Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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I'm Mike - this is Riff Raff's Reading Renaissance. Welcome! In this video I share my full March reading wrap-up, after a very busy month. I discuss:
- March reading progress (sticking to the spreadsheet!)
- My "mammoth" read Wolf Hall
- Short story reading approach
- Non-fiction highlights & biographies
- A HUGE secondhand book haul
- Graphic novels (new territory for me!)
- April TBR (including sci-fi, classics & history)
- Historathon reading dilemma
- People April ideas
- Reflections on reading with intention

TIMESTAMPS / CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro – March Reading Report 📚
01:59 “March of the Mammoths” – Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
03:35 Read the Beloved Country Update & Short stories
03:58 Short Stories: W. Somerset Maugham (Rain)
05:34 Non-Fiction: South African Politics (“The Deal”)
06:20 Biography: Ben Elton – What Have I Done?
10:50 Historathon Q1: First People (Koisan History)
12:42 March Wrap-Up Summary
13:24 Massive Book Haul Begins (Norton Anthologies) 📦
15:19 Literary Theory & Criticism Finds
16:34 Biography Haul (Burgess, Stalin, Hitchens & Alcohol)
21:26 History Books Haul (Europe, Middle East, USA)
23:26 Music & Jazz Book (Ted Gioia)
24:43 Fiction Haul (Evelyn Waugh, Stephen King)
26:45 The Raj Quartet (Paul Scott)
27:58 Sandy Toksvig's LGBT Novel – Valentine Grey
29:51 Short Stories: W.S. Gilbert Collection
31:11 Graphic Novels: Watchmen & Maus 👀
33:14 World Drama Collection Discovery
35:03 April Reading Plans 📖
36:12 Richard Burton Diaries (Books About Books)
37:25 Sci-Fi Pick: The Left Hand of Darkness
38:17 Nabokov’s Dozen & South Africa's J M Coetzee
39:52 Non-Fiction: The Troubles, Liberation & Corruption
41:55 Historathon Q2 Dilemma (Middle Ages vs Rome)
43:40 Chaucer’s Knight (Terry Jones)
45:32 Books for Bowel Cancer Event ❤️
48:23 Dr Cranky Pants & Reading Priorities
49:24 Closing Thoughts. Future Plans & Thanks

If you enjoy:
📖 reading wrap-ups
📚 book hauls
🧠 thoughtful reading reflections
🎯 structured TBR planning
…then you’re in the right place.

HELP ME OUT in the comments:
Q1 Should I do a deep dive on “First People - The Lost History of the Khoisan”?
Q2 - Which history book should I choose next for Historathon Quarter 2?
📚 12 Caesars
📚 Powers and Thrones
📚 Chaucer’s Knight
Q3. - Are Maus & Watchmen the greatest graphic novels ever?

📺 BookTubers Mentioned
Nick or @DrCrankyPantsReads and his great thought provoking video on Booktube behaviour -
youtube.com/watch?v=sohEST-sr9Y

Books For Bowel Cancer videos -
Roz @scallydandlingaboutthebooks youtube.com/watch?v=jJub8KfT3TE&t=76s
Charlie @CharlieBrookReads has the original announcement video - youtube.com/watch?v=DnpffcSUTAc

Margaret Pinard, who needs to read Wolf Hall⁨@MargaretPinard
Bren Booth Jones, my literary studies guru@brenboothjones
Steve Donoghue, king of the Starter Kit@saintdonoghue
Hannah⁨@HannahsBooks
Vin, for all things Historathon@revenantreads

BOOKS MENTIONED (by category) :
⭐ March Reads
Wolf Hall — Hilary Mantel
Mhudi - Sol Plaatje
“Rain” (short story) — W Somerset Maugham
The Deal - Mandy Wiener
What Have I Done? — Ben Elton

🧠 Historathon Q1 Pre-history
First People: The Lost History of the Khoisan — Andrew Smith

🧠 Other History
Europe: A History — Norman Davies
The Great War for Civilisation — Robert Fisk
The Penguin History of the USA — Hugh Brogan
Powers and Thrones — Dan Jones
The Twelve Caesars — Suetonius
Chaucer’s Knight — Terry Jones

📖 Literary Studies
Beginning Theory - Peter Barry
The Norton Anthology of English Literature (Vol 1 & 2)
Byron and Joyce Through Homer — Hermione de Almeida

👤 Biography
The Real Life of Anthony Burgess — Andrew Biswell
In Love with Hell — William Palmer
Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar — Simon Sebag Montefiore
Mortality — Christopher Hitchens
The Richard Burton Diaries — Richard Burton

🎵 Music
How to Listen to Jazz — Ted Gioia
My Life In Dire Straits — John Illsley

📚 Fiction
The Loved One — Evelyn Waugh
Different Seasons — Stephen King
The Raj Quartet — Paul Scott
Valentine Grey — Sandi Toksvig
The Triumph of Vice — W. S. Gilbert

🎭 Drama Collection
26 World Dramas, including works by:
Aristophanes, Aeschylus, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Sheridan

🖼️ Graphic Novels
Watchmen — Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Maus — Art Spiegelman

📅 April TBR
The Left Hand of Darkness — Ursula K. Le Guin
Nabokov’s Dozen — Vladimir Nabokov
Waiting for the Barbarians — J. M. Coetzee
Say Nothing — Patrick Radden Keefe
Liberation and Corruption — Peter Hain

❤️ Health / Mentioned Book
The Emperor of All Maladies — Siddhartha Mukherjee

Thanks for watching.
👍 Like, subscribe, & join the journey!

And for the almighty algorithm:
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#ShortStories #ReadingJourney #BookRecommendations #GraphicNovels #Historathon
#PeopleApril #ReadingCommunity #BooksOfYouTube #ReaderLife