March Reading Wrap Up

I did not blog much in March and it was a pretty hectic month in general. Everyone at home fell sick with some viral infection and that wasted a lot of time. But the good thing is that I got more time to read because of sick days. I read a total of 5 books and 2 tiny books which I read to my son in March. It was a great reading month as most of the books I read were 5 star reads.

The books I read in March 2019 are –

1. Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin – 5 stars

This book broke my fiction reading slump and ended up as my first favorite read of 2019. It’s amazing and I have a full review for the book here.

2. Where’d you go, Bernadette by Maria Semple – 5 stars

I read two 5 star books back to back. What can be better right? I loved this book so so much! I can’t wait to watch the movie adaptation coming out this year. This book is about Bernadette who goes missing just before the day they are supposed to be embarking on a family trip to Antarctica and then her daughter Bee searches for her missing mother. It has a great representation of someone with depression and postpartum depression.

I hardly cry when I read books but this book got so emotional towards the end. I literally had tears in my eyes as my mom is my best friend too. I cannot imagine not having my mom at my side, supporting me in everything. I could so relate to Bee missing her mom as I currently am missing my mom by staying in another continent away from her. The book got so interesting after Bernadette goes missing. I was dying to know what happened to her and kept turning pages.

It was hilarious and emotional at times. The humor in this book reminded me of Cold Comfort Farm. If you liked CCF, you will like this book.
My favorite scene: emotional scene where Bee’s father and Bee talk about Bernadette sitting outside a shop. Don’t want to spoil the scene by being too descriptive.

I also liked the part about Antarctica. We have been thinking about making a trip to Antarctica ourselves so I enjoyed reading about their trip.

3. A Man called Ove by Frederick Backman – 3.5 stars

I picked this book only because I saw someone compare Ove with the old man in UP animated movie. I love that movie and the main character in that movie a lot. And I agree with that comparison after finishing the book. It’s like someone wrote a book on the same old man from the movie.

The book was well written but everyone is too good and unrealistic sometimes. I mean, world is not full of nice and helpful folks. There are sadistic, mean people too who use others when they need and are selfish in nature. So I dislike books like these which paint a happy picture always. Life is not this simple and it is not as hopeful as the book portrays. I got bored sometimes because there wasn’t much going on in terms of plot and all the bad things that happened to Ove were too sentimental to read sometimes.

I think people who like to read sentimental sad stuff will like this book. Or those who like cheesy books like Guernsey potato peel pie book will also like it.

I loved all the characters especially Ove. I liked how a person who wants to commit suicide finds someone to live for. I have mixed feelings overall. But I am not sure I want to read other books by this author.

4. Budgeting 101 by Michele Sagan – 5 stars

Wish I had read this book or something similar many years back. Still it’s not too late to get a hold on our finances I guess. Best book on personal finance I have read so far. Very comprehensive and to the point. I am trying to implement budgeting as part of my minimalism journey and want to minimize expenses so this book was really helpful in that regard. I accidentally saw this book in my local library and then ended up buying my own copy.

5. I know how she does it by Laura Vanderkam – 5 stars

I saw Shanaya Tales review this book and I was intrigued so downloaded a copy to see if it was any good. After reading couple of chapters, I was really impressed with the author. I even saw her Ted talk after that. This was a very useful book with lots of good advice and tips for managing time efficiently. From last few years, I have been debating about quitting my job because of mommy guilt. This book made me realize that it is possible to manage both home and work and we doesn’t have to sacrifice one for the other. So even without considering her tips to manage time, it was motivational. I am now planning to implement some of these tips in my life. The best advice I got was to look at 168 hrs window instead of the 24 hrs as we always do.
I highly recommend this to women with demanding jobs.

6. and 7. Fascinating tales from Panchatantra and Fascinating Tales from Panchatantra by Om Books – 4 stars

I read these books with my son. They are good stories about animals. I am counting these here as they were chapter books with 80 pages or so. I don’t count picture books in my goodreads challenge but chapter books are different and I spend more time reading those.

I have started reading Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon and will be finishing it in April. April is going to be a good month as we are hosting a readalong for that book on our Facebook Scifi/fantasy group. If anyone is interested in joining the readalong and the group, let me know in the comments.

So what did you read in March?