What I've Been Reading, March 2026

 Books about cognitive labor, rage, stories, making, and living life to the fullest

March was a good month for reading! I tried to prioritize it a bit more, and this was also a precious window of time just before my baby suddenly decided that I needed to give her my undivided attention at all times or she will end up facedown on the floor sobbing so piteously that I can't do anything but comfort her even if I want to. So… here are the books I read in March!

What's On Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life by Allison Daminger

This was my top book of the month: a master's thesis that became a multi-year study about how not just physical but mental labor is divided among married couples (both heterosexual and LGBTQ+) with children. Daminger's thesis is that we tend to vastly underestimate the amount of "cognitive labor" involved in running a household, from remembering birthdays to anticipating what sports gear a kid will need to monitoring whether or not the new brand of peanut butter is worth buying again— and that cognitive labor is overwhelmingly unloaded onto women. A multi-year study of various couples with children helped her spot and analyze patterns, as well as helping her understand how labor was divided, what unspoken assumptions went into the division, and how partners dealt with uneven distribution of cognitive labor. This book gave me language for some things I hadn't quite been able to name (not least of which "why am I so freakin' tired all the time when I'm not even doing anything???"), as well as being a fascinating read. I would definitely recommend this for anyone in a long-term relationship!

Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger by Soraya Chemaly

Like many women, I'm afraid of my anger, and tend to suppress it, ignore it, feel guilty about it, and otherwise leave it untended until it explodes in a destructive outburst. I read some quotes from this book online and its approach to anger— as something to celebrate rather than to fear— really caught my attention. It was hard reading, and I often finished chapters feeling wrung-out as I considered the many, many reasons that women have to be angry in this world (and how that intersects with my own experiences), but it was wise, thought-provoking, and deeply important to anyone who has a fraught relationship with rage. Definitely recommend. 

Everything Is a Story: Reclaiming the Power of Stories to Heal and Shape Our Lives by Kaitlin B. Curtice 

A lovely book comparing the growth of a story to the life cycle of an oak tree, using that framework to talk about the stories we tell to ourselves and each other, and how those stories can harm or heal. I especially appreciated the meditations and poetry scattered throughout.

Making Things: Finding Use, Meaning, and Satisfaction in Crafting Everyday Objects by Erin Boyle and Rose Pearlman 

This is a very inspiring craft book! It has a lot of fun projects (I made a four-strand braided lanyard to hold my kid's baby bottle when we're out for a walk, and I definitely want to try starching some fabric to turn it into heavy paper), but it's also full of the "why" of crafting, with a focus on useful objects and recycled materials. It may just get me to take up knitting again after a 20-year hiatus.

Awake: A Memoir by Jen Hatmaker

I mostly knew Jen Hatmaker as a prominent Christian author who received the scorched-earth treatment from conservatives for affirming LGBTQ+ people, but I had never read anything she'd written until now. This book is a memoir of an unexpected divorce caused by her husband cheating on her, and how she picked up the pieces and learned to live the life she wanted to live afterward. It's told non-sequentially, hopping around to different moments in her life as she processes the divorce in light of her strict evangelical upbringing, her career as a Christian writer, and her deep internalized beliefs that she had to unravel. It's a beautiful book, resonant with the love that she found in her family, her friends, and her own self as she learned to put together a new life for herself. 

Little Alleluias by Mary Oliver

I always have to circle back to Mary Oliver's writing, and this was a lovely collection of both poetry and prose. 

Favorites of my 11-month-old:

Eye Guess by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes (Beautiful illustrations of various animals and their eyes.)

A Good Place by Lucy Cousins (A very cute book about some insect friends searching for a place where they can thrive— teaches kids about creating wildlife habitats in their yard!)

Baby Classics: Dracula by A.H. Hill (Better adaptation than many Dracula movies; teaches about not biting, a lesson she definitely needs to learn.)

(Previous What I've Been Reading posts)

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