Where did March go? I enjoyed visits from family members, time with friends, great beach weather, and some really good books! March is truly "high season" around here and the island was busier than it's been since before Hurricane Ian in 2022. Around 50% of hotel rooms and condos have been restored and the recovery continues. Restaurants, shops, and the bike paths are crowded. We're still waiting for a couple of favorite restaurants to come back (fingers crossed!) but other cities that have faced similar devastation have told us that it takes a full five years.
March was also my best reading month so far this year, in terms of both quantity and quality.
BOOKS READ IN MARCH
Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan - 4.5 stars
World Lit Book Club, fiction, in translation - my thoughts
I'll Come to You by Rebecca Kauffman - 4.5 stars
literary fiction - my thoughts
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler - 4 stars
fiction - my thoughts
How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key
memoir, book club selection, not for me- my thoughts
You Are Here by David Nicholls - 5 stars
fiction - my thoughts
APRIL READING POSSIBILITIES
A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan
narrative nonfiction, finished, review coming soon
Kate & Frida by Kim Fay
epistolary fiction, in progress
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
classic, fiction, reread
Search by Michelle Huneven
fiction, MMD May selection
Censoring an Iranian Love Story by Shahriar Mandanipour
fiction, in translation, World Lit book club
,
Wellness by Nathan Hill
fiction, priority TBR
Also in April//
Our time in Florida is winding down and our calendar for the month is filling up! We have a few home maintenance service calls, dinners with friends, a farewell gathering or two, plus another visit from our daughter and her husband coming up. We're also looking forward to Easter in just a couple of weeks.
How was your month? What was your favorite March book?
Feeding time! Zoom in to see roseate spoonbills, wood storks, ibis, and great egrets.
I love the idea of having two homes that you move between, it sounds like such fun. I am glad to hear the island is starting to buzz with people again--bringing in money and incentive for businesses to open!
ReplyDeleteHelen - This wasn't originally part of our plan, but my FIL gave us his condo here in 2013 when he moved to a retirement community. In 2019, we sold our house on the lake in NY and bought a smaller house here. After covid, we sold the FL condo and bought a place in CT. Kind of a multi-year real estate pivot! For a couple of years we had two places here, but thankfully sold the condo just before Ian. It's good to see the businesses finally doing better here.
DeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the David Nicholls book. That's on my radar but the library has a big hold time. Still, I am "in line". I enjoyed Nathan Hill's book Wellness and I see today his book The Nix is on sale for Kindle for only $1.99. Guess I'll buy it at that price!
ReplyDeleteCurrently finishing up Stanley Tucci's book.
Love the photo of the birds. Stunning. Glad to hear Sanibel is making a comeback after the hurricane damage.
Tina - Nathan Hill's last novel, The Nix, was a favorite, so hope I get to Wellness later this month. I just love seeing all the wading birds and shorebirds here... one of my favorite things about the island!
DeleteI love your photo of the water birds, especially the spoonbills!
ReplyDeleteMae - The spoonbills are my favorites!
DeleteYou had a great reading month in March. April looks like it will be a good one. Hope you enjoy all your books. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Yvonne. Hope you have a great week, too.
DeleteMarch usually feels so slow, but I agree, it sped by! I hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteCindy - That's exactly what I thought. For such a long month, March just flew past.
DeleteSounds like a great month and I'm happy to hear the island is coming back to life!
ReplyDeleteJinjer - It's been a tough two and a half years, but we're finally getting there!
DeleteI vote for A Fever in the Heartland -- there are so many parallels to current circumstances.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing all the birds!
Joy - I actually finished Fever in the Heartland last night and will post my thoughts next week. The parallels were striking... and infuriating. I thought the book was excellent!
DeleteI'm quite sad that my local library doesn't have a copy of Three Apples Fell from the Sky. I've added You are here to my list, but have no idea where I will find time to read it!
ReplyDeleteCheriee - If your library offers hoopla, I found the audio available there.
DeleteAlas they do not offer hoopla.
DeleteCheriee - Darn!
DeleteI love seeing the bird photos - the pink is reminiscent of flamingos! I hope that you enjoy Kate & Frida - I thought it was good. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteJodie - The roseate spoonbills are just so beautiful! It's amazing to see a group of them flying through the sky together.
DeleteFive years for recovery after a big storm sounds about right. I'm glad things are looking up in your beautiful part of the world.
ReplyDeleteYou read some great books in March. I'm looking closely at a couple of them.
Deb - I'd heard the 5-year rule before, but now it does seem right. Helene and Milton set things back a bit last year, but now we're back on track again. Hoping for the best this hurricane season.
DeleteWhat a great reading month with most books getting high marks! The photo of the flamingos is so awesome!
ReplyDeleteOlivia - March was definitely a great reading month. So far April is shaping up to be another winner!
DeleteI haven't read any of the books you finished or any of the ones you are planning on trying. Ah well. Love the bird picture! Hope you enjoy the rest of your time in FL and have a good trip back north for the upcoming summer. Happy April!
ReplyDeleteKay - I have more 'assigned' reading slots this year with MMD and the bi-monthly world lit group, but it does seem to be broadening my horizons. Guess I need to start planning our route north soon. We might spend a couple of days on the outskirts of DC this time.
DeleteMarch was good to you and it looks like you had a very good reading month! I keep forgetting Easter is right around the corner. I am not ready for it. I hope you enjoy April and your reading!
ReplyDeleteWendy - Easter always seems to sneak up on me, too, but it seems pretty late this year. Happy April!
DeleteWouldn't you know that I passed through the library today, on a rare time off to lunch with a friend, and found You Are Here!!! I'll look forward to poking my nose into it!
ReplyDeleteJudith - What luck! Hope it makes you want to plan a hike across the English countryside, too.
DeleteIt sounds like March was a full and lively month, both on the island and in your reading life. I'm glad to hear recovery continues, even if slowly—there’s something encouraging about seeing familiar places come back to life. Your reading list is inspiring; I’m especially intrigued by You Are Here and Three Apples Fell from the Sky. I shared a new post; you are invited to read.
ReplyDeleteMelody - You Are Here was definitely the right book at the right time for me, and Three Apples Fell From the Sky was a surprise pick from my world lit book club that I'd never even heard of.
DeleteWe're getting a lot of spring break tourists, but our high season is still a few months away. Glad you had such a good month of reading. I'm eager to read I'll Come to You and You Are Here. I finished Three Days in June (thanks for sending it to Tina, who in turn sent it to me) and LOVED it! I'm usually lukewarm about Anne Tyler's novels, but this one was so good. Review to come. I bought a copy of Kim Fay's new book at one of the indie bookstores I visited this past week. I've read a few reviews that say it's not as good as Love & Saffron, but I'm hopeful. I have Wellness in my audio queue, but don't know when I'll get to it. I still have The Nix in my stacks to be read. Sigh. I can't get over that you are almost ready to leave the island. It seems like you just got there. My favorite book in March was Beyond That, the Sea. I know you're planning to read it, and I'll look forward to your thoughts. I just saw an article in the NYTimes about a man who went to Pennsylvania to escape the Blitz when he was only 5. He never went back to England. Should be an interesting story!
ReplyDeleteLes - I'm so glad Three Days in June made its way to you, and even happier that you loved it! Anne Tyler never seems to disappoint. I finished Kate & Frida and thought it was a delightful, solid 4 star read, but Love & Saffron was a 5-star favorite. We're nearly halfway through April and now I'm not sure I'll get to Wellness or Beyond That, the Sea this month. It seems like the books I actually own and want to read keep getting pushed behind book club selections and library books. Might have to swear off the library and new releases for a little while so I can catch up!
DeleteAbsolutely love the photo of the birds! So lucky to see them!
ReplyDeleteI read Enchanted April forever ago, but I do remember really enjoying it. I think I actually read it after seeing the movie, which is backwards for me, but I ended up happy with both.
Enjoy your high season in FL.
JaneGS - We've had so many more birds around this winter! The first two years after Ian was pretty depressing, but they're returning in greater numbers now... a relief for many! I finished The Enchanted April last week and it's still a favorite. Now I need to see the movie again, too.
DeleteThis March flew by. I can't believe it. Thanks for sharing photos of the spoonbills, they're my favorite. I don't think I'd like How to Stay Married either, but way to push through it. I am intrigued by You Are Here though, I'll have to add that to my goodreads right now so I don't forget!
ReplyDeleteDumpster Rental - I love those spoonbills, too and it's a real treat to see so many of them at once! I also love seeing all the pink in the sky when they fly away... so beautiful!
DeleteWhat a great array of birds in the photo! Good to hear your update post-Ian on the island. Fingers crossed that the restaurants & businesses come back. And your reading is going well .... so good to see. Enjoy your April. It's going too fast. Will you head back north in May?
ReplyDeleteSusan - I've been happy to see so many birds this year. They're finally coming back in greater numbers! April reading is off to a great start and, yes, we will head back in May. This season has seemed so much shorter than usual...
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