March 2020 reads

Ah, when I last wrote one of these the threat of covid-19 was small and I had a lot of mental space to read without stressing or feeling like I should be doing something more productive. How much can change in a month!

Anyway, a list of my March reads was necessary as we dive into April because March 2020 will go down on record as maybe the longest month of my entire damn life.

Silence
by Shusako Endo
★★★★★/5

Wow. I mean, seriously -- wow. I don't say that lightly about books but this was an incredible, incredible read. Yes, it's the book that the Martin Scorcese movie was based on. I knew a little bit about the Japanese martyrs but the rest of my knowledge about Christianity in the East is embarrassingly, sorely lacking, so all of this (based on a true story!) was brand-new to me. If you need a spiritual kick in the pants, and a strikingly relevant comparison to today's life without access to Mass, this would be a good one to pick up. It will make having to stay at home seem like a real walk in the park. Highly recommend! 5 stars!

Mariette in Ecstasy
by Ron Hansen
★★★★★/5

I'm not sure where I picked up this recommendation (maybe from Heidi on the Close Reads podcast?), but this book was also incredible. It's the story of a postulant at a cloistered order, and I don't want to say anything else to spoil the book but wow, it punches a huge gut punch in a very short novel. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes Catholic fiction that's not really Catholic fiction but is actually good (sorry sorry sorry if you like stereotypically Catholic/Christian fiction, I just cannot and it's because I'm an English major snob and I'll never change). Also 5 stars!

Arabella
by Georgette Heyer
★★★/5

Ah, this was a breath of fresh air. I've never picked up a Georgette Heyer before, but they're very sweet, uncomplicated, lovely romances set in the Regency era. I kind of wish I would have discovered them as a teenager because they would have been my absolute jam. Anyway. Very light romance with zero racy, cute drama, loved it. Will definitely read another of hers when I get the chance and need a brain break. 3 stars because it's basically fluff, and I fancy myself high-brow.

The Hero of Ages
by Brandon Sanderson
★★★★.5/5

This is the third in the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, and I'm so glad I snatched it up at my last trip to the library before quarantine because Sanderson's ability to distract me from reality is unparalleled, tbh. If you like high fantasy, I totally recommend (and I've gushed about his novels plenty in the past, so I'll stop there.) Greatly satisfying end to this half of the series (I think?). 4.5 stars because not his strongest, strongest work but still very good!

~~~~~

I'm still slogging through Middlemarch (well, to be honest, taking a break right now), and since I wrote the majority of this post before finishing Doomsday by Connie Willis I'll just save that for next month's recap where it properly belongs.

What are you reading, friends? Tell me.
Happy quaran-reading! (I can't stop with the puns.)
HG