Reading Roundup: March 2026
Tooting my reading horn 🎉I am amazed to report having chalked up 55 read books already! That is impressive, isn’t it? March picks were better than usual with 7 really good reads.
My reading habit has increased tremendously since retiring. It’s gone beyond being a bibliophile. ’m a book junkie, it’s true. I need at least one book to read, two waiting, three I couldn’t resist from the freebie cart, and at least four that I have requested. Fortunately, volunteering at the library, subscribing to newsletters and blogs about books continually feeds my need to read. And since the books are free through the local amazing library I save so much money. That is my PSA toot because April includes Librarian Appreciation Day.
Here are the five 🌟reads for March:
Home by Nightfall (Charles Lenox #9) by Charles Finch
A well-rounded plot that has two separate challenging cases that keep the pages turning as Lenox travels between London and the English countryside trying to solve them. A few inserts of humor, plus updates on family matters, make this one of Finch’s more engaging entries in his Charles Lenox, gentleman detective series.
Shakespeare: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd
Many available biographies approach Shakespeare’s life either in supposition or upon a platform built on a focus, such as a certain year or event. Ackroyd supplies facts about Shakespeare through research involving the life, times, and people surrounding him, rarely straying into conjecture, rather building his biography of Shakespeare through context.
The Light on Horn Island by Valerie Fraser Luesse
A likable, easy-going story with magical realism leaning towards inspirational romance that ticks all the boxes when it comes to a story set in the South: characters with nicknames as unique as their personalities, picturesque landmarks attached to childhood memories, regrets of the past, and promises for the future.
The Old Woman Who Named Things by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Kathryn Brown
An endearing picture book of an elderly woman who is willing to take a chance to move out of her set way of life to find companionship. The soft illustrations capture the whimsy and joy within the story.
Guilt by Definition by Susie Dent
Having a team of dictionary detectives is brilliant. The premise is reminiscent of Anthony Horowitz’s Susan Ryeland books, where readers follow along as a book editor tries to solve the mystery in her amateur but determined manner. In Dent’s book readers get the behind-the-scenes of a dictionary publisher that sounds oh so similar to the OED (and that is perhaps not a coincidence).
The Book No One Wanted to Read by Richard Ayoade, illustrated by Tor Freeman
Both versions, text with its clever illustrations and fonts, and the audio with author-narration, are clever and witty. Not for kids only.
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Based on the author’s family background and his personal interest in the Depression, the story of young ten-year-old Bud, searching for his father is definitely deserving of the Newberry.
Pam Webb 