Well, we have not stopped reading, we just stopped posting apparently.
As you all know life has dramatically changed in these last couple of months and as much as it might feel like it’s a perfect time to read, write and let yourself be absorbed in the fantastic worlds created by others, rarely does life meet presumed expectations. Though I can’t speak for Haddi, I will say for myself the turmoil and uncertainty of the last few months has stifled the creativity I give to my hobbies. Meaning, every ounce of creativity I have been granted in this life is going to entertaining my children, pastoring in a completely new and different way every single day and getting through each day a little bit better than the day before. So, though I have been reading, it has definitely slowed down and writing? Well that has all together stopped.
BUT, here I am on a lovely Saturday afternoon after having done some exercise so I have a few extra endorphins floating around so I thought I would do my monthly “round up” which is actually two months of books, cause yeah…never quite got February’s done in March ;).
In February I was able to read a total of 11 books…not all shown above obviously. I think my favorites were Pumpkinheads a graphic novel by Rainbow Rowell which led me to Eleanor and Park which is a hands down fantastic books as far as I’m concerned. Pumpkinheads was the graphic novel winner of Goodreads Choice Awards of 2019 and it was delightfully sweet yet honest.
On the other side of the spectrum but just as powerful and worth your time is Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper. This book has been on my shelf for years and to my chagrin it toke me way too long to read it. I actually listened to it on Audible, read by the author and it was bananas good! I have the book as you can see and I kept it in my car so I could highlight and make notes when I parked because there is SO MUCH HERE! In the midst of reading it informed my preaching and my thought around hope and what it means to change, really change a system.
And then came March 2020. Yep, it has been and probably will always be remembered as the dumpster fire, but I did get some reading done in the midst of it. This month was a total of 7 books, six of which are shown here. It was an odd mix of work, fiction and non-fiction this month. A few standouts that others might also like:
- Educated is worth your time. I’ve read it twice now and didn’t regret either reading.
- If you are a lover of Pride and Prejudice and enjoy creative takes on it, Heartstone was fun and a great read to get lost in during the worst of this dumpster fire.
- Home, the second in the Binti series…so so good. These are more novellas and I am simply loving them. Glad I have them in my library and will go back to them time and time again.
So here we go….INTO THE UNKOWN (hahah…if you get it, you get it). April has arrived and I have many a book on my shelf waiting to be read and many a thought in my head waiting to get out. We’ll see if they succeed or not. I hope you all are well and safe. And here’s to happy reading…even in the midst of a pandemic.
Hannah
