Every month I try to read at least one book from the following categories: nonfiction, devotional, and fiction. And this year I’m participating in the 2017 Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenges, so I’m also going to be listing which category my books fulfill. If you want to join in on the fun, you can check out the list of categories here! This is my March 2017 Reading List, my brief reviews and book recommendations for March 2017. Hopefully I’ll provide you with some inspiration for your future reading as well!

Books Finished:

A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz

I’ve been working on this one for a while now, and almost gave up in the middle when it felt a little slower. I’m glad that I didn’t because the story really is incredible, and very moving. The ending is especially poignant. The book is a memoir set during the author’s life growing up in Israel. It was a fascinating look at the changing Middle East and world from the perspective of a boy in Israel living through it.

The Broken Way: A Daring Path into the Abundant Life by Ann Voskamp

I’m a really big fan of Ann Voskamp, and own all of her books. They are beautiful to look at, and are simply beautiful to read. I took this one slowly and enjoyed the language that she used which made the words come alive in my mind. I recommend her other books as well, One Thousand Gifts and The Greatest Gift, in case you decide to read this one and like it as much as I did.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

2017 MMD Reading for Fun Challenge: a book you were excited to buy or borrow but haven’t read yet

I’ve seen the movie The Hobbit, as well as all of the Lord of the Rings movies. But I’d previously never read any of Tolkien’s books…shocking, I know. I’ve meant to get into them as the fantasy, odyssey elements make them right up my alley. But they just ended up at the bottom of the ‘to read’ stack largely because of the length of the books and the undertaking seeming overwhelming. What convinced me to get started was an Audible sale where I got The Hobbit for free! Can you believe it?! I really enjoyed the narration (kudos to Rob Inglis!), and will probably try to get through the Lord of the Rings books on Audible, since Inglis narrates the rest of the series.

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan

The premise of this book is that if you want to do something really well, you need to approach it with singular focus. Multitasking is simply a fallacy that causes us to do many things poorly. It was a good reminder to stop dividing my attention, even though it is easy to do in this age.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

2017 MMD Reading for Growth Challenge: a book in translation 

To tell the truth, I didn’t really care for this book. It was my book club’s March book, so I gave it a shot. And others in the book club really did like it. There were moments when I thought that the book might pull me in and make me like it. But it just didn’t really click for me. There were some grammatical issues that I wonder if are due to the book being translated from Swedish. But the bigger issue that I had was that the story felt incredibly predictable, while the main character’s actions seemed inconsistent. The back story of Ove sets him up as a strong, silent type of man who has strong morals and is very handy. But his present day (and some historical) actions are simply curmudgeonly, without rational explanation for them, I guess other than it sets up some slightly humorous situations. In visiting with my husband about the book, he thought it sounded like the plot to As Good As It Gets, which didn’t strike me as a particularly good movie. So I’m content to say that perhaps it was just that the book (and the movie As Good As It Gets) simply aren’t for me. I’m just not the right audience.

Sand: Omnibus Edition by Hugh Howey

I was interested in reading this book, because it appeared to combine my love of scuba diving with my love of dystopian fiction. And it did…with a twist. The divers weren’t diving in water, in fact water was scarce. The divers were diving through sand. It was clear that the author has at least a basic understanding of diving equipment, but of course twisted things such that the equipment was used for diving through sand. I thoroughly enjoyed the dystopian future, the family drama, and the hints of love and romance.

 

Books in Progress:

The Tools of Argument: How the Best Lawyers Think, Argue, and Win by Joel Trachtman

The House by the Lake by Ella Carey

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

 

Books Abandoned:

None.