March Reading List

March has brought with it an endless winter, and while I am SO READY for it to be done, it has also brought a lot of cozy nights of reading! This month I managed to work my way through seven books (although I’m still working on the 7th, I’m going to go ahead and review it today).

As always, all these are linked to my Amazon affiliates account, so if you do purchase a book through this link, Amazon pays me a small portion (we are talking like 3 cents here, don’t freak out).

I read some goooooood books this month. And some completely meh ones. There were none that were terrible, so that is good!

10% Happier by Dan Harris

Dan Harris is a big-time reporter and journalist who has spent his whole life trying to figure out how to manage his high-stress job. He tries smoking, drugs, women, more work. He is cynical and a self-proclaimed asshole, and that is how he makes his job work. Eventually, he begins reporting for a story on meditation and while he thinks it is absolutely kooky, he is hooked. And he finds that it works for him, and makes him about 10% Happier in life.

Ok, so I liked this book. It doesn’t have anything that would appeal to me (written by a male in a high-stress job, who has no religious bearings in the world and who tries meditation- literally none of that is even remotely similar to my life), but I enjoyed his writing style and a peek into the life of a big news journalist. He writes with a lot of humor and honesty which I can always relate to. I did also enjoy his conclusion in that sometimes the best thing to do is to slow down and focus. I am not much into meditating, but I did take some points from him and think more about just sitting quietly in prayer or focus on Scripture. Overall, I liked this book, and I’m not sure why. I’m hesitant recommending it because I don’t really agree with meditation as a secular concept, nor would I take much advice from this guy. But in the end, I did enjoy it!

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.

Woah. This book. Woah.

This book chronicles the true life story of Ishmael Beth, a boy soldier from Sierra Leone. When civil war ripped through his country, he spent years running away from the gangs and the soldiers who were recruiting young men just like him. Finally, the soldiers caught him, handed him a gun, “trained” him to kill the rebels and let him loose. He spent of the most formidable years of his life ruthlessly killing others until he was rescued and taken into a safe home. Even at the safe home, PTSD and the war follow him, and he struggles to ever live a normal life again. Eventually, his journey leads him to America (via the United Nations) where he comes to live and share his story.

Woah. I highly recommend this book, because the story is so heartbreaking and gut wrenching, and it gave me more awareness of the world outside of the United States. This book was, however, extremely graphic. The details of killing others and being on the front lines of war were ones that I could have done without (and I’m aware of the absolute luxury that I get to choose that or not). Overall, it was a powerful story that was worth reading, although not very well written and very graphic.

A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

I’ve had this on my reading list for a while, because I think it’s important to read the classics. This is a very short essay on the grief that C.S. Lewis faced after his wife passed away from cancer. I enjoyed being able to see inside the heart and mind of such a great Christian leader in the faith, and knowing that he struggled with questions and emotions, too. This is a book that I will be tucking away to pull out again when the grief of the world threatens to overwhelm me. Still, it was random for me to read at this time in my life and a lot of it went over my head a bit.

Balancing It All: My Story of Juggling Priorities and Purpose by Candace Cameron Bure

Woah, girl…PREACH IT! I really didn’t know that Candace Cameron Bure was such a strong believer, but this memoir of hers was laced with so much Scripture and God’s standards that I was really impressed! She tells her whole life story, admitting that she doesn’t balance it all, but that she strives for what is good and right. I could tell from reading this that she is a very sweet and genuine person, but it sometimes came across as really, really preachy or even a bit self-righteous. This is more a reflection on me than her, but sometimes it’s hard for me to take “advice” from people who have everything in life- money, job, success. It’s easy to say “be content in life!” when you make millions, it’s a little harder when you live under poverty level. Does that make sense? Overall, it was a sweet book that I would recommend, especially if you are a fan of Candace Cameron Bure!

Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

Listen, I’m not a comedian. I have mad respect for anyone who can make their living telling jokes. Especially when you don’t relay on jokes about sex, race and religion. Jim Gaffigan is one of those comedians who is naturally funny and manages to stay within the bounds of general respect for humanity. However, I do think that he needs to stick to comedy and not writing a book. I enjoyed the book, but it was basically a compilation of his comedy sketches. I think I would have preferred to listen to them out loud than read them. I found myself snickering here and there, but never full out laughing, and I actually quit this book before I got to the end because I felt like I had read enough and was done with comedy sketches. He talks a lot about parenting and marriage so I for sure could relate to a lot of that! Like I said, I would have really enjoyed this if I was listening to him speak, but it fell a little flat in book form.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about this book! Eleanor is completely fine- she goes to her office job and returns home, she has her routine down and she doesn’t need anything besides her job, her food and her routine. Until she begins to build relationships with those around her and finds that there is more to life than her routine. This book really spoke to me as a foster parent- Eleanor was raised by a deranged mother and then taken into foster care after a traumatic experience that destroyed her family. As she has grown into an adult woman, she has missed out on love, care and the general ups and downs of relationships. This was a sweet story with a lot of twists and turns and an uncharacteristic plot (the two main characters are a male and female, but they never have romantic love, just friendship). Overall, I enjoyed the plot and the story line, but it was a really sloooooooooow book for me. The ending was a bit dramatic after the slow-moving plot and I found myself slightly confused, almost like an editor insisted on throwing a plot twist in on the very last page and it just fell flat to me (anybody else feel this way?)

The Far Away Brothers by Lauren Markham

This book has completely changed my thinking on the immigrant crisis here in America. This book is about two identical twins (and the 10 other members of their family) as they flee from the gang wars in El Salvador and pursue a life “Up North” in America. From the horrors of the journey, to working to obtain legal papers, to making bad decisions as unaccompanied youth with no one to help them. I found this book just real and raw. There was no push towards politics in this book, per se, just a lot of facts and I learned A LOT about the illegal immigrants in our country. It gave me a lot more compassion than I previously had, and encouraged me to brainstorm ways that our country can do better in this area, while still maintaining the protection that our country is known for. It’s a really interesting issue, and I highly recommend this book to anyone who has strong opinions on illegal immigration, or for anyone who knows nothing about it. A powerful read!

And that’s it for March! April is a really busy month for us, so I probably won’t get nearly as much reading done this month. Still, I have some books coming up that I’m really excited to read! What are you reading now?