March has been a weird month for me. I spent the first two weeks half asleep, high on meds, and the rest not sleeping enough. I’ve already written in a previous post about my surgery, so I won’t repeat myself here. I just mention it because it has really affected my reading. I’ve been unable to concentrate on a book for more than 30 minutes, which means I only managed to read five books this month. I know, I’m ashamed of myself.
I’m currently in Spain, and I will be until early April, so I figured while being here, I could read some books in Spanish, as I always choose British or North American authors. I selected two books from Spanish writers I like.
I’m writing this post with my family cat purring while she sleeps on my lap, so it hasn’t been all bad.
Best read of the month
You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry
After complaining about romance novels in my February wrap up, I decided to give them another chance, and I loved this story. Even if the ending was predictable, I found it very entertaining. It’s a story about two close friends that go on trips together every summer, and all is well until unwanted romantic feelings start to show up.
Also, the protagonist, a writer for a luxury travel magazine, has my dream job and how there she complain about it! She has exactly the life I’ve always wanted. To travel around the world while getting paid for writing about her stay.
This is what I want for the rest of my life. To see new places. To meet new people. To try new things. I don’t feel lost or out of place here.
I read this article about it. Apparently the completion of long-term goals often leads to depression. It’s the journey, not the destination, babe, and whatever the fuck else those throw pillows say.
Spanish books
Malas Mujeres by María Hesse
Translated as “Bad Women”, this book goes through different stories of famous women deemed mad or evil, and it adds a feminist twist by wondering, if they were men, would they be considered mad or just assertive? Kind of like Taylor Swift’s The Man, but in book form. It goes from fictional characters to real women in history, giving detailed examples of their “madness”.
María Hesse is one of my favourite illustrators. She has a very distinctive, haunting style. Each page has a beautiful illustration of the woman she’s writing about.
Que el fin del mundo te pille de risas by Andrea Compton, Inés Hernand
Roughly translated as “That the end of the world catches you laughing”. This is a book written by two Spanish comedians/YouTubers/entertainers. I never read Youtuber books, but they actually wrote this one, so I figured it’d be good. I was looking for a fun and easy read to end the month, and this one was great.
I won’t bother explaining who Andrea and Inés are, but this book is a collection of stories of their life, similar (in my opinion) to Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton but more online-focused and laidback.
English books
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
I love Lucy Foley’s books, but I found this one disappointing. Both the storyline and plot twists felt boring to me. I don’t have anything else to say about it. I hoped for an exciting thriller like her previous books, but this one felt rushed, and the story was very weak.
You know, I read somewhere that sixty percent of us can’t go more than ten minutes without lying. Little slippages: to make ourselves sound better, more attractive, to others. White lies to avoid causing offence. So it’s not like I’ve done anything out of the ordinary. It’s only human.
Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan
I saw this book at the airport, and it was everywhere. It was literally in every shop I went to while I waited for my flight to Barcelona. I almost bought it a few times but then decided to borrow it from the library, as an ebook, for free! This is irrelevant to my review, but I just wanted to point out that this is an exciting book that everyone seems to be reading before the Netflix show comes out in April.
The story was interesting, there was a twist I didn’t expect, and I loved all the lawyer/court talk. I love a good lawyer show, so I hope there’ll be lots of it in the Netflix series. I can’t wait to watch it!
So this was my March wrap up. Sad and short, I know, but what can you do? I can’t wait to be back in England next month, go back to my tiny flat with my reliable Waterstones and my cosy reading nook. Hopefully, I’ll be able to read more books in April.
Willow in Winter 