Last month I treated myself to a few new books and finally I’m getting around to tell you about them.

First, Umami by Laia Jufresa, translated by Sophie Hughes. In five extraordinary apartments live five extraordinary families. Designed in the shape of a tongue, each apartment takes the name of a flavour – sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. And the tenants are no less eccentric. Doesn’t this sound wild? I’ve never read this author before but I’m looking forward to reading this one.

Next is, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. I feel like I’m the last person to read this one but I’ve only heard great things about this story so I think I will really enjoy it.

Finally, The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein. In this groundbreaking history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein, a leading authority on housing policy, explodes the myth that America’s cities came to be racially divided through de facto segregation—that is, through individual prejudices, income differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. This is another book which has received a lot of praise and I think it will be eye-opening for sure.

Have you read any of these? Let me know what you think and which one you’d start reading.

It’s time to recap another month. All was well in February until snowpocalypse hit us on the 15th and it was rough but thank goodness that’s now a bad memory. Our garden is going to need some serious help in the next few weeks but in a way I’m going to look at it as an opportunity to make some changes and add more color.

As far as the reading goes, well I didn’t read a lot but I did read some very good books and I’m happy about that. I probably would have read more but again, the winter storm that came through and left us without electricity and water really messed up with my focus.

I finished The Houseguest & Other Stories by Amparo Davila, An American Marriage by Tayari Jones and We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida.

My favorite was The Houseguest & Other Stories which I reviewed in my previous post. I still owe you some reviews of the other books I read but I recommend them all. Some of these also count towards some of my various challenges. And, it goes without saying that I’m carrying several books into next month.

Looking forward to March, the Booker Prize long list should be announced so maybe I’ll read a book from the list. It’s also International Women’s History Month and while I mainly read books by women, this could be a good time to add a nonfiction read by/about a woman.

I hope you are all doing well and let’s have a blast reading lots of great books in March. Tell me about your plans.