Here’s the best of what I read in the first three months of this year. Sadly, the ‘to read’ list gets no shorter.

FICTION

The Buccaneers, Edith Wharton. The Wharton-fest continues (I’m currently working on The House of Mirth). This edition just has the actual Wharton text, without the later happy ending. And yes, I did watch the Apple TV miniseries and enjoyed it for what it was.

Mrs. Bridge, Evan McConnell. This one came out of having read the author’s book on General Custer last year. I did not expect to love this book as much as I did, given that it has no fantastical element at all, and instead consists of vignettes, images, conversations and short chapters about the life of a family in mid-1900s America. But it’s brilliant.

The Grace of Wild Things, Heather Fawcett. Anne of Green Gables with magic. An enjoyable middle grade novel by the author of Emily’s Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Fairies.

Three Eight One, Aliya Whiteley. A future scholar finds a text written in 2024 and tries to determine it’s veracity and meaning. An interesting mix of fantasy, sf, and technical challenge.

Menewood, Nicola Griffith. The long-awaited sequel to Hild, and worth the wait. Beautiful, immersive, exciting, and brutal by turns.

Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher. The first book I’ve read by this author and it’s a winner (of the Hugo, no less). I quickly devoured her shorter work What Moves the Dead as well.

Nights of Plague, Orhan Pamuk. Sprawling fiction about an island that’s part of the fading Ottoman empire, complete with plague, plots, love stories, corrupt politicians, princesses, and more.

NON-FICTION

On Looking: A Walker’s Guide to the Art of Observation, Alexandra Horowitz. I listened to this as an audiobook, which was the perfect way to absorb the observations of various experts as they wander the streets of New York, noticing trees, rocks, fonts, and more. The best bit was when the naturalist was describing a squirrel’s nest just as I looked up to see a squirrel entering exactly that above me.

The Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in the age of Extremism, Tim Alberta. This was very hard to read, both for the threats it outlined and for the genuine faith of the author (not being religious myself, this made me somewhat uncomfortable). But it’s well worth it, because the threat is just as genuine.

Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and The Battle for Truth, Elizabeth Williamson. This one was also hard to read. It reflects the terrible grief of the parents and the horrifying choice by certain actors (Alex Jones, who is utterly loathsome) to exploit and commodify the tragedy.