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Books on My Radar: March 2016

You guys, March is so full of new and interesting books. Putting this post together certainly did not help my plan to #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks, but oh well. I mentioned a few of these in my February wrap up/March preview post, but didn’t go into much detail, so they’re coming around again. Here are some titles on my radar from this month:

march books 1

All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister (March 1 from Simon and Schuster) – Rebecca Traister is such a smart writer when it comes to women and politics (Big Girls Don’t Cry from 2010 is excellent), so I’m certain that this look at the impact of single women on American society and politics will be awesome.

The President’s Book of Secrets by David Priess (March 1 from PublicAffairs) – I love books that get inside the world of the President of the United States. In this book, Priess looks at the relationship between the president and the intelligence community by looking at the process for developing the “President’s Daily Brief” and how modern presidents have used the document to make decisions.

A Tyranny of Petticoats edited by Jessica Spotswood (March 8 from Candlewick) – A bunch of YA writers got together to a collection of historical short stories featuring badass young ladies. Sold!

march books 2

Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution by Janette Sadik-Khan and Seth Solomonow (March 8 from Viking) – I have no desire to live in a city, but I have a weird love for reading about urban planning. This book is “an empowering road map for rethinking, reinvigorating, and redesigning our cities, from a pioneer in the movement for safer, more livable streets.”

Empire of Things by Frank Trentmann (March 29 from Harper) – This book is quite the chunkster (880 pages) looking at a big question: How have we come to live with so much stuff, and how has this changed the course of history? It sounds fascinating, but I’m not sure if I’ll actually get to reading it this month.

Girls and Sex by Peggy Orenstein (March 29 from Harper) – Following up her excellent first book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Orenstein takes an in-depth look at the “new sexual landscape girls face in the post-princess stage – high school through college – and reveals how they are negotiating it.” I’ve read a couple books on this topic, but none recently and none by authors who have the kind of clear-eyed approach that Orenstein takes in her writing. Excited about this!

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links through Amazon. If you make a purchase through any of those links, I will receive a small commission.

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  • Sarah's Book Shelves March 10, 2016, 6:52 am

    I read a long article in the NY Post on the Presidential briefing book…sounds fascinating (if all the good parts weren’t divulged in the article)! I’d also like to read Girls & Sex.

    Finally, I lived in NYC during Sadik-Kahn’s reign and…not sure I’d be able to stomach a book by her. Let’s just say some of her policies…um, didn’t pan out…in practice.

    • Kim March 27, 2016, 5:58 pm

      Oh cool! I am going to look for that article. I pick up a ton of nonfiction based on long-form articles or opinion pieces that authors publish as part of the publicity machine pre-publication.

      And thanks for the note on Sadik-Kahn’s book. It’s one I’m curious about but probably won’t get to since it’s not easily available at my library right now.

  • Amanda March 10, 2016, 1:25 pm

    I am really curious about Girls & Sex – but I really have to read Cinderella ate my daughter first. I’ve checked it out from the lib twice without reading. I have high hopes for A Tyranny of Petticoats too!

  • Lisa March 10, 2016, 6:49 pm

    All of the new books are so darn tempting! I spent half an hour touring Netgalley last night and wanted to request so many books but managed to not anything new. So hard!

    • Kim March 27, 2016, 5:56 pm

      Netgalley is a black hole that I have to avoid or I just lose so much time 🙂

  • iliana March 10, 2016, 7:12 pm

    There are so many good books coming out but I had not heard of any of these. Some sound very interesting and I love the title of A Tyranny of Petticoats. That’s just great. I need to add that one to my radar!

  • Jenny @ Reading the End March 11, 2016, 9:02 pm

    All the Single Ladies looks really good. I read a memoir by Peggy Orenstein years ago that put me off her completely as a person, which is too bad because her sociological books look really fascinating and totally up my alley.

    • Kim March 27, 2016, 5:56 pm

      I didn’t know she wrote a memoir? I’m actually really curious about that.

  • Kailana March 12, 2016, 12:53 pm

    All of these look good!

  • Trisha March 13, 2016, 9:49 am

    I started Cinderella Ate My Daughter, but it was at the same time I started Intro to Lit Theory so the reading for that course took over. Maybe now’s the time to retackle it. And A Tyranny of Petticoats sounds like a fun read.

    • Kim March 27, 2016, 5:56 pm

      Given Madison’s age definitely, I’d be curious what someone with a young daughter thinks about that book and what kinds of effort it takes to not fall into the trap of princess culture.

  • Andi March 13, 2016, 10:25 am

    All the Single Ladies. A book I would totally cheat on #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks for.

  • Katie @ Doing Dewey March 14, 2016, 2:00 pm

    I think i said this already, but I loved A Tyranny of Petticoats, even though short stories aren’t my thing, so I hope you’ll love it too 🙂 Girls and Sex and All the Single Ladies are both working their way up my to-read list too!

    • Kim March 27, 2016, 5:55 pm

      Thanks for the mention, that one is high on my list for sure!

  • Kate Scott March 26, 2016, 7:13 pm

    I’m interested in Peggy Orentein’s new book. I read Cinderella Ate My Daughter a few years ago and thought it had offered some good insights into the culture young girls are growing up in nowadays.