inside glimpse into the show.
I do think you’ll like Tangerine!
I’m so disappointed to see people aren’t loving The Flight Attendant.
I’ve been seeing Tangerine everywhere. Probably because (I think?) it was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. I’m glad you liked it. Lots of people have been including it in haul posts, but I haven’t seen many reviews.
I didn’t realize that! I normally don’t do well with award books, but this must be an exception!
OK, I just rushed to Goodreads to put Bachelor Nation on my TBR list.
Great post! Several of these are on my TBR. I hope to read Tangerine soon.
I’m still very interested in Tangerine – it’s the setting of Morocco that has me hooked. I just finished reading The Broken Girls by Simone St. James and liked it very much. Probably too Gothic for many, but I was well pleased with it. Review in a week or so.
Bust about The Flight Attendant! I realized I’m still behind a book for Bohjalian so maybe I’ll read the Sleepwalker first and catch up to this one in a while. I really want to read Tangerine! Maybe I’ll have to break my book buying moratorium and pick this up for Spring Break.
Laura and Emma sounds right up my alley, though I don’t usually like endings that are too ambiguous.
I’m not a Bachelor fan at all (I might have watched one season) but I’m weirdly intrigued by this book.
Laura and Emma sounds right up my alley! I hadn’t heard of it before. Glad to see you liked Tangerine! I can’t wait to pick it up.
That’s disappointing about Girl Burns Brighter. I got a copy from the publisher and was looking forward to reading it.
Me too…I’d been hearing such great things about it pre-publication. But, also know some other bloggers who didn’t like it either.
I’m really looking forward to Tangerine.
I can’t decide if Bohjalian’s back list is worthwhile delving into or not. I loved The Guest Room. Sleepwalker: not as much. I have The Flight Attendant on hold and although I was really looking forward to it, general consensus agrees with you.
I liked his backlist more than his recent stuff 🙂 Loved The Double Bind, some of his historical fiction, and Close Your Eyes Hold Hands.
Tangier sounds worth a go. Thanks
Totally agree on your assessment of Laura and Emma, especially being similar to Eleanor! Yeah, I’m hearing Girls Burn Brighter is not worth the hype. Might push that down the TBR.
I’ve never seen the Bachelor, so I’ll likely skip that. I have Girls Burn Brighter for a freelance assignment, so I’ll be reading that. The other three are on my list (we’ll see which I actually get to).
Will be interested to hear what you think!
Great picks! I still need to get to Tangerine, I’m still in my romance reading kick though…meanwhile all my ARCS are piling up
Haha – do what you need to do! Sometimes it’s nice to take a break!
You know I completely agree with you on Bachelor Nation and Laura & Emma; I’m hoping to get to Tangerine soon, but there are so many exciting new releases coming – GAH!
I am reading The Flight Attendant right now. The first few chapters sucked me right in, but now that she is back on US soil I am finding it a bit redundant. I’ll stick with it because now I have to find out the what and why, but you did warn me that it is not his best and I am tempering my expectations.
I liked it in the beginning…then went downhill. Will be interested to hear your thoughts!
None of these really grab me.
I have liked all the books I’ve read so far this month, but the one that has really made an impact on me is a nonfiction book, Another Day In The Death Of America by Gary Younge.
I legit can’t wait to read Bachelor Nation. I got it out of the library today and I am hella excited — I’ve watched several seasons of the show and enjoyed them thoroughly, and I totally want to know more about how the sausage gets made. Secretly I suspect that I’d be an amazing Bachelor producer if I were, like, entirely amoral.
Loved your review of it 🙂
I completely agree about the flight attendant. I read it this month too. i just didn’t care about anyone in the story.
I’ve only watched a few seasons of The Bachelor because I can’t stand all the drama. But, a local guy (Chris Soules) was The Bachelor so I watched that season and we all know how that turned out. So, I would be intrigued to read this book and see behind the scenes details.
Oh yes! I watched his season! And I did see the news about the car accident…sad 🙁
Just finished Girls Burn Brighter…it’s not the easiest to read, no. I don’t think it was a waste of time, it was a good story, but I don’t know if I would have chosen to read it knowing what I do now. Not sure if I’d recommend it…and yeah, you have to be kind of ready for the brutal. I don’t think I was prepared enough.
I’ve heard the exact same thing from others who actually finished it. I just didn’t have that in me at the moment…
Excellent list, thank you!! Spring Break is right around the corner and Tangerine is on my list! I just finished, The Secret Life of Mrs. London which is about the WIFE of famed writer Jack London. Charmian London, was a trail blazing feminist, and a woman caught in a tricky love triangle. It is such a great pick for Women’s history month. I couldn’t put it down! I found it here, http://www.rebecca-rosenberg.com
Tangerine is a great vacation book! Good atmosphere for that! And Mrs. London sounds super interesting too – I love the “from the wife’s perspective” novels!
I just picked up Tangerine at the library at the recommendation of another blogger. I’m glad to see she’s not the only one who liked it. 🙂 I’m looking forward to it.
Any good books to read?
Can somebody suggest any new good books to read?