Obviously I’m back with another wrap-up post, this time for my March 2025 Book Blog Wrap-Up. I added a new section where I briefly recap other media I consumed during the month. I surprised myself with how much I actually watched! Anyway, peruse through the sections. Read it all or only what interests you!
Book Reviews
I posted six book reviews in March. From earliest to latest they are:
- Starlings by Mike Stark
- The Shadow Dancers of Brixton Hill by Nicole Willson
- Pas De Don’t by Chloe Angyal
- The Whisper That Replaced God by Timothy Wolff
- Dreams of Sorrow by Shauna Lawless
- The Traitor of Sherwood Forest by Amy Kaufman
Blog Statistics
Every month I share some statistics from Google Analytics because I think it helps put expectations into perspective for other micro-bloggers like me who are out there. These statistics are from Google Analytics 4.
My top five posts for total page views are (as of the morning of March 30):
- Book Review: Gild by Raven Kennedy: 728 views
- Arthurian Retellings Reading List: 593 views
- Book Review: Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Maehrer: 316 views
- ARC Book Review Etiquette: 261 views
- ARC Review: Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig: 261 views
This month’s viewership statistics are similar to those of last month’s. However, Google did a big core update in late March and my daily views definitely decreased after that. While I don’t do this as a job, it’s still minorly frustrating to see the drop in views after working hard on implementing SEO. The drop is usually temporary, but often takes weeks to recover from.
Anyway, on a positive note, I gained a few more blog followers. I’m up to 239 now from 233 last month.
#BeattheBacklog
I finished exactly one book I’ve had on my TBR prior to 2025: SWORD CATCHER by Cassandra Clare. I hope when I do a lot of mood reading in April that I’ll improve on my #BeattheBacklog campaign.
Other Bookish Items
I finished 13 books in March:
- ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell (audiobook)
- THE SHADOW DANCERS OF BRIXTON HILL by Nicole Willson (SFINCS)
- CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG by Ian Fleming (audiobook)
- SWORD CATCHER by Cassandra Clare
- THE WHISPER THAT REPLACED GOD by Timothy Wolff (SFINCS)
- THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas (audiobook)
- THE TRAITOR OF SHERWOOD FOREST by Amy Kaufman (ARC)
- ISABELLA NAGG AND THE POT OF BASIL by Oliver Darkshire (ARC)
- AS BORN TO RULE THE STORM by Cate Baumer (SFINCS)
- WHITEOUT by Dhonielle Clayton (audiobook)
- TIDEBORN by Eliza Chan (ARC-finished copy)
- A MANGO-SHAPED SPACE by Wendy Mass (audiobook)
- CURIOUSER AND… by Jillian Maria (SFINCS)
With the SFINCS coming to a close, I doubt I’ll reach above 10 finished books in any given month. And that’s ok because I’m looking forward to the break and having time to read my own purchased books.
Other Media Wrap-Up
Completed
- The War of the Rohirrim: I thought it was pretty decent. I didn’t think it was anything groundbreaking, but we had a good time watching it. We both liked the animation. I did give it a little side eye for how tight the main character’s clothes were, which didn’t fit the aesthetic of the main trilogy films.
- Dungeons & Dragons: I surprisingly really liked it. It looks super campy, but ended up being a good time. Definitely recommend it.
- Krapopolis: This is an animated series about a fictional king’s attempt at trying to create a civilization. There are gods and monsters and general shenanigans. It’s a comedy, so no need to take it seriously. It wasn’t my favorite, but it checked the box for light entertainment during these stressful times.
- Moana 2: Another enjoyable movie. I definitely laughed at a good number of things. The musical numbers were fine, but definitely don’t have the earworms like the first one.
Ongoing
- Will & Harper: This is a documentary about Will and his friend Harper who take a road trip to reconnect. Will knew Harper for 30 years from SNL and several years ago Harper decided to live her true self as a transwoman. It’s about reconnecting.
- Star Trek: Prodigy: This is an animated series about some young adults who find a lost starship and skedaddle from their enslavement. Captain Janeway is the ship’s hologram!
Non-Bookish Items
The seedlings are slowly growing. I started most of the other seeds for tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and melons. I also plan to get some sweet potato slips to grow off of one we bought from the store; it’s much cheaper than ordering online, but it does take time. My husband built a slew of new garden beds for us, which I’m so excited about. This means we’ll now have a space to grow perennial vegetables like asparagus and artichoke, which I pre-ordered and sprouted, respectively.
We also checked out the new Japanese grocery store in our area. I am so excited that we have one now. I love the one in Boston and was sad we didn’t have something similar. But now we do! My only complaint is they don’t have the sencha tea that I love, so we’ll still have to grab it in Boston. But now I know where to get some good onigiri to go!
And that’s it for my March 2025 Book Blog Wrap-Up! Feel free to link yours below in the comments!
Last updated on March 31, 2025.
Wow 13 books in one month… how do you have the time?!
To be fair, a lot of these books are relatively short! I’m a judge in the SFINCS contest, which is about reading novellas, and those are often about 100 pages a pop. Audiobooks add to my total because I can listen to them while doing chores or gardening. Adding audiobooks last year really increased my reading totals.
Oh that’s super cool!!!
It looks like you got to a lot of books recently. I know how you found some of them from wrap ups and reviews but what was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang like? I’ve seen the film but never really thought about picking up the book.
Yay I’m glad you enjoyed Dungeons & Dragons. I wasn’t 100% convinced about watching it originally (I thought bits looked good but others potentially too silly for me) yet I ended up loving it. Such an unexpected treat.
I need to try and get into animation more tbh as I can never decide if I want to give the LOTRs one a chance or not 🙈 I did see Moana 2 this month as well though.
Sounds like your gardens going to keep you busy. I hope it all goes well. What sort of melons are you growing? I love asparagus so am kind of jealous that you’re growing that too 😂
I hope you have a wonderful month 🥰
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was fun to listen to as an audiobook! The one I listened to was narrated by David Tennant. However, there must be a second book because the audiobook definitely didn’t have the full story. I used to watch the movie a ton as a kid, so I was a little confused when the book just ended about a third of the way through the tale.
Yes, the D&D movie was an unexpected treat! I didn’t look at my phone once through it!
I planted seeds for two types of melon: a “midget” cantaloupe (that’s what the seed packet says) and ha’ogen melon. I haven’t planted the latter before, so it’ll be an experiment. But the personal-sized cantaloupes are delicious!
Oh wow that sounds majorly frustrating. I hope you manage to find the rest of the story somewhere. How odd. I’m glad you had fun listening to it though and David Tennant sounds like a great narrator to have.
Ooh enjoy. I hope both go well. I haven’t heard of the second type before but I’m sure they’re lovely. Most varieties tend to be.
Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil sounds amazing and now I’m also curious about The Whisper that Replaced God, what did you think about that one?
I’d like to watch the War of the Rohirrim, thanks for reminding me about that! And I liked Star Trek: Prodigy, I have been waiting for s 2 so I’m happy to see it’s out now!
My review for The Whisper is linked in the post so you can see me full thoughts! 🙂
Star Trek: Prodigy is fun…we’re only on season 1…I hope Netflix gets season 2 to show? Tbh I can’t recall if there’s more than one season up on that platform! 😅
Great, 13 books read is a really good average for the month of March. I read 11, so I wasn’t that far off from you.
Even though I hear about police violence against people of color in the US here in Germany, The Hate You Giv left me emotionally shaken. And given the current political situation, I don’t think things are getting any easier for people of color.
Racism unfortunately exists all over the world, and we all have to do something about it. We have to speak out against it.
I also want to read Sword Catcher, and it’s waiting patiently on my shelf.
Mein Lesemonat März 2025 | In Retrospect (please use your browser to translate) 🙂
Cheerio
RoXXie
13 books is really good for me, though it’s really because a lot of them were novellas. And 11 is a great reading month for you!
Yea, THE HATE U GIVE is, I feel, an important read. Unfortunately that’s what people of color have to deal with in the US & it seems we’re not moving forward with improvements. 😔