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Lani

How did I manage to read THREE books this month? (Don’t scoff, you ten-books-a-month-readers) Oh, I know! I read fast, page-turners. Here we go!

First up is Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. I had bookmarked Jeremy from Hong Kong’s recommendations, and boy howdy, am I glad. I was continuously gobsmacked over what Shackleton and his men went through on their ill-fated 1914 trip to Antarctica.

The day after I finished reading it, the Endurance 22 found the original ship! I couldn’t believe it.

It was hard to follow up Endurance, so I tried to read something from an author that I already knew I liked.

Since I enjoyed As Bright as Heaven, I decided on The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner set during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. And because that’s all I pretty much knew, I was in for some great surprises. It’s a gripping read, but it got repetitive towards the end because of the new reveals about the protagonist’s journey.

However, if you are looking for your next book club read, this one’s it. There’s lots of discussions about this novel online, and it’s easy to see why. If you’ve read it, I’d love to ask one big question that I can’t seem to find the answer to anywhere!

Have you ever come across a book that keeps crossing your path? The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid is mine. It turned out to be a good beach read, but sadly I wasn’t on the beach, just on my bed after work, enjoying a bit of escapism.

Interestingly, it’s seen a resurgence lately (it was published in 2017) thanks to TikTok. Who knew TikTok would be so good for books?

How was your March? Read any great books?

18 responses to “March 2022 Reading Roundup”

Happy Panda

29/03

I enjoyed reading ‘Th Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ too. The seventh wedding seemed a little forced though – I didn’t see the point in it.
This month I read 4 books and out of those the one that stood out was ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’. YA meets thriller genre. It was so well written that I didn’t want to keep the book down. (The ending was a lil eh but I feel that about most thriller books.)

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1. Lani
  
  30/03
  
  Yeah, well, seven weddings … hahahaha. You had to suspend a little of reality as you went, and I was okay with that. 😛
  
  Hey, thanks for the recommendation! I’ll have to check it out. Hope you are well, xo
  
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2summers

30/03

I also read the Shackleton book a few years ago. INSANE.

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1. Lani
  
  31/03
  
  That’s absolutely the right word for it. xo
  
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Behind the Story

31/03

I recently finished Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor. The author is wonderfully perceptive and original in describing her characters, their thoughts, and behavior. The book was made into a movie and won a Booker.

Before that I read The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. A great road trip in the 1950s with some boys and the characters they meet along the way. I loved it.

Now I’m reading an old Louise Penny mystery, Still Life.

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Ju-Lyn

06/04

It is good to hear from you Lani … and I wouldn’t scoff at any number of books … it is wonderful that reading happens in your space!

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1. Lani
  
  07/04
  
  Thanks. A good reminder, xo
  
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Rebecca Moon Ruark

06/04

Oh, yes, that book is getting endless good buzz. Admirable PR! And cool about your reading the Shackleton book right before the ship discovery–you’ve got great timing there! I just finished Lauren Groff’s MATRIX, but I listened to the audiobook. I think I made the right decision, because as a book with no quote marks and other funny stuff going on, I’m not sure I would have made it through. The voice actor who red MATRIX is of Bridgerton fame. I never saw any episodes until a friend shared the first couple with me on our trip to Philly for AWP. It’s delightfully soapy!

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1. Lani
  
  08/04
  
  Interesting. Read the description and some of the reviews – controversial too!
  
  I haven’t listened to an audio book in ages… and haven’t watched Bridgerton although, it looks like something I’d enjoy, as well as Matrix. Thanks!
  
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Bespoke Traveler

07/04

Happy to hear you got so much reading done last month! I was only able to finish Pachinko by Min Jin Lee and The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. Both of which were very interesting. Though Pachinko was a long book.

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1. Lani
  
  09/04
  
  Hadn’t heard of those. Isn’t it amazing the endless array of books? Thanks for stopping by! ❤
  
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  1. Bespoke Traveler
    
    09/04
    
    Yes!! So many books, so little time…😁
    
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Sarah

13/04

Hey! I just started with Endurance last week (Audio book though) – great minds think alike, eh? 😉😁
Among other books (German so I won’t list them), I’ve listened to Stephen Fry’s ‘Mythos’ which was awesome, and read ‘Something to hide’ by Elizabeth George, one of my favourite crime writers. Still need to read something by Meissner, I’m such a sloth 😂💕

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1. Lani
  
  15/04
  
  Great minds DO think alike 😉 Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
  
  Anything by Stephen Fry’s got to be good, as well as Elizabeth George. Thanks! Hope you are well. xo
  
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  1. Sarah
    
    21/04
    
    I am enjoying it indeed! Just amazing what these men endured (pun intended 😉 )!
    All good here, hope you’re well too? Loved your newsletter! xoxo
    
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  2. Lani
    
    22/04
    
    Ha! Good one, glad you’re well, and thanks for letting me know ❤
    
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Mabel Kwong

14/04

Endurance sounds like such a good read. You do wonder what happened during such disasters. And how about that, the original ship was found after you finished reading the book!

I am not fast reader, and don’t know how people who read 10 books a month do it. I do know some people read multiple books at once. That is just not me. I like reading books one by one so I can fully focus on each one. I haven’t read any great books lately, and seem to be on this trail lol. 😄

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1. Lani
  
  15/04
  
  It was a quick read for me because I was so glued to the story and what would happen next.
  
  I used to read more than one book, but those were brief period where I wanted to try it out. Reading fiction and nonfic together isn’t too bad. I can do that without it causing too many troubles — I think. 😛
  
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I’m Lani

Welcome to Life, the Universe, and Lani. I’ve been blogging about my experiences living abroad since 2009.

At this point, this site serves as an archive as I’m mostly active at No Girl is an Island 👉https://lanivcox.substack.com/ 🏝️where I have been both newslettering and continuing to craft personal essays on finding freedom in the fringes.

Thanks for stopping by, have a look around, and hope to see you over at No Girl is an Island.