March 2020 was the month the world turned upside down for most of us. Reading helped me to stay afloat!
I managed to keep up with most of my reading goals: some nonfiction, some books from around the world, and something from my own shelf, the results of which you can see below. An immersive fantasy trilogy also seemed like a really good idea, and I plunged back into the world of Robin Hobb’s Farseer trilogy. But my interest lagged by the third book, so I’m looking for another venture.
What books are helping you to cope right now?
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Reviews
- For March Magics, I appreciated anew the wonderful works of Terry Pratchett and Diana Wynne Jones: in particular, A Blink of the Screen and The Homeward Bounders.
- I found The Body Keeps the Score to be an important book for anyone interested in the understanding and treatment of trauma — a topic that touches all of us, especially now.
Other Books Read
In Pursuit of Disobedient Women by Dionne Searcey – Reading All Around the World- Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
- The Book of Forgiving by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu
- The World I Live In by Helen Keller – Back to the Classics
Other Features and Events
- I asked Are there too many books?
- I summarized my progress in the Reading All Around the World project.
On my other blog, Entering the Enchanted Castle
- I shared my experience of the musical Les Misérables – Do you hear the people sing?
- Some thoughts on finding bread in the wilderness – Our daily bread
- And on the question Can health also be contagious?
Shared in the Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and the Monthly Wrap-up Round-up hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction
The Emerald City Book Review Archive 
It was indeed a crazy month. I hope all goes well for you and yours!
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It’s going all right so far. We’re in for a long ordeal, though, it looks like. All the best to you as well.
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Like so many others, I’ve been reading The Mirror and the Light. No matter how bad things get, so far they don’t get worse than Tudor England, where people were still being burned alive for not professing whatever beliefs were proscribed at the moment.
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prescribed!
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Mantel is great at giving that non-whitewashed view of the past. Helps to keep things in perspective.
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Happy April, stay safe!
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Thanks Freda, you too!
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An immersive fantasy trilogy also helped me through March (well, it’s a four book series). Three Dark Crowns is young adult fantasy, which isn’t my usual read, but I find it the perfect escape that I could use right now. I am waiting not-so-patiently for my turn with my library’s digital copy of the third book in the series… Here’s hoping April looks a bit better than March for all of us.
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Hope springs eternal…
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Romance novels are helping me cope at the moment! I read Kit Rocha’s forthcoming book, which I loved, so now I’m hoping to start going through that author’s backlist — she has like twelve books, which is great for me. 😀
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Ooh, I love finding an author with a big backlist to work through! Enjoy.
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Are you enjoying Hobb’s Series? It was a favorite for me when it first came out. I followed it for many years, but I still need to read the last two books. It makes me happy any time I see these books around the blogosphere!
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I liked Assassin’s Apprentice a lot. Royal Assassin was pretty good too, although I was not wild about the romance with Molly. But Assassin’s Quest lost me after the first quarter or so. I wanted more about the Wit and the Old Blood community, but that was soon left behind and the “quest” dragged on so long that I got bored. I skipped to the end just to find out what happened and that was quite unsatisfying as well. I notice from Goodreads comments that many find this the worst book in the series, so I may give Hobb another chance at some point. What are your favorites in the series?
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I read these books right after high school (in the early 90s when they came out), so I have to confess that I don’t remember details from the individual books—I just remember that I loved the series as a whole, and I loved Robin Hobb as a writer. (I also remember liking Molly and Fitz together—if you’re not a fan of them, I can see why you’re not crazy about the books.) I’ve been thinking lately that I’d like to listen to the originals so I can finish the new trilogy.
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Molly and Fitz actually don’t get much time together in these three, particularly in Quest where Molly is seen only in “dream sequences” (which I found rather a cop-out as a plot device) and ends up married to someone else. I know from reading the summaries of future volumes that they do get together eventually, so that might be more interesting. If and when I get around to reading them, I’ll find out!
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Oh, of course! I remember now—I remember feeling gutted when she got married—but that meant I was very invested in them. 🙂
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Oooft, good on you for being able to stick with your reading goals. I find I’m reading a lot less (probably because I overcommitted to reading rather heavy, dark, depressing books when my book-loving soul is crying out for some more uplifting stories right now), but we persevere! Hope you’re keeping safe and well and the good reading streak continues x
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I know, overcommitting is a danger I try to avoid. I’m glad my categories are pretty open and can include uplifting literature. Not sure I’ll get to Heart of Darkness any time soon…
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Lory, I am pleased to hear that reading helped to keep you afloat in these crazy times we’re living in. I have found with our current situation, that I have had to switch to lighter, shorter reads, and when I have read anything longer it has been slightly magical and I have found it best to just focus on that one book. Happy reading in April! 🙂
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Lighter and shorter reads have been helpful, I agree.
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Oh gosh, March was crazy. It was good in the beginning and then the world went insane. It’s a weird adjustment…I didn’t read a ton in March, but I think I’m getting more of my concentration back so April has been off to a good start.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
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I’m glad you’re able to concentrate more. We’re going to need a heck of a lot of concentration to rebuild after this insanity … Good luck with everything!
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I’m happy to read that you are doing well and still enjoying reading. It took me a couple of weeks after the stay at home order to figure out a new routine to keep my anxiety down most of the time anyway. I happened to have a similar pandemic book to read for review and delayed that until I could make sense of my new world. I did enjoy the book, but have decided to read more contemporary middle grade and YA now to escape.
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Thank you Danielle. Yes, I wrestle with anxiety too but books are helping. We are lucky to have choices and to have much comfort and reassurance available to us.
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