March is over, and it sure was a long month! As we marked the six month anniversary of Hurricane Ian's devastating blow, we also noted signs of progress and hope. Mail delivery resumed, a couple of island restaurants reopened, and nearly all of the large debris piles are gone. We try not to focus on the ravaged vegetation, and opt to plant native trees and ground covers in its place. As island landmarks and homes are demolished, we imagine what is to come.
At our house, a window ordered months ago has arrived (will it be installed in April?), we have a garage door installation date, and a contractor showed up to measure for sheetrock last week. Baby steps.
March was a good reading month, too.
- 6 - books completed
- 3 - fiction
- 3 - nonfiction
- 2 - 5-star reads
- 2 - reviews pending
March Books
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson - 4.5 stars
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal - 4 stars
The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz - 5 stars
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - 5 stars
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai - 4 stars
How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery - 4 stars
They're Going to Love You by Meg Howrey - read 10% before library clawed back ebook, will eventually request again
March Favorites
April Reading Possibilities
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver - 546 pages (in progress)
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens - 882 pages
Given the length of those two books, I'll end the list there. I've read many Dickens novels and have had David Copperfield next on the list for a while. Will this be the month?
How was your March? What was your favorite book of the month?
Good luck with your ongoing recovery from the hurricane!
ReplyDeletebest… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Mae - We're getting there... slowly but surely!
DeleteSounds like a good reading month! One of my favorites was Echo Among the Stones by Jaime Jo Wright.
ReplyDeleteCindy - It was! Off to find out more about Echo Among the Stones...
DeleteGlad you liked I know why the Caged Bird Sings. It is a favourite of mine. You should check out the movie.
ReplyDeleteJoanne - I'm not even sure I knew it was a movie!! Will check it out... thanks for the tip.
DeleteAnother Brooklyn looks really good. I have to check to see if my library has it. Hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteYvonne - I loved Another Brooklyn... wish it could have been even longer.
DeleteLooks like you enjoyed a nice variety of books - I'm falling behind in my goal to read more nonfiction; I've got to get on that! I'm caught up in a long book too - The Winners by Fredrik Backman - and it does put a dent in reading time, doesn't it? My only 5 star read this month was The Violin Conspiracy.
ReplyDeleteTerrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
https://www.bookshelfjourneys.com/post/wrap-up-march-2023
Terrie - I listened to an interview with the author of The Violin Conspiracy and now want to read it!
DeleteGood luck with David Copperfield. I read it in high school when I had gobs of time (small town). I'm not sure I could tackle it now.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joy. We'll see if I follow through on that plan.
DeleteVicki - I really love Jacqueline Woodson's writing!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with both of these longer reads. I’ve heard they are both excellent.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jodie. Demon Copperhead is excellent so far!
DeleteI'm so glad to hear of the progress. I think it's hard to grasp just how devastating nature events can be. You definitely have some chunksters on your to read list this month but as long as they are great reads then I'm sure it won't matter how long they are right? Really curious about the Barbara Kingsolver book.
ReplyDeleteIliana - I realized that quite a few books I've read this year have been 400+ pages... decided to lean into it for April! We'll see if I'm still as enthusiastic about that plan in a couple of weeks! The Kingsolver book may be her best yet - really loving it so far.
DeleteSo glad to hear that things are progressing and getting better. We used to vacation in that area every Easter, and it is so hard to think of all the lives that were affected by the hurricane.
ReplyDeleteErin - We were just saying that things will be pretty lonely this Easter with no family coming to visit. Think we may head north a little earlier than usual this year.
DeleteGalveston is still trying to replant live oak trees that were killed by the salt water that lingered after Hurricane Ike. A gifted artist carved beautiful art from the stumps of the trees that were killed, and that's something. Here's a link to it, if you'd like to take a look: https://www.galveston.com/whattodo/tours/self-guided-tours/treesculpturetour/
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your reading dance card for April is filled with two good books. I look forward to seeing what you think.
Deb - Wow, those tree sculptures are amazing!! The live oaks lost there must have been very old. Most of our destroyed vegetation has now been removed and a "saltwater kill" tree removal project is underway... it would be wonderful if we could turn that into something creative and beautiful!
DeleteNice to hear that there is some positive progress in fixing up after Ian. Nice looking books too. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteKathy - In some ways, the hurricane has given me more reading time... no visitors this year. We'll get back to normal eventually.
DeleteGood luck with the construction! I hope you have a great April and get lots of reading done.
ReplyDeleteThanks Aj... we'll see how it goes with the chunksters this month!
DeleteGood to hear that progress is being made.
ReplyDeleteHena Tayeb - It's amazing how far we've come in six months, but there is still al long way to go.
DeleteYou had a great month of reading! Dealing with house repair is a pain. The painters came by today but they need to scrape off all the loose pieces which the pressure washing didn't eliminate. I was hoping for a few days to see progress but appartently it will be over a week. Glad to hear you have things scheduled for your repairs.
ReplyDeleteTina - Sorry this will be a longer process than you expected. We were disappointed today to hear our garage door install is postponed a few days because more carpentry is needed first... never ending!
DeleteI just saw your comment and Yea! You get a garage door. Construction progress can be so slow that anyting they accomplish is such a major victory!
DeleteTina - Yes, we're thrilled to have a new garage door. Now if we can only get someone here to install the new window that's been in the garage for a couple weeks now... lol!
DeleteI read a ton in March, all of them good. Some of my favorites were All My Rage by Tahir (YA) and The House of Eve by Johnson (adult)
ReplyDeleteThe House of Eve sounds like a good read!
ReplyDeleteThe Latecomers was my favorite book of March, thanks to your recommendation! I read most of it in print and listened to some of it on audio. For straight-up audiobooks, I liked Artificial Condition by Martha Wells.
ReplyDeleteLaurie - I'm so glad The Latecomers was a hit for you, too. What a great read! And thank you for getting me to finally pick up I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
DeleteWhat a beautiful photo. The shells there are so amazing! I plan to get to the Makkai novel sometime, though it sounds like you liked The Great Believers way better. There were parts of the Great Believers that blew me away. Enjoy your week.
ReplyDeleteSusan - This island's east-west orientation makes it one of the best places in the US for shelling... especially after a storm! I did like The Great Believers much more than I Have Some Questions for You... two totally different styles/genres, but that just shows you how talented and versatile Makkai is.
DeleteWhat a beautiful photo and I'm so glad you're making progress on hurricane recovery though I'm sure it still feels incredibly daunting at times. I love the idea of focusing on native vegetation.
ReplyDeleteKatherine - The city and all the conservation agencies are really pushing native vegetation. It's pretty obvious from the hurricane than native plants did better... palm trees stand up to the wind, a short period of saltwater cover doesn't kill all of the plants, etc. Growing up in the north, these is so much to learn... but there is no such thing as a native lawn. That only happens with chemical fertilizers, which are mostly outlawed during the rainy season anyway. We'll get there.
DeleteThat's a gorgeous photo, JoAnn. The shells of Sannibel have always fascinated me. I hope to see them in person someday!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your home repairs are coming along. It will take a long time for the vegetation to return to normal, but I think your brain will become accustomed to the new landscape and it will eventually stop looking so harsh. At least I hope so.
You had such a good reading month didn't you? Like you, I'm reading more books with over 400 pages. I think, so far, I've read 5 or 6 that I consider "chunksters." I'm also reading quite a few that are around 200 pages, so I'm still ahead with my goal on Goodreads. Signal Fires was my favorite in March, followed by The Lost Man. I started off in April with a fantastic read (We All Want Impossible Things), so I'm quite happy!
Have a good week!
Les - Those shells are really something, aren't they? I've collected my share, but my MIL used to be fascinated with them! We had a neighbor that was out shelling every single morning and practically had a shell washing/preserving factory set up on their ground level. The girls loved visiting her when they were little. I've come to love the birds even more than the shells, and am happy to see some finally returning.
DeleteYesterday we had the structural engineer here and were so relieved by his report... the interior cracks are all cosmetic! We also had a new garage door installed - hooray!
Since I've had such good luck with long books this year, I may just embrace it! Still thinking about David Copperfield this month, maybe Lonesome Dove this summer, and definitely a long Rosamunde Pilcher in December. I have Coming Home on my kindle.
Happy Easter!
Love your reading possibles for April. David Copperfield is in my top two Dickens novels and I think I've read it three times over the decades. My other favorite is just as predictable, Great Expectations. I'm really curious about the new Kingsolver book, but it's length has kind of put me off it for now because I'm not able to squeeze in as many reading hours as I used to. I'll look forward to hearing what you think about that one.
ReplyDeleteSam - It's good to hear from you! I finished Demon Copperhead yesterday and gave it 4.5 stars. I'm glad she gave the reader a hopeful ending, but there was just so much tragedy!
DeleteDavid Copperfield has been next up on my Dickens list for a few years. Great Expectations is my favorite, followed by Bleak House. I wasn't much of a fan of A Tale of Two Cities. Trying to figure out if I can face another huge book right now... may try something shorter first.
Hope you're finding whatever hours you're able to devote to reading these days satisfying. I do miss hearing about your reading adventures.
Happy to hear that you enjoyed Demon Copperhead; going to see if I can snag a library copy soon. Thanks for the feedback. I'm reading less these days but by being really selective I'm enjoying it more than ever, I think. I was down with covid for almost three weeks, and I'm still struggling with "concentration" issues a bit but steadily getting better.
DeleteSam - Kingsolver knows that part of the country so well and I'm sure her depiction is accurate. With the suffering, it got hard to read in parts, but I really liked the ending. I'm sorry to hear you've been sick with covid... the steady improvement must be encouraging though. I'm glad to hear you've been enjoying the books you're reading!
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