Wednesday, May 27, 2020

What I'm Reading! March Books

So March is when the world hit the brakes. Our schools ended on March 13th and we began sheltering in place the next day. I had ALL THE FEELINGS in March. I couldn't sleep, I wasn't eating great, I couldn't focus on anything. It was just a MESS. However, I did read a TON of books this month. FIVE of them were Audible books, though. HA! I needed someone to read to me, I guess!

Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey
This one feels like SUCH a long time ago. I gave it 3 stars. It was a cute book about a girl who is waiting for the perfect man to come along and sweep her off her feet. (Tom Hanks is who she considers is perfect - the man he plays in all of her favorite movies - he doesn't actually appear in the books.) However, while she's waiting someone else comes along and shakes her up. It was a cute, easy rom-com and it has a sequel coming out that I will likely read. It wasn't my favorite, but was EASY and that's what I needed. It would be a perfect beach book.

Congo by Michael Crichton
Here I go again with my Crichton obsession! (I don't have any more of these coming up so you're safe from them for a while!) Congo is an excellent story, in my opinion. It does closely follow the movie in many ways, if you've seen it. Deep in an African forest a group of American geologists suddenly go missing. Their co-worker, Karen Ross, is sent to Africa to try to find them. She coerces Peter Elliot and his gorilla, Amy, to join her. Amy has been drawing things that they cannot understand and Peter thinks taking her to the Congo may unlock something for her. I really enjoyed this book!

A Grown-Up Guide to Dinosaurs by Ben Garrod
This was another Audible Original which was more of a podcast and less of a book. It was full of dinosaur facts and figures and elaborates on a lot of things we learned as a kid. It was well-done, but not necessarily my favorite and unless you're SUPER into dinosaurs, I'd pass on this one.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
The boys and I started the Harry Potter series on Audible last summer and we have sloooooowly been working our way through all of them. Unfortunately, because we are never in the car anymore, we haven't had much time to finish these! We did finish Goblet of Fire back in March and I think James declared it his favorite so far. I'm really excited that the boys are getting to be old enough to finish up the series and watch all of the movies!

Open Book by Jessica Simpson
Ohhhh. I didn't know what to expect with this one. Jessica Simpson was such a bubblegum airhead when we watched her show back in the early 2000s. Bless her heart, y'all. She's come a long way AND had a really rough (celebrity) life! From being molested as a child to her problems with alcohol, she laid it all out on the line! Now, I am curious whether all of it was true because Nick Lachey's wife called her out in a lie she supposedly told in an interview, but she did not make herself look good in this book. If she's lying, it wasn't to make it look prettier! I really enjoyed her tell-all. If you were a fan in your teen and college years, it's definitely worth a read!

Don't Miss It: Parent Every Week Like it Counts by Reggie Joiner and Kristen Ivy
This was a QUICK listen on my Audible app one afternoon while I was cleaning the house. Reggie Joiner and Kristen Ivy are leaders from Orange, the curriculum our church uses for children and youth activities. I've attended two of their conferences and had the privilege of meeting both of them in person. They are wise leaders! This particular book was all about the time between birth and graduation and how we need to be sure we are making every second count. There are many books that spin off of this one for parenting the stages, but this is the central one that pulls it all together. We use an app from Orange called Parent Cue that will tell you exactly how many weeks you have left at home with each child (it's RUDE and painful to see that number!) as well as topics you should be covering with your kiddos each week in order to make the most of your time.

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
Hmmm....this tell-all by Carrie Fisher was INTERESTING. It was mostly narrated by the author and I enjoyed listening to it. Carrie shares all about the time surrounding making Star Wars and coming into stardom on her own. ALL the drugs and alcohol, poor decisions, and she even answers the question of whether her alleged affair with Harrison (Carrison?) Ford was real. I enjoyed it! It was interesting to learn about all of the behind-the-scenes goings-on.

Whew! Well, that was March. I'm almost caught up!!!

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