Show Us Your Books March 2023

February was a short month, but I fit in a lot of good books. I’m dreaming of outdoor reading season starting soon. I’m starting to get tired of reading under a blanket season. It’s on my to-do list to start fixing up my reading porch this week.
Here’s what I read last month.

Five Stars

What The Moon Saw by Laura Resau -- I loved this book so much. I just finished and have a big case of the warm and fuzzies.

This book is about fourteen year old Clara discovering herself when she leaves her suburban Maryland home to visit her grandparents in rural Mexico. I wish they had it on audiobook so I could listen to it with my kids in the car.

Four Stars

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo -- This was an excellent audiobook read by the author. In just a few hours she covers religion, immigration, first generation Americans, romance, parent child relationships, and so much more.

The Puma Years by Laura Coleman -- I enjoyed these memoirs of a woman working at a nature preserve in Bolivia. I like cats of all sizes and I learned about the issues facing the jungle and animals that live in it. I got this free at some point from Amazon First Reads, and I noticed it‘s still free on Kindle Unlimited.

Murder in the High Himalaya by Jonathan Green -- A heartbreaking but fascinating story contrasting the lives of high priced adventure tourists and Tibetan refugees in the Himalayas around the time of the Beijing Olympics.

Ivona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley -- What a fun book. Strangers on a Train if Maeve Binchy wrote it.

Three Stars

All Roads Lead To Austen by Amy Elizabeth Smith -- This is a memoir by a woman who spent a year holding Jane Austen book clubs in various Central and South American cities. I enjoyed the insights into how different cultures reacted to some of my favorite books more than the details about the author‘s love life, but overall this was a good read.

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This is linked to Quick Lit on Modern Mrs. Darcy.

My Back To School Reading Routine

When the school board announced that we would be full time remote this fall at least I knew a little bit what I was in for. I have learned so much about my kids and their work habits in the last seven months, and I wasn’t about to kid myself about what kind of time on my part supporting their learning would take. However, unlike the spring I was not about to let myself go this time.

I really wanted to find a way to get back into my reading projects, primarily my non-fiction interests. In before times I used to read non-fiction on the metro while commuting into work.

I NEVER KNEW HOW MUCH I WOULD MISS A COMMUTE I COMPLAINED CONSTANTLY ABOUT.

So I made the decision that I would get up even earlier and do what I could to recreate commuting conditions in a more sanitary way. It wasn’t easy to trade sleep for me time, but after a few weeks I’ve settled in. When I first wake up I replace my walk to the bus with stretching, strength training, and basic yoga. Then for 45 glorious and silent minutes I read non-fiction. It has made a huge difference to my mental health to spend that time in the morning when my thinking is clear learning about things that have absolutely nothing to do with my kids or my job.

This is what’s working for me right now. Someday I’m sure life will change again, and I’ll need to find some other way!