March Favorites
I had quite a few five-star favorites in March.
This wasn't a memoir as the title suggests, but a retrospective collection of the author's essays, along with a couple of new ones. I disagreed with some of her thoughts on Catholicism (I bristled when she suggested divorce could be a sacrament), but I really admire Patchett's writing and there were quite a few pieces in this collection I would want to read again.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
I completely understand the hype for this book, and for the audio version narrated by Tom Hanks. I could not put it down.
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vol. 2 by Bethany Brower
I am trying to take this series slowly because I don't want it to end! I love the unique setting and characters and the diary format.
The Confessions of St. Augustine by Augustine of Hippo
I listened to the Catholic Classics podcast episodes which included readings from the Ascension edition of the book. I know I will get more out of it on a re-read, and I have another translation that I will try next time.
Betting on You by Lynn Painter
I had been meaning to try this YA romance author for a while, and this did not disappoint at all. This is an homage to When Harry Met Sally, and it works so well. The audiobook was also very well done.
One Writer's Beginnings by Eudora Welty
I was reading the physical book along with the audio of the original speeches that make up this book and I realized they were markedly different! I ended up counting them as two separate books and gave both 5 stars.
The Terrible Speed of Mercy: A Spiritual Biography of Flannery O'Connor by Jonathan Rogers
I, Julian by Claire Gilbert
This well-researched fictional biography of St. Julian of Norwich is beautifully written and it has a gorgeous cover, too.
Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler
This is another hit from one of my favorite authors. The family at the center of the story is one of the most memorable from any other Tyler's books.
Hotels like Houses by Sophie Hannah
I discovered this poet through an Instagram post and looked up some of her books. She's my new favorite!
Read-Aloud and Homeschool Books
- The Cottage at Bantry Bay by Hilda van Stockum (4 stars)
- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (5 stars)
- Getting Started with Latin: Beginning Latin for Homeschoolers and Self-Taught Students of Any Age by William E. Linney (5 stars)
Middle Grade March
- The Kate in Between by Claire Swinarski (4 stars)
- Annie's Life in Lists by Kristin Mahoney (5 stars)
- Ferris by Kate DiCamillo (4 stars)
- Smoky the Cowhorse by Will James (4 stars)
- Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith (4 stars)
- Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan ( 3 stars)
- My Own Lightning (Wolf Hollow Book 2) by Lauren Wolk (3 stars)
- Greenwitch (The Dark is Rising Book 3) by Susan Cooper (4 stars)
Sequels and Series Books
- Meet the Malones (Beany Malone Book 1) by Lenore Mattingley Weber (4 stars)
Stand-Alone Books
- Ashes by Anthony Mancini (4 stars)
- Elodie's Library of Second Chances by Rebecca Raisin (4 stars)
- Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke (3 stars)
- What Now? by Ann Patchett (5 stars)
- I Remember Nothing: and Other Reflections by Nora Ephron (4 stars)
- Prayer Primer: Igniting a Fire Within by Thomas Dubay, S.M. (2 stars)
- Love in Tandem by Becca Kinzer (4 stars)
- Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett (4 stars)
- I Feel Bad About My Neck, And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron (4 stars)
- Poetry Comics by Grant Snider (5 stars)
DNF
- Just for the Summer by Melody Carlson
- How to Plot a Payback by Melissa Ferguson
Family Reading Lists
M. (girl, 10 years, 4 months old)
- Yesterday's Daughter by Helen Fern Deringer
- The Exploits of Xenophon by Geoffrey Household
- The Spartan's March by Benjamin Hulme-Cross
C. (girl, 8 years, 6 months old)
- The Marquis de Lafayette: Bright Sword for Freedom by Hodding Carter
- The Story of Thomas Jefferson by Earl Schenck Miers
- The Story of Benjamin Franklin by Enid La Monte Meadowcroft
- The Story of Martha Washington by Jeannette C. Nolan
E. (6 years, 5 months old)
- Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill by Maud Hart Lovelace
- Muggie Maggie by Beverly Cleary
- Our Little Macedonian Cousin of Long Ago by Julia Darrow Cowles
R. (boy, 4 years old) and A. (girl, 4 years old)
- One Lighthouse, One Moon by Anita Lobel
- The Greedy Sparrow by Lucine Kasbarian
- Time for School, Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
- That's Good, That's Bad by Joan Lexau (especially A.)
- Curious George series by H.A. Rey
- Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site series by Sherri Duskey Rinker (especially R.)
- Sam and the Mitt by Leslie McGuire (R. only)
- Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss (R. only, select pages)
My husband
- Sailing to Cythera, and Other Anatole Stories by Nancy Willard
- The Island of the Grass King: The Further Adventures of Anatole by Nancy Willard
- George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster
- Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace
- Greenwitch by Susan Cooper
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