March is a busy reading month on Booktube with some intense challenges like the Irish Readathon, March Mystery Madness and March of the Mammoths. I decided to forego all of these this year and to engage only in Middle Grade March, a challenge to read six middle grade books. Right up my alley.
My March Word of the Month
Fascinating
My March Haiku of the Month
Brighter days squeeze me
between two nights, in sunlight –
renewal of life.
Bible Verse of the Month
Prepare your outside work, make it fit for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house.” – Proverbs 24:27
My March reading diary is at the bottom of this page, after the book list.
My Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/lindajm
☆ – I own the book and am ready to read.
★ – I’m reading it.
✓ – I finished reading it. Yay!
⇗ – Still reading at the end of the month.
DNF – I did not like it or finish it.
∅ – Stalled – I started but didn’t finish.
↓ – I didn’t even start. Complete fail!
Books I want to read in March
First, there are a few books from my February list that I’m not done with yet.
★ History: The World Rushed In: The California Gold Rush Experience, by J.S. Holliday
This nonfiction history based on gold rush journals will take me multiple months to get through. I’m reading this because I love learning about California history and because it is the thickest book I have right now… it is for 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #41 – The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list. My plan is to read at least 4 pages daily so I should be able to finish in three or four months at that rate.
✓ Juvenile Fiction: Genesis Begins Again, by Alicia D. Williams
A lovely novel about a 13-year-old girl who doesn’t know she’s beautiful. What’s really sad is the obsession with skin color. She thinks she’s too dark, and has actually gotten that message from adults in her life. It is tragic, and definitely something I, as a “white person” really haven’t given much thought to… although as a child I was miserable because I was so freckled. I can see why a child might obsess, but I think it is terribly sad for a dark girl to wish herself to be lighter complected. Really sad. At some point we have to own who we are and deal with it. I hope this book will end with her finally figuring out that black is beautiful.
∅ Christian: The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren
Holdover book from January. I love listening to Rick Warren’s Daily Hope in the morning. He’s a great teacher so I want to read his book. I’m fitting this into the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge as prompt #18: A book about a subject you are passionate about. I’m passionate about being a Christian. This is a 40-day devotional but I’m not able to read it at that speed. I hope to finish it by the end of the year!
★ Classic Fiction: Go Tell It On the Mountain, by James Baldwin
I may have read this before, when I was a teenager. I remember reading two James Baldwin books then, but can’t remember what they were. I think one was The Fire Next Time and this might have been the other one. I’m reading this for the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #17 – A book that has the same title as a song. I started reading this in February but put it on hold so two other Booktubers can read it with me. We’re doing a buddy read as soon as they get their copies of the book. [Later] I’m still waiting for my Booktube friend to get his copy of the book, so this reading is on hold, but still planned.
★ Juvenile History: George Washington’s World, by Genevieve Foster
This is the longest book on my Newbery reading list so I wanted to get started early in the year and don’t expect to finish this month. I read only about four pages daily.
Middle Grade March
My focus in March will be to read these middle grade novels. Middle Grade March is a Booktube event.
✓ Juvenile Fiction: The Brave, by James Bird
This is the Middle Grade March group read this year. It is about a half-Ojibwe boy and is an Own Voices novel. [Later] What an incredible, amazing novel!! Loved it. Here’s my Goodreads review of The Brave.
✓ Juvenile Fiction: Savvy, by Ingrid Law
The second prompt for Middle Grade March this year is to read a book with a strong family (or found family). [Later] It was a fun reading experience. Here’s my Goodreads review of Savvy.
✓ Juvenile Fiction: The Corn Grows Ripe, by Dorothy Rhoads
The fifth prompt for Middle Grade March this year is to read a book written (or set) in the decade you were born
✓ Juvenile Fiction: Turtle in Paradise, by Jennifer Holm
The third prompt for Middle Grade March this year is to read a book featuring a journey or adventure. [Later] I had issues with this book. It seemed the premise was that people are bad but with struggle you can live through it. The children were mostly unpleasant. The first chapter of the book is titled “Rotten Kids” and you continue to meet unkind people throughout the book. The only person truly likable was “Slow Poke” – a fisherman – but he had problems too, and nothing seemed resolved in the end.
✓ Juvenile Fiction: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly
The first prompt for Middle Grade March this year is to read a book with a silhouette on the cover.
✓ Juvenile Fiction: Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine
The fourth prompt for Middle Grade March this year is to read a retelling (or book with a fairytale vibe)
Anything else to read in March?
In case I finish the Middle Grade March books, here is a book I’d like to read.
DNF – Historical Fantasy: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab
I didn’t read it in February. Maybe I’ll get to it in March? I’m reading this for the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #11 – A book about forgetting. [Later] I DNF’ed the book after the first few chapters primarily because it was depressing and because I found out it includes sex scenes which I do not like reading. Also the main character rebelled against God and made a pact with an “evil god” whatever that was. For me, that made her an unlikable character I didn’t want to read about.
✓ Historical Fiction: Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell
I’m audio-reading this novel for PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #8: A book that has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction. It is about William Shakespeare’s family. Hamnet was his son.
A Year in Mitford
I’m taking up the #ayearinmitford challenge. I’m a few months behind so I need to read all these books in March to catch up with the group on Booktube.
✓ Christian Fiction: At Home in Mitford, by Jan Karon
I’m meeting Father Tim and his friends and acquaintances in Mitford! Here’s my Goodreads review of At Home in Mitford.
✓ Christian Fiction: A Light in the Window, by Jan Karon
A love story…
✓ Christian Fiction: These High Green Hills, by Jan Karon
More Mitford adventures.
Gardening!
I’m reading gardening books because I have a desire to renovate my 1/2 acre with God’s help starting with developing the landscaping as suggested in Proverbs: “Prepare your outside work, make it fit for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house.” – Proverbs 24:27
★ Gardening: The Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture, by Rosemary Morrow
I’m learning to create sustainable environments through closed systems designed for permanent agriculture development. I have other gardening books to explore as well, but am starting with this one.
https://lindajomartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/organic-gardening-no-dig.jpg
https://amzn.to/2OL35aq
★ Gardening: Organic Gardening the Natural No-Dig Way, by Charles Dowding
This is how I’m planning to create my garden… using the “no dig” system of Charles Dowding.
My March 2021 Reading Diary
March 1 – And here we go again! I’m nearly finished with Genesis Begins Again and started The Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture. I also read most of chapter one in The Brave. I worked on my March TBR video while exhausted… not a great idea, but it is done. Here’s my February wrapup video that was published today.
March 2 – I’m trying to finish Genesis Begins Again and am on page 228 right now, out of 364 pages. I will have to do a video review of this book! Today I read chapter two in The Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture and reached a set of “things to do” so I’m taking a step back, trying to decide how I’ll handle the activity sections. I definitely want to forge ahead with hands-on permaculture studies! I reached page 100 in The World Rushed In which is about the California gold rush. I also read a few more sections in part two of George Washington’s World by Genevieve Foster. Last night I started listening to the audiobook version of The Invisible Life of Addie Larue. The video is my March TBR.
March 3 – I’m getting a lot of reading done on the various books I already mentioned. This evening I finished reading Genesis Begins Again and will replace that with The Brave. It is a longish middle grade book. Because of the length I want to get through it first, before the other middle grade novels. I hope it doesn’t hang me up.
March 4 – I got plenty of reading done today. I’m making progress on reading The Brave; I’m in chapter six now. I also started reading Savvy today. I just couldn’t wait any longer. The main character is a girl named Mississippi and her brothers are Fish and Rocket! This will definitely be a fun reading experience. I decided to DNF my audio-read of The Invisible Life of Addie Larue because it was depressing. It involved a girl making a stupid deal with an evil “god” of some kind, forcing her to live eternally on earth with everyone forgetting her the moment she was out of sight. She was not a likable character. The audiobook is 17+ hours long and I didn’t want to spend that much time with her. I returned the book to Audible and downloaded Hamnet and will start that tonight.
March 7 – I’m only three chapters into Hamnet (a drop in the bucket) but like the writing style. Yesterday I participated in a group reading sprint session hosted by Krista for Middle Grade March. I’m only fifty pages from the end of The Brave now. Great book. Also, I’ve decided to switch most of my TBR for the PopSugar Reading Challenge to Newbery books, insomuch as I can. I’ve also decided to participate in a year of reading the Mitford series. I’m seeking cleaner literary entertainment.
March 11 – I finished reading Savvy last night. The last few days I dropped everything to race through Savvy and At Home In Mitford which turns out to be very entertaining and amusing despite not having a clear plot. I got the audiobook version and am audio-reading at 160% speed. The reader was very slow and I need to get through it fast. The group I’m reading with is already on book 3 in the series so I need to read the first three (long) books in March! I’m currently in chapter 18 out of 24 in the first book.
March 12 – Last night I finished reading At Home In Mitford and downloaded the second book in the series, A Light in the Window. I also started read The Corn Grows Ripe yesterday. It is a short middle grade novel about a Mayan boy working to help feed his family after his father is injured. Yesterday I also got a copy of Organic Gardening the Natural No-Dig Way by Charles Dowding and read chapter one. This is the method I’m planning to use for much of my landscaping and vegetable gardening.
March 13 – This morning I finished reading The Corn Grows Ripe and will go on to reading Turtle in Paradise, my next book for Middle Grade March.
March 14 – This is the second time I’ve tried to read a book by Jennifer L. Holm. About ten years ago I DNF’ed one of her books. Now I’m reading another one that isn’t sitting well with me. Turtle in Paradise is about children living in Key West, Florida in the 1930’s in what seems to be squalor. The older boys have a business of taking care of little babies for their mothers by wrapping up the babies and walking around the town with the babies in their wagon. I am shocked, really, that mothers would give up their babies to the care of tween-aged boys for a few hours. No way would I do that!! Life in Key West in the 30’s must have been considerably different than today. This book is based on the author’s family remembrances. I am cringing. The protagonist opened up the refrigerator and a scorpion fell out! This is not an easy read for me.
March 15 – I’m getting methodical about my reading. There are two things I want to complete before the end of the month: (1) The first three books of the Mitford series, and (2) Middle Grade March. I divided the chapters by sixteen… as I have sixteen more days in the month. According to this method I need to read at least two chapters daily in the Mitford series, and at least five chapters in the middle grade books I have left to read for this month. Philippians 4:13. (More meaningful, I think, if you’ve read the Mitford books… but it is my verse of the year as well.)
March 16 – I finished reading Turtle in Paradise, but I don’t recommend it. I started The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and so far am enthralled. There’s a lot of nature observation going on in the first two chapters. It is keeping my attention easily!!
March 18 – I just finished the second book in the Mitford series and am starting on the third, These High Green Hills. I’m also enjoying (very much!) my reading of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate – aiming for five chapters daily.
March 19 – Still reading. I’m focusing more on reading than on video making this month.
March 20 – Just for fun today I used a spinner and a random number generator to choose what book to read and how many pages to read in it. Great fun – the joy of randomness. Besides the Bible (which always comes first) I had eight concurrent reads to pick from.
March 21 – Happy first day of Spring!!! I finished reading The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and started reading Ella Enchanted. This is the last of the six middle grade novels I planned to read for Middle Grade March this year.
March 23 – Lots of reading is going on under my roof these days, though sometimes it happens in the van at the park or at the wayside rest, or wherever I end up. Sometimes I read in the driveway of my former dwelling. Fiction, nonfiction, gardening books and more.
March 24 – I finished reading Ella Enchanted. What a great book! I want to keep going with Juvlit (my new term for juvenile literature whether it be picture books, middle grade or YA) so I started reading When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller, the 2021 Newbery Medal winner.
March 25 – Today wasn’t my best reading day ever, however I did read a large chunk of The World Rushed In – about the California Gold Rush. I finished chapter four. The first nine chapters are about William Swain’s journey from New York to California. There are three chapters about his experiences here in my home state, than one chapter about his journey home via Panama.
March 26 – The buddy read of Go Tell It on the Mountain has begun! I’m doing this with Allan and Barb. Today we read the first part. I have so much respect for James Baldwin’s writing skills. Phenomenal. He may not be saying what I want to hear, but he’s a master at expressing himself. Or I should say, he WAS, since he’s no longer with us. I also started reading a children’s novel to a neighbor… Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary. Then I learned she just died at the age of 104. So strange I got her Ramona books yesterday, and suddenly she’s gone. I do hope to read all eight books. I may have to read ahead of my neighbor as she only wanted half a chapter today and I don’t know how well this will go. Two of the books are Newbery Honor Books that I need to read for my Newbery list reading project. Also today I finished reading These High Green Hills, third book in the Mitford series by Jan Karon… and attended a YouTube Live session with the organizers of the Booktube “A Year in Mitford” readalong project. Not only all that – but I found out that tomorrow the county will start removing rubble from my property. They did the two properties next to mine today. Mine will be done tomorrow and on Monday.
March 27 – Here’s something strange. I just ordered a boxed set of the 8 “Ramona” books and got them in the mail on Thursday the 25th. Then today I found out that was the day the author, Beverly Cleary, died at the age of 104. So sad I’ve never read those books before, and I start at the time of her passing. I’ve read chapter one of the first one now (read part of it to a girl who lives near me) and I was laughing… actually laughing about some of the situations in that chapter. I think these books are going to be good for me. Two of them are Newbery Honor Books I need to read for my Newbery project so that was one of my motivations for buying the set.
March 28 – I finished reading Hamnet today (awesome novel) and reviewed it on Goodreads. Also, started listening to an audiobook of Paddle to the Sea – a juvenile book that is only an hour long! I remember seeing this book long ago. This evening I had my first buddy read chat session with Allen and Barb about Baldwin’s Go Tell It On the Mountain… a semi-autobiographical novel about a 14 year old boy who always thought he’d become a preacher, now having second thoughts and wanting to explore the world. He is indoctrinated by his parents into a strict Pentecostal type storefront church in Harlem, called Temple of the Fire Baptized.
March 31 – I’m happy that this month I finished most of what I planned. I did DNF one novel and don’t regret that. I’m still finishing up with my buddy read of Go Tell It On the Mountain. My copy of the novel is an audiobook and I have only about an hour left on it (part 3 of the book). I finished the six middle grade novels and the three Mitford novels. My long-term nonfiction books, I’m still plugging away at them. Overall it feels like a very successful reading month!
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