march 2024 reading wrap*up
hello, my bookish, colourful friends!
here are all of march’s weekly reading book reviews collected in one place for you— reviews of what i read— and sneak peeks of what i at least thought about reading next… :)
unless otherwise indicated, all title links direct you to the book’s bookshop.org page where you can learn more about the book.
and if you choose to buy it, your purchase shall support independent bookstores across the country who are invested in, and pay taxes to support, your local communities and hardworking neighbors and authors! (you know, instead of tax-evading, billionaire space-colonizers intent on destroying our humanity. nbd.) :)
cool. here’s the books, then! :D
with all my reader heart & the papercuts to prove it,
xo,
*hallie
p.s. i’ve collected my best-o-the-best reading recs by category for you on my bookshop.org “affiliate” page, which you can browse any time. i don’t do it for the $ (i’ve yet to earn a $20 pay-out in 3+ years); it’s more to have all my recs collected for you!! from middle grade to grown*up romances, for actors, shakespeare nerds, the aspiring authors, picture book lovers, and more! :D
✨weekly reading book review march 2024: episode one!!✨
books i read this week:
☕️ NOT QUITE A GHOST by ann ursu
☕️ LALANI OF THE DISTANT SEA by erin entrada kelly
☕️ TERRACE STORY by hilary leichter (wow wow wow!!!)
currently reading :
☕️ HOUSE OF ROOTS & RUIN by erin a. craig
might read next:
☕️ THE PAINTER’S DAUGHTERS by emily howes
☕️ ALLIANA GIRL OF DRAGONS by julie abebooks
what stories are you loving right now?!
send more coffee (pretty please?!),
❤️xo,
*hallie
•
p.s. i sent my first substack last week!! join here: https://substack.com/@halthegal (it’s free, but feel free to contribute to the coffee-writing-book-hoarding-art-supply fund!) ;)
p.p.s. crayon box DOUBLE STICKER happy mail is on its way!! as of today, FIVE bonus stickers remain— join today right here: https://www.patreon.com/halthegal
& now to the studio to make some PAHUA-inspired art, hopesfully in time for #kidlit postcard day on thursday!
✨ weekly reading book review march 2024: episode two!!✨
this week i read:
✒️ THE FICTION WRITER by jillian cantor [signed copy from the poisoned pen bookstore from last month's trip to arizona - link to substack post here!]
✒️ SOME WRITER! THE STORY OF E. B. WHITE by melissa sweet (oh golly, the illustrations and mixed-media photos and documents and found objects: incredible!!)
✒️ THE CAT WHITE SAVED BOOKS by sosuke natsukawa (library book, but yeah—i still want a copy for myself!)
currently reading:
✒️ THE FRAME-UP by gwenda bond
✒️ YELLOWFACE by r.f. kuang [ audio re*read; libro.fm link here!!]
might read next:
✒️ ENOLA HOLMES The Graphic Novels by serena blasco
✒️ DAUGHTERS OF THE LAMP by nedda lewers [february's signed indie pre*order from {pages}: a bookstore !! ]
what stories are you loving right now?!
i also watched DAMSEL on netflix, but i loved @evelyn_skye ‘s glorious book adaptation better. ❤️ (the book > the movie = no surprise? the costumes were gorgeous, though! just too much goo/death/injuries for my visual sensibilities in film. ❤️)
with all my story*lovin’ heart,
❤️xo,
*hallie
☕️
❤️ yes, ryan’s performance on I’M JUST KEN was the most wonderful thing i’ve seen on tv in a long time. if anyone has a trick for getting that song unstuck from my head, though, i’ll mail you a prize... ;)
✨ weekly reading book review march 2024: episode three!!✨
in which we give away a signed book, i tell you about the 5 books i read this week, the three i’m reading, & one i’m reading in time for bookclub!!
this week i read:
✨ ENOLA HOLMES THE GRAPHIC NOVELS, Book One by serena blasco
✨ THE FRAME-UP by gwenda bond
✨ YELLOWFACE by r.f. kuang (audio re*read! link to libro.fm here)
✨ DAUGHTERS OF THE LAMP by nedda lewers (signed copy from pages: a bookstore!!)
✨ EXACTLY AS PLANNED by tao nyeu
currently reading :
✨ LISTEN FOR THE LIE by amy tintera (!!i have theories!! my book of the month club copy seen here! use this link to join for $5!)
✨ THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN by e.b. white
✨ 101 THINGS I LEARNED IN FILM SCHOOL by neil landau & matthew frederick (wasn’t listed on bookshop.org, so here’s the link to barnes & noble!)
reading next :
⏰ THIS TIME TOMORROW by emma straub (to discuss in evelyn skye's substack bookclub! yay!!)
what stories are you loving right now?!
happy nearly*spring blue skies to you,
✨xo,
*hallie
✨ congrats to doris s. for winning a signed copy of lucinda halpern's GET SIGNED!
✨ & don’t forget to join the crayon box for alllll sorts of halthegal bonus goodies!! (time*lapse videos! monthly artsy sticker mail from me! publishing journey fun!!) > coming this week, a time-lapse painting video of me reproducing the cover of THE CAT WHO SAVED BOOKS!
✨weekly reading book review march 2024: episode four!!✨
here’s what i read this week:
⏰ LISTEN FOR THE LIE by amy tintera (adult thriller behind-the-scenes & secrets of a small town true crime podcast! my copy from book of the month)
⏰ THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN by e.b. white
⏰ WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY by michiko aoyama (translated by alison watts)
⏰ THIS TIME TOMORROW by emma straub (adult literary fiction; grief & time*travel & allllll the nyc & 1990’s nostalgia!!)
⏰ THE FOUNTAINS OF SILENCE by ruta sepetys author (okay, i DID cry at this one; historical fiction post spanish civil war in madrid )
⏰ i also read a new middle grade i didn’t love. sigh. (but writing a book is hard, so i learn from it & we move on?)
currently reading :
⏰ THE MAKING OF ANOTHER MAJOR MOTION PICTURE MASTERPIECE by tom hanks
⏰ ALLIANA GIRL OF DRAGONS by julie abe
⏰ HOW DO YOU LIVE? by genzaburō yoshino (1937 japanese fiction now in translation by bruno navasky)
what were YOUR favourite stories of the month?
make sure you’re subscribed to my substack marker recap for my march favourites and a sneak peek at april’s signed indie pre-order, a bookish roadtrip, a sneak peek at april’s STICKER HAPPY MAIL and lots more!
xo,
*hallie