2018 Reading Challenge | March

Well, I was hoping for as much momentum to reach my goals this month as I had in January and lost in February, but it did not manifest. As you can see from my Goodreads list (which I have been staying on top of!), I’m currently reading multiple books, which I will talk about in addition to those I’ve finished. I also want to mention that April is my blogiversary – so I have a few things in the works that I hope you’ll come by to check out. I’ll be posting tomorrow with more details, but before then, here is my March Reading Challenge Wrap-Up.

Books I Read in March:

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan – I did a re-read of this book for Patricia MacLachlan’s birthday (March 3rd), and what a joy it was. If you haven’t read this tiny book, and/or are in need of a light, hopeful story, I recommend doing so.

The Last Equation of Isaac Severy by Nova Jacobs – I am SO glad I added this to my Book of the Month box (I also chose Rainbirds by Clarissa Goenawan, which I haven’t yet read), because this book is exceptional. The premise, the surprises, the pace, the writing, it was all fantastic.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng – This was also a Book of the Month pick, from September of last year. UGH why didn’t I read it sooner! I stayed up until 1AM on Thursday to finish this book, and loved every angsty, hopeful, real part of it.

Books I Did Not Finish in March:

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – Oh, this book. I’m actually writing this very post during a break from reading Little Women; I’m hoping to have it finished by this weekend or early this week, so it will be going on April’s Wrap-Up.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – I’ve been reading this before bedtime (I’m not sure which re-read this is, maybe fifth or sixth?) for the past couple of weeks (not every night), and it’s really been helping me kick back on watching TV before bed. I will never get bored of this book, I am sure of it. This will also be be going on my finished list in April.

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman – I am enjoying this book, I’m just not finding it as much of a page-turner as I expected, so I’m reading it quite slowly. It’s one of my Book of the Month backlog books so hopefully I’ll finish it for April.

The English Wife by Lauren Willig – Alright, so this is also a BOTM backlog book, but in this case, I am officially DNF’ing it. For now, anyway. I have gotten almost halfway through it, but I just can’t get invested in the characters. I put up a poll on my Instagram to see if people agreed that I should DNF it or keep reading (in case the story picked up closer to the end), and the three people who responded clicked on DNF (thank you @tahjhebert, @anhistorianabouttown, and @izbookish). Meanwhile, I was searching and reading some blogger book reviews for this book, and found one in particular that had me thinking I should pick it back up and read on. Miss Bates and I exchanged a couple of comments, and I’ve decided to check out some of Lauren Willig’s other books, then return to The English Wife later on. So I will keep you updated.

Books Added to My Bookshelf in March:

Rainbirds by Clarissa Goenawan

The Last Equation of Isaac Severy by Nova Jacobs

Books I Am Keeping:

Every single one. I love the books I read, and while I considered unhauling The English Wife, I’m going to give it another chance before giving up.

Books I Am Not Keeping:

See above.

Alright, April, you are going to be busy and chaotic, but I’m already ahead in my scheduling and have written a couple of posts to publish, so I believe April will also be fulfilling. Extra Vitamin D and walks outside will definitely help with this.

I hope you, reader, have a great April too. Share your goals for the new month and March updates in the comments below, and thank you for stopping by. Happy reading!

-Kelsey

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