I didn't read much, but I learned a lot

Hi friend,

As you know, in 2026, I’m doing an experiment I’m calling: The Taste Test. It’s a reading challenge where I’m choosing one genre per month and reading a few recent/popular books from it, in an attempt to figure out what my reading taste is as an adult… and maybe (hopefully!) even find a new author/genre to obsess over!

At the end of each month, I write a recap of my thoughts, including the list of books I read and how I experienced each one. In January, I read 4 memoirs and remembered why I enjoy them. And in February, I read 6 mystery/thrillers and added another 25+ to my future TBR list. (It’s safe to say: I really like that genre!)

For March, I decided to read historical fiction and came up with a list of 5 books to read (plus extras, if I finished them all). What did I think of this genre, before/after these books? Let’s find out. 🤓

I start each of these recaps by sharing what my initial thoughts were on the genre. Any assumptions I had, judgments I made, and any resistance or intrigue I noticed in myself before reading the books. Because this is all an experiment, you could say this is the “hypothesis” of the month. But I didn’t really have a clear hypothesis for this genre…

The story I told myself about historical fiction was more of a noticing: that it had never really interested me. When I started researching the most popular titles from the past few years, I recognized the covers… and was even drawn to some! But when I read the descriptions, I often lost interest. I didn’t understand why, until I started reading them…

In last month’s recap, I shared a list of what I was going to read in March. My plan was to attempt to read 4 adult novels + 1 middle grade book. I knew that was a stretch, but wanted to try anyway!

Well, as it turned out, that was a massive stretch for this genre, friend. Because the first thing I need to tell you is that I only finished two books all month. One of the adult novels + a middle grade book (and a different one, from what I first put on the list).

So far for this challenge, I’ve been writing recaps of how I experienced every book I finished. But since there weren’t many, I’m going to start by telling you about all the reasons I didn’t finish all the others…

• Sometimes, the story ended up being a romance—and one that revolved around a really unhealthy relationship dynamic. This isn’t cute or something I can look past. When books romanticize people in bad relationships, it apparently makes me feel angry. More on this below.

• Sometimes, the language felt too old-timey for me. Correct for their time periods, perhaps, but something I found myself struggling to read.

• Sometimes, the story felt really drawn out… with way more background info than “present” storytelling. I like character/story development! But there needs to be a plot. And when you’re 2+ hours into an audiobook and don’t have any idea when it’s going to come back to the plot…?

• Sometimes, they were too relevant/on the nose, for the times we are living in right now. (Aka: wartime books.)

• Sometimes, I got stuck because I kept telling myself “I should” finish it. That these were stories “I should” read. And it’s taken a long time for me to get here, but I am fully committed to wanting book-reading to be my JOYFUL hobby. “Should” takes all the joy out of it.

• And sometimes, they were just too sad. And as my friend Marci said to me, “I don’t need books to make me feel good, necessarily. But I need them to not feel like they are deliberately trying to ruin my day.” And that is how I felt about some of the historical fiction I attempted to read.

I am intentionally not telling you which books made me feel each of these things, because I didn’t finish any of them (some were from the original list + I tried 4-5 more!) and therefore don’t feel comfortable writing anything that feels like a review. But compared to most (where I quit within the first 75 pages), there was one book I gave a really solid effort to—and I have some things I want to say about it.

So I’m going to share what I learned about myself and my reading taste, based on the two books I finished this month, and the one I got halfway through…

1. THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah (DNF’d halfway through) - Let’s start with this one, because it gave me A LOT of information. And full warning: there will be spoilers in this paragraph. Because outside of getting halfway through and still feeling like there wasn’t really any plot (she just worked/hung out with coworkers/slept), it felt like the only thing that was really happening in this book was that the main character was attracted to unavailable men. The married surgeon. The guy who was engaged. And without properly developing these relationships, she somehow fell in love with one of them!? As I was reading, I noticed two things happening inside me: I was annoyed, and then I was angry. When I got to the part where, in an intimate moment, one of the guys said he wished he’d met her first (before getting together with his actual partner), I yelled out “OH COME ON! RED FLAG! RUN AWAY!” and knew I had to stop reading. It was such a strong emotional reaction… one I don’t have often, when I’m reading. I’ve thought about it a lot since. I think there was a time in my life when I could’ve enjoyed this book and this type of romance. But it all felt really gross to me… bad enough that I couldn’t even finish it. Maybe that says something about my morals and who I am today. But partnered/unavailable men? Not sexy. (And if you’re curious: I read spoilers so I know how it ends, and I’m totally ok with the fact that I didn’t finish this one.)

2. BROKEN COUNTRY by Clare Leslie Hall - I picked this one because it was nominated for Readers’ Fave Historical Fiction in 2025 and was Reese’s Book Club Pick last March too. And I liked it! This won’t be surprising after last month’s recap, but I liked how mystery/intrigue was used in the storytelling, and was really sucked in at the end. There was just one thing I didn’t like about this book. (And this isn’t a spoiler, it’s on the front cover of the UK edition!) It romanticizes an affair. And in line with what I said above, I don’t think affairs are sexy (perhaps especially when her husband felt like such a good human). So I wasn’t “into” this romance in the book. It felt really sh*tty to read about, actually.

3. Middle Grade Option: WE DREAM OF SPACE by Erin Entrada Kelly - The book that saved my reading experience. I really struggled to finish any historical fiction this month. I know that was partially a result of feeling distracted by the news and anxiety about what’s been happening around the world. But it was also because of all the reasons I didn’t like the books I tried reading (listed above). Something I know about myself is that if I’m having a hard time focusing on books written for adults, I should try a middle grade book instead—and that’s exactly what helped me out of my reading slump this month. I DNF’d the first MG option I tried reading, then scrolled this list to see what else might interest me. Then I was happy to discover: we already had a copy of this one on our bookshelves here! (The benefit of living with kids!?) It’s set in the 80s, which didn’t feel historical at first… but I suppose it is! Especially because it’s centered around an event that made history. Told through the perspective of three siblings, I felt connected to them all. This book is human and full of heart. I read it within a week and loved it… and would go so far as to say: this book is middle grade perfection, friend. I can certainly understand why it was nominated for a Newbery! It also helped me learn an important lesson about what kind of historical fiction I do like: books that are a little more recent, and almost feel contemporary.

The main reason I’m doing this challenge is to figure out what my reading taste is as an adult. The story I told myself about historical fiction is that it didn’t really interest me—and that’s not quite true. I think what’s more true is you need to know which time periods you’re actually interested in. And after this challenge, I have a better understanding of what that is!

• I’m not interested in reading wartime books. Truthfully, these are the books I get bored of just reading the descriptions. That’s not true for so many readers (people LOVE wartime books, I know!), but it’s what’s true for me and I’m going to honour that!

• I do like books set in the mid-to-late century (1950s-90s). Books that feel a little more recent, almost contemporary… and where the setting/story isn’t depressing AF, lol. Think: THE DUTCH HOUSE, THE VANISHING HALF, HELLO BEAUTIFUL, and basically all of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s work!

• I’m not interested in historical romance. I should’ve known this one already. I don’t like it in movies/TV shows either.

• I do like generational stories. And more recently, seem to be drawn to Korean stories, which is interesting!? Particularly ones that show the relationship between Korea and Japan, and how that has impacted people’s lives and culture. I have no idea why and might need to read more to understand my interest! (It might be about understanding/forming your own identity…?) But think: PACHINKO and FLASHLIGHT.

• And I haven’t read them yet, but I think I might like stories that feel a little lighter… like THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN and MEET THE NEWMANS. They feel similar to LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY, which I never read but enjoyed the TV adaptation of. (And to that end: THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL is one of my fave shows ever.)

All of this is to say: I don’t hate historical fiction! But I’ve finished this month with only a few titles on my TBR list. So it’s probably not a genre I’m going to become obsessed with! But I’m happy to have a better understanding of which ones I might enjoy. ☺️

And all the feelings I’ve had around it have already been interesting, friend! When I just think of “science fiction,” I have thoughts like: space, aliens, nerdy, and not for me. But when I started researching books I might read??? SO MANY of them sounded interesting! (And I was reminded of all the sci-fi books I’ve enjoyed in the past!) It was hard to pick just a few! But here’s the list of what I’m going to attempt to read this month…

1. DEATH OF THE AUTHOR by Nnedi Okorafor - Nominated for Readers’ Fave Science Fiction in 2025, a finalist for the 2025 Nebula Award for Best Novel, and a TIME Must-Read Book of 2025. The description already intrigues me, and the accolades bode well! I got it on audio.

2. THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley - Winner of Readers’ Fave Science Fiction in 2024. I remember seeing this one everywhere, and a few reader and writer friends have shared that they loved it! I bought a copy from an independent bookshop in Berwick last month.

3. THE OTHER VALLEY by Scott Alexander Howard - Nominated for Readers’ Fave Science Fiction in 2024. This one sounds really interesting. And, I think it might be the first book I’ll have read by a male author this year!? That was a funny realization.

4. PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir - For the challenge, I’m mostly reading books published in the last few years, and this one is from 2021. But I want to read it before seeing the movie adaptation! And I really want to see the movie soon! (Also: a second male author! lol)

5. Middle Grade Option: THE FIRST STATE OF BEING by Erin Entrada Kelly - After loving WE DREAM OF SPACE, I knew I wanted to read more of EEK’s work. Lucky for me, she wrote this science fiction novel after… and it WON the Newbery!

I also want to read MONK AND ROBOT by Becky Chambers, but am waiting until they release the two-book series as one book (in May!).

Have you read either of the two books I finished this month? Or any of the books on next month’s list?

I’d love to hear your (spoiler-free) thoughts!

xx Cait

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