📚On Reading In March 2026 (Best of)

Being that I’m already looking at 2027 books and constantly writing about books months before they publish, my brain is mostly a jumble of dates and I already think we’re in May (we are not!). Thankfully I keep good lists and calendars and I am certain that it’s time for a roundup of the books I most enjoyed out of my March reading.

Kin by Tayari Jones

Tayari Jones’ Silver Sparrow is one of my all time favorite novels, forever on my bookshelf. It also has one of literary’s best opening lines: “My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist.” So naturally I was very excited to read Jones’ newest book, another historical novel about sisters–—though a different kind, this time cradle friends. It centers two motherless girls who are lifelong best friends as they strike out on their own to navigate life, while anchored by the past, society, and their friendship. It is not surprising to me at all that after Roe v. Wade was overturned that I would end up reading two great recent releases showing the constant danger of living in a world without full access to healthcare for pregnant people. And I highly recommend reading both Kin and Mia McKenzie’s Heathens as they both have different tones, stories, settings, and time periods while still tackling what it’s like for a Black woman to need an abortion when it’s illegal.

Both the below memoirs were as good as people had been telling me they were, while tackling tough topics in super interesting ways.

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo

Stephanie Foo was a radio producer having difficulty navigating adulthood after a childhood of parental abuse and abandonment when she started therapy. In her memoir she takes you into her childhood, her career, adulthood, relationship, and the many therapy “couches” she has sat on in what feels like an equal goal of sharing what she’s learned about complex PTSD while also processing what she’s learned and continues to learn. It’s difficult to write a memoir that flows well, keeps the reader engaged, and can give devastating events their full space while also showing the paths forward and through, and ultimate hope. I especially appreciated how many different forms of therapy and tools she personally discusses while also keeping a journalistic approach that shows how mental illness is not one size fits all so therapy can never, and should never, be.

Foo beautifully narrates the audiobook.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Similar to Stephanie Foo’s What My Bones Know (these paired really well in a way) Zauner takes you through the before, after, and full path through of navigating a devastating time in her life, which ultimately results in writing this beautiful memoir. Zauner’s relationship with her parents was complicated and then in adulthood her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Not only did this change their relationship, and force Zauner to unpack her childhood and relationship to her mother (and ultimately father) it made her question her Koreaness since she questioned if her only tie to Korea was her mother. I absolutely cried while craving Korean food, but also gained so much insight into navigating the brutal reality of losing your parents. I know it’s easy to shy away from reading memoirs on difficult topics, especially things we wish to never experience, but there is something comforting about watching someone go through universal experiences and end up on the “other side”.

This is another great example of why I always choose an audiobook narrated by the author.

Hard times by Jeff Boyd

I started March by DNF’ing a few mystery books and finished one with an ending so ridiculous that I wanted to punt it, so I went into Hard Times with not much hope. Which is all to say thank you, Jeff Boyd for getting me out of a crime book slump. There is a pocket of social crime novels that I love when the author is skilled in sinking me deep into character’s lives and a community. In this case a high school teacher in Chicago finds himself caught in the middle of protecting his kids, family, career, and beliefs when his brother-in-law, a police officer, endangers it all.

The Keeper (Cal Hooper #3) by Tana French

I had zero doubts that Tana French was gonna give me another atmospheric, excellently written, crime novel. What I didn't know was on what end of the hopeful to devastating end of the spectrum she was going to finish the Cal Hooper trilogy. Don’t worry I am not a spoiler, you’ll have to read it to find out for yourself. I will say that if you’re not already reading Tana French and her Irish crime novels you should be! If you want to start at the beginning of the Cal Hooper trilogy (an American cop who retires in a tiny Irish town) pick up The Searcher. You can also start with her procedural Dublin Murder Squad series which starts with In the Woods. And my favorite standalone, for its slow-burn layers, is The Witch Elm.

I'm Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home by Fergus Craig

This was fun because of its ridiculous setup and dark humor. Carol, a retired serial killer, believes that she has paid her debt to society once she’s released from prison and moves into a retirement home. But after a murder, and her new friends finding out who she is, the new life she’d planned goes out the window.

Gunnar the Viking's Great Pizza Adventure by Diego Vaisberg

This is a humorous picture book ultimately about finding something you love rather than fighting—in this case a Viking discovers pizza and puts all his energy into failing as many times as necessary to master making pizza. I loved the graphic illustrations – same vibe as the cover– and really my only note is that I wish there had been some history on pizza in there.

Wildspeak by Sangma Francis, Lexi Vangsnes (Illustrator)

This is a beautiful, peaceful, and joyful picture book about nature, friendship, and using your imagination.

And that’s it for now. Hope you’re reading something you love.