March was a great month for reading and a mediocre month for reading all at the same time. I can’t recall at this point what made my reading time lag at the beginning of the month (except that I was still working for photography clients which required a fair amount of editing time) but I kicked off the month with Still Me and was very underwhelmed by my first book choice of the month.
Still Me is book three (I think?) of the Me Before You series. I liked this series previously (especially the first book) but by book three, I felt like it was really grasping at a story. The book dragged on and it seemed like until the last 25%, I was bored out of my gourd. I am known to slog through even the crappiest of books because Mama didn’t raise no quitter, but this one had me on the brink of abandonment. By the last quarter, I guess I warmed up to the story, but DANG GINA when a book is 3/4 through before grabbing your attention, then I deem it a bum book. This one doesn’t get high rankings from me, I’m sorry to say.
LUCKILY, book #2 for the month COMPLETELY REDEEMED the lackluster start, and may currently hold first place on my Favorite Books of 2018 and Potentially All Time list. The book is The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah and it was a remarkable story that had me completely captivated from the beginning. A story about a family who ventures to Alaska to put down new roots after the war in Vietnam, it tells the tale of adventure, loss, abuse, codependency, love, hope, fear, and more all while the trials of homesteading in a new land prove at times insurmountable. Hannah perfectly crafts her characters to create emotional connection that keeps you completely engaged from beginning to end. I had a major book hangover after this one and deem it required reading for everyone!
Big Magic was a gift from a super sweet photography client (love when books begin a journey from person to person) and I loved it. I thought Elizabeth Gilbert spoke with insight and experience about the creative journey and process and overall, I loved her major takeaway; just freaking do it. Just be creative. Just write, just sing, just ice skate, just make latch hook rugs. Whatever. Just go. Don’t wait until you’re qualified or an expert by anyone’s standards; just freaking do it. It’s one reason why I’m just blogging. I’m just freaking doing it. I haven’t really established a cohesive niche for my blog, but I know I have a desire to write and connect, so I’m doing it. The end. Simple as that. Some of Gilbert’s ideas are a little heady, but overall, I’m picking up what she’s putting down.
Finally, and intentionally, I read The Day I was Crucified at the end of the month to coincide with Easter on April 1. This book found its way onto my reading list and unlike all the other willy nilly “I’ll get to it when I get to it” line items, this one had a deadline: “read mid-March.” So I did. I’m glad I did, too. I needed to feel closer to the story of Jesus in anticipation of Easter. I needed to be reminded of why we stop and remember the death and resurrection. I needed to have a new perspective. Gene Edwards’ interpretation of the story as experienced by Jesus made me uneasy, gave me a picture of the fear and evil surrounding the crucifixion and helped me to see the true price of His death. I encourage everyone to read this, and specifically, to read it in preparation for the Easter season (read it every year!). Easter isn’t about bunnies and this book helped remind me of that.