Just as a disclaimer–none of my links are paid/sponsored/solicited. It’s just stuff I like or wanted to share.

Eventful Events and Happening Happenings

March was a crazy month for me. It’s always kind of a crazy month because there are so many family birthdays in March, but this year was especially hectic. Two of my classes finished in March, and that meant I was swamped with papers and creating online exhibits. So. Much. Reading. But they’re over now, and I can finally breathe again.

This year we also went up to visit my family for a long weekend. They live in Oregon and lost power during the giant windstorm in February for over a week, and a lot of trees went down around the property. So we went up to help them clear things up and generally check in. Paul got to cut down trees with a chainsaw and I…mostly did homework. It was so nice to see my family though! But that 10 hour drive…..

I cannot wait until we can fly up to visit again.

Books Read

I didn’t get much read this month at all….

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel I loved the movie, but it’s been years since I’ve seen it, so when I came across the book last year in research I was doing about community and cookbooks, I thought it was about time to read it. It’s a star-crossed lovers situation that is broken into 12 recipes/chapters that also correspond with 12 months, although the book takes place over the course of many years. I loved the magical realism in this book, but I wasn’t a huge fan of how the recipe writing was woven into the stories–I thought that could have been smoother. But maybe that was an issue with the translation? Overall this book was a pleasure to read and made me very hungry.

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers The deck is stacked against Grace who, even after having earned her Ph.D. in Astronomy is having difficulty finding work due partly to her LGBTQ+ activism and partly to being a Black woman. To blow off steam, she goes to Vegas with her friends and finds herself….married to a woman from New York. This book takes monsters, great friends, anxiety, and finding itself, shakes them all up, and ends up with a warm, comforting book that will make you feel a little bit better about the world we live in.

Beloved by Toni Morrison This book was really hard. The subject matter is emotionally wrenching–as it should be since it deals with slavery and its aftermath, and the language itself is complex and dense. It took me a long time to finish this book, but I’m glad I did.

Chicano Eats: Recipes from My Mexican-American Kitchen by Esteban Castillo I want to eat pretty much everything in this book. Especially out of the drinks and dessert section.

Movies Watched

Pride (2014) Set outside of London in the 1980s, Pride follows a group of LGBT+ activists as they decide to support the miners strike since they are being similarly targeted by the police and the government for stepping out of line and demanding their rights. When they start raising money, it proves difficult to give this money to a mining community, but finally they find a town in Wales willing to accept their assistance. This movie gave me all the feels, and it was exactly what I needed. I highly recommend it. Streaming on Amazon Prime.

What was the best thing you read/watched in March? Let me know in the comments!