We made it to the end of another month, congrats to us. Below you’ll find my February wrap up. The episodes we dropped on The Stacks (some bangers), the books I am most excited about for March (too many), and of course, my February reads ranked (paid subs only). Enough preamble, let’s get after it!
The Stacks February Recap
- was our guest this month to talk about his pop culture and nostalgia laced memoir in essay, Pure Innocent Fun.
I’m still swooning over this conversation with Eve L. Ewing about racism in education, American history, and her newest books Original Sins.
Friend of the pod, author, and culture critic David Dennis Jr. joined me for a conversation about Kendrick Lamar’s triumphant halftime show.
Rebecca Nagle talked about Indian Law and her fantastic book By the Fire We Carry.
No surprise here, but Lolita gave us so much to talk about this month for book club. Thanks to
for coming on to discuss it with me.
February Books On Deck
There are so many March titles I am excited about. Fifteen, to be exact. I have every intention of keeping this list super duper manageable. In my perfect world the list would be no more than ten books each month. Because, who can keep up with all these damn books? But truth be told, I could not do that for this March. I started with 22 titles1, then cut it down to 14 and then had to add one more2. To my credit, I only had five titles in January, but some months are jam packed, and March 2025 is one of them3. I’m sorry to your (our) TBRs. Anything I’ve already read (or started) appears in bold.
The Color of Trouble: An American Family Memoir by Martha S. Jones (March 4)
Black history scholar Martha Jones looks into her own family’s history to examine their relationship to the ever shifting color line.Scorched Earth by Tiana Clark (March 4)
A poetry collection that tackles divorce, new love, and even the first Black Bachelorette (shout out to FOP Rachel Lindsay).Universality by Natasha Brown (March 4)
The premise of this novel is that a man is nearly bludgeoned to death with a single gold bar after a rave on a farm. On top of that the cover is a stunner.The Man Nobody Killed: Life, Death, and Art in Michael Stewart's New York by Elon Green (March 11)
The story of a 1983 case in which the NYPD killed a young Black man, Michael Stewart, that kicked off a media storm. This book portends to tell the story of Stewart and the landscape of the NYC in which he was murdered.Stag Dance by Torrey Peters (March 11)
A collection consisting of one novella and three short stories from the author of one of my favorite novels in 2021, Detransition, Baby.World Without End: An Illustrated Guide to the Climate Crisis by Christophe Blain & Jean-Marc : (March 11)
A graphic book about a scientist who takes a graphic novelist around to see the impacts of climate and how it is changing the planet. This was originally published in France and took off, and now it is coming to the states. I can’t wait.There's Nothing Left for You by Allegra Solomon (March 15)
blurbed it and said the book is “irresistible”. What else do you (I) need to know?
A debut story collection about women and girls of color that sound messy as hell, andEverything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green (March 18)
Yes, that John Green wrote a book about Tuberculosis. I am so curious to see how he writes about this infectious disease and the needed global healthcare reforms.Hot Air by Marcy Dermansky (March 18)
This is a romp of a book about a first date and a hot air balloon with a billionaire and his wife that accidentally crash (literally) said date. Fun, weird, and extremely readable.I'll Love You Forever: Notes from a K-Pop Fan by Giaae Kwon (March 18)
I don’t know much about K-Pop but I know I love Giaae Kwon’s writing, and I can’t wait to dive into that world with her.The Pacific Circuit: A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City by Alexis Madrigal (March 18)
A book about Oakland? Yes, please!Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (March 18)
Another book in The Hunger Games Series is here! This one is about the 50th games featuring Haymitch Abernathy.A Better Ending: A Brother's Twenty-Year Quest to Uncover the Truth About His Sister's Death by James Whitfield Thomson (March 25)
This book was not supposed to be on this list, but I started it on a hike (on a whim) and absolutely devoured it4. So, I feel like I have to tell you about it. It is a memoir of a brother who reexamine’s his sisters 1974 suicide to uncover details that point to something more sinister.Cover Story by Celia Lasky (March 25)
A queer romance about an anxious publicist tasked with keeping her celeb client in the closet, and then she falls for her instead.There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America by Brian Goldstone (March 25)
This is one of my most anticipated books of the year. A deeply reported accounting of five families in Atlanta navigating a new trend of “working homeless”.
What March books are you most looking forward to? Tell me in the comments.
I started February off with one of the worst reading slumps I’ve ever had. At the midway point I had only read three books, and that’s not a lot for a person who regularly reads 8-12 books a month. I got back on track thanks to the great Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games, and finished the month with nine completed books (and a trail of DNF’s in my wake).
