March Reads

& Good Things

Hey! You’re here. Thank you.

I don’t know about you, but over here we are absolutely army crawling toward spring. I am trying my hardest to keep my eyes open for glimmers in the midst of these in-the-middle days. Mostly those glimmers look like kisses on the top of tiny chihuahua heads, opening the windows for the first time, a light jacket, iced coffee (always, always iced coffee), and - duh - books.

I want to tell you about the five books I read in March. I paired each book with a little good thing/glimmer that’s keeping me afloat.

Common Goal by Rachel Reid

When I said books are keeping me afloat what I mostly meant was gay hockey smut by Rachel Reid is keeping me afloat. If you know, you absolutely know, and if you don’t know well might I recommend you dabble a toe??

Common Goal is book 4 in the Game Changers series which I am currently devouring like a family size bag of smart food popcorn. Absolutely delicious. This one was not my favorite in the Rachel Reid universe but I can’t pretend I wasn’t invested.

I’m pairing this sports romance with one of my favorite sports moments in recent memory: the opening match of Boston’s brand new NWSL team the Boston Legacy.

If there is one thing I love it’s being a fan and I could not be more excited to be a fan of a women’s soccer team in my home state. I watched from my couch and felt real genuine hope and excitement.

I loved what my favorite sports journalist, Frankie De La Cretaz had to say about what this moment means for those of us who have spent years waiting for women’s sports to get this kind of investment and attention.

Role Model by Rachel Reid

Oops, then I just read the next one in the series because - and I cannot emphasize this enough - these books are very good. I wrote about this one a little bit here. I loved it, I loved it, I loved it.

My knowledge of hockey comes only from these smutty little books but that hasn’t stopped me from putting the PWHL on because, as previously stated, I love being a fan and if there is one thing I’m a fan of it’s women doing basically anything you know what I mean? Plus, did you know PWHL games are all free on youtube??

No spoilers but it’s very entertaining and very gay.

The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop

It’s extremely bad for my reputation as the biggest Gilmore Girls fan you know that it took me over a year to read my hero Kelly Bishop’s memoir. Let this be a reminder that the right books will wait for you and it’s never to late to read that book you’ve been meaning to read forever! Anyways, this is not about me this is about Kelly and, impossibly, reading her book made me love and admire her even more.

I listened to this one on audio narrated by Kelly herself and it was pure delight. I loved walking home on the bike path and thinking to myself, no one knows Kelly Bishop is speaking her life story right into my ears.

Don’t meet your heroes, but you can listen to them narrate their memoirs as you walk home in the waning March light.

Paradise by Toni Morrison

It was Toni Morrison month in the The Stacks book club and we tackled Paradise. Each year, Traci Thomas invites an author/scholar/reader to discuss a Morrison novel with her on the podcast and this month she and Namwali Serpell talked Paradise, a challenging, strange, rich, tangle of a novel. This is my second time reading this book and it’s one that demands multiple re-reads and a community of thinkers to read alongside. I am so lucky to have that community in The Stacks.

Much of this novel still feels beyond my grasp, but I am learning to be comfortable reading through that confusion and immersing myself in Morrison’s exquisite imagery and prose. What sticks with me most from this novel is the group of women living in what is called “the convent” - a kind of makeshift home for cast-off, wayward, troubled women who shave their heads and sharpen their incisor teeth. If you are compelled by this, read on and then listen to Traci and Namwali’s rich discussion. It’s like going back to English class except way, way better.

Speaking of The Stacks, Traci Thomas was really on one in March. Each of the guests (T Kira Madden! Tayari Jones!) was exceptional and the conversations and insights kept me thinking and reading all month long.

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

I remembered I have free will and I make the rules so I just read it again.

You see that happy, content face Yaya is making in the above photo? What made you feel that way this week? Tell me please. And tell Yaya she is a good girl. Obviously.

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Love,

Rosamond