March Books

Here's a quick recap of the books I read in March.  I seem to be getting a lot of recommendations from Sharon's blog lately.  In the first three months of this year, I've read 17 books, which puts me on track for almost 70 for the year.  It definitely helps that I have a lot of books on my list to read and also that the kids are sleeping more consistently, which gives me a few hours most evenings to read.  E Ben often goes out when the kids are asleep while I stay home, curled up on the couch with a good book.  We're both happy with that arrangement...

14. (3/5) Secrets of Eden (Chris Bohjalian) - I read Midwives (by the same author) a few years ago and really enjoyed it.  I picked this book up off the shelf when I was at the library a few weeks ago, something that I almost never do, and I’m glad that I did.  Although I guessed the ending pretty early on, I don’t think it was very obvious and I enjoyed reading the different points of view.  Well done social drama mystery novel.
15. (3/12) Troubled Waters (Sharon Shinn) - This was a recommendation from Sharon.  I loved it!  This is exactly the kind of fantasy novel that drags me along with it into a new world with new rules and a new way of thinking, which somehow seem to make sense immediately.  I read almost the whole book on a flight from Portland to New York, and the rest of it (late) the next night.
16. (3/14) Something Borrowed (Emily Giffin) - My sister loaned this book to me for my flight home from New York.  This is her favorite author, and there is a strong similarity with her other favorites, like Jennifer Weiner.  This was a fun read, and when I finished it with an hour to go in the flight, I started again from the beginning (which was a lot more meaningful the second time around).
17. (3/26) South of Broad (Pat Conroy) - I didn’t know that Pat Conroy had a new book out until I read about it on Sharon’s blog.  I’ve read a few of his other books, and I think this is one of the better ones.  I do have to chuckle every time certain themes reappear (as they do in every book of his I have read): overuse of the word “damaged”, twin characters, food preparation, the healing power of spending time on the water, Southern culture being so different from the rest of the country/world.  I did enjoy it, however, and would recommend to people who liked his earlier novels.