April: still hovering in America of the 19th century; March wrap-up

Hawthorne's House of Seven Gables

I suppose I sort of lost track of my main reading objective for March, which is still 19th century American novels, but I spent the month with some incredible books, so it's okay.  Now I'm going to get serious again and get back into Hope Leslie, by Catherine Maria Sedgwick, which I've barely touched.  So far, it's pretty good, and takes the reader away from the main colonial cities and off into what was considered the frontier at the time, complete with Native Americans and personal hardship.  What got in the way of my goal, one might ask? Well, here's the rundown.

literature:
*Kelroy, by Rebecca Rush
The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion 
Song for an Approaching Storm, by Peter Fröberg Idling (thoughts coming soon - in the meantime, I felt it was an excellent novel. Kudos to Pushkin Press for publishing it.)

crime:
A Rage in Harlem, by Chester Himes
The House of Wolfe, by James Carlos Blake
Swimming in the Dark, by Paddy Richardson
Harriet, by Elizabeth Jenkins (obscure crime writer project)
The Big Clock, by Kenneth Fearing
The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey

nonfiction:
Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America, by Jill Leovy

strange/weird/horror fiction:
Nazareth Hill, by Ramsey Campbell 
The Feast of Bacchus, by Ernest Henham ( haven't posted about this book yet, but it's exceptionally good)
The Golem, by Gustav Meyrink (another not discussed -- coming soon)

Currently reading:
nf: Shocking Paris: Soutine, Chagall and the Outsiders of Montparnasse, by Stanley Meisler
crime: A Cold Coming, by Mary Kelly
literature: Hope Leslie, by Catherine Maria Sedgwick

--- other stuff

• the book group read The Rosie Project, which is something I normally wouldn't have read on my own, but I felt the group deserved an easy, light read after last month's The Night Guest. One of the group even said "this definitely isn't a Nancy book." To me, it read like a romantic screwball chick-lit comedy that was hoping to become a movie. And it did. Not my cuppa.
• ...and the books keep coming to the door, thanks largely to Valancourt Books, whose work in bringing back old novels is beyond outstanding.  Every time they post about a new book they've published, I cringe because I just know I'll have to buy it.  They're that good. I now have a dedicated Valancourt shelf in my dark fiction/horror/weird fiction shelves. 
• I gave away a TON of novels this month due to lack of shelf space.  My house is mostly huge windows and wall space, therefore shelf space, is at a premium, so there will be plenty more to come. Right now: I have a hardcover copy of The Rosie Project  that needs a home. Anyone in the US who wants this one, it's yours.  Maybe you want to read it ahead of the movie release -- just leave a comment and it will be on its way to your home - free.

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that's my March - looking forward to getting back on track in April.