Spell the Month in Books is a monthly meme hosted by Jana at Reviews from the Stacks. Each month one or two themes are suggested for the books that are chosen. One of the themes for March 2026 is "March Madness," and I am focusing on books related to madness.
You will notice, of course, that I am just barely finishing this one on time, with only a little over one day left in the month of March.
M is for The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
I have read twelve books in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny. This is the seventeenth book in the series, so I have a few more to read to get there. The book was published in August 2021, at a time there was some relief from Covid but it still felt very present and threatening. I haven't read much about the book (on purpose) but I think that the pandemic, and its effects on society, is one of the themes.
A is for Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear
I have read four books in the Maisie Dobbs series. This is the sixth book and I do have a copy on my TBR. Among the Mad begins on December 31, 1931; Maisie Dobbs gets involved in tracking down a madman who has threatened that many lives will be lost if his demands are not met.
R is for Road Rage by Ruth Rendell
I chose this title because I see road rage as a type of madness. However, the plot seems to be more about five kidnapped hostages. The kidnapping is related to the planned construction of a new highway; the construction will destroy a beloved woodland area. I thought I had read all of the Inspector Wexford series by Rendell, but I since discovered that I may have missed some titles published in the 1990s, and this could be one of them.
C is for Crazy Rich Asians by Keven Kwan
I read this book in December 2019. It is about extremely rich Chinese families in Singapore, and a young American-born Chinese woman who is dating the son of one of the families. There were many things about the story I found impossible to believe (even though I am sure many of them are very true) but even so, I just settled in and enjoyed the ride. It seemed like a fairy tale to me, but it could also be described as a soap opera, and both of those can be very entertaining.
H is for The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
This is a quote from the first paragraph of The Haunting of Hill House: "Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more." I haven't read this book; I have always avoided the horror genre. But I have a beautiful edition of The Haunting of Hill House, and now and I think I will try it. I have read that it falls somewhere between supernatural and psychological horror.
16 comments:
I like your choices, Tracy. It's funny; I don't participate in this meme myself, but I like finding out what participants choose. I admit I've not read Crazy Rich Asians, but I've really enjoyed the other three authors' work.
What a clever idea to base your choices on (March) madness, Tracy. I think I must've read Among the Mad but for the life of me I can't remember it.
I like your take on madness! I've only your M book. I'm current with that series, but the last two have made me wonder if I'm tired of it.
I've not read the others, but have read other books by the authors... expect for your C book.
Thanks, Margot. I decided to read Crazy Rich Asians after reading Bill Selnes' review at Mysteries and More in Saskatchewan. I knew I would like it if he did. And he subsequently read all three of the books in the series and another novel by Kevin Kwan, so someday I may try the others.
Cath, I need to read more in the Maisie Dobbs series. I have several waiting to be read. I often find that these memes remind me of books I had forgotten about.
Kelly, I have problems with Louise Penny's style of writing sometimes, but I have found I cannot resist her stories. Plus I like the Canadian settings in her books.
I did not think I would like Crazy Rich Asians, but in the end I enjoyed the book and would try more of them.
Of these, I have only read the Shirley Jackson book which is good. I'm not typically a horror or supernatural reader either but Shirley's books are an exception. It seems I read & reviewed this book in 2019 ... in time for Halloween that year, lol. You will like it.
Susan, I saw your review of The Haunting of Hill House when I was researching the book recently and I saw that you liked it. That convinced me that it was worth trying. I think I will like it.
I have read M and A and C. All good reading
Love the madness theme, especially because I have read four of the five. I think I stopped reading the Maisie books after this one because I thought they were too much the same but my mother disagrees and has read every one.
Crazy Rich Asians was escapist fun, as was the movie.
Bill, I agree about the good reading. I was influenced to read Crazy Rich Asians by your review of the book. And I was very glad I did.
Constance, there a lot of books in the Maisie Dobbs series, so I don't know that I will finish the series, but I have a good number more of them to read on hand.
I never saw the Crazy Rich Asians movie, but I think I would enjoy it.
I remember reading ROAD RAGE, which seemed like a new idea at the time. Now it is a daily thing. Also loved the Jackson.
Patti, I was scared away from reading Shirley Jackson's books by reading the short story "The Lottery" first. But now that I have read We Have Always Lived in the Castle and some of Jackson's other short stories, I am ready to try The Haunting of Hill House.
I am waiting impatiently (well, curiously is more accurate) to hear what you thought of A Wrinkle in Time! I hope you liked Meg and Charles Wallace and Calvin!
Constance, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time. I will be doing a review post soon. I did love the characters of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin. But the thing I liked best is that the story was so compelling; the story drew me in immediately and I did not want to put the book down. And I do have further books in the series.
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