Amy Scott's Thoughts

Bookish Thoughts for March

You’ll notice some themes or common groupings amongst the books I read this month. The first centering on C.S. Lewis. I finished Surprised by Joy last month and wrapped up my book club for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at the beginning on March. I picked up a copy of Once Upon a Wardrobe from the library and it was the perfect book to follow-up the previous two I mentioned. It was a work of fiction that summarized Surprised by Joy beautifully and the focus of a young boy on the inspiration for Narnia was enchanting. Spoiler Alert: The book is sad, but also beautiful. I hope to add it to my home library someday! It’s one I can see myself reading again.

The next group revolves around Jane Austen. I have a confession to make… I like Jane Austen things much more than I like reading Jane Austen books. A movie based off her books? Sign me up. A book based off of her books? Yes, please. I feel guilty I didn’t actually read any Austen this month, but I loved reading books inspired by her work. Both The Austen Escape and Austenland feature destination vacations where the characters are immersed in the world of Austen. Curiosity got the best of me and I watched the movie version of Austenland. Of course, the book was much better. I also watched Persuasion (2022) on Netflix.

Both Katherine Reay and Roseanna M. White had new releases this month. (The Berlin Letters for Reay and A Noble Scheme for White.) This inspired me to reread some favorites by these authors. I read Yesterday’s Tides by White last month and I decided to find her main character’s minor role in The Codebreakers series. I love it when authors overlap their worlds and I find familiar characters making appearances. Reay and White are go-to authors for me. If they write it, I will read. It was a treat to have new releases from both of them this month!

The final bookish highlight of my month was a Goodwill book haul! A friend invited me on a kid-free shopping adventure to look for books at Goodwill. So many friends share their Goodwill finds and I’m always envious. I tried to book shop there once, but I had my whole family in tow and I just couldn’t focus. It was a total bust. Apparently, going kid-free was what I needed to succeed. The funny thing is I only purchased kids books. So even without my kids, it was still all about them. It’s always satisfying to get a good deal on a huge stack of books!

Top Picks for March

The Book List for March
1 Star = I did not like it. 2 stars = It was okay. 3 stars = I liked it. 4 stars = I really liked it. 5 stars = It was amazing.

Non-Fiction:

• Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith by Sarah Bessey – 2 stars
• The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction by Meghan Cox Gurdon – 4 stars

Fiction:

• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis – 5 stars
• Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan – 5 stars
• The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh – 4 stars
• Austenland by Shannon Hale – 4 stars
• The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown – 3 stars
• A Groom of One’s Own by Emma St. Clair – 3 stars
• The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay – 4 stars
• The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay – 4 stars
• The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay – 4 stars
• A Noble Scheme by Roseanna M. White – 4 stars
• The Number of Love by Roseanna M. White – 4 stars
• On Wings of Devotion by Roseanna M. White – 4 stars
• A Portrait of Loyalty by Roseanna M. White – 4 stars

P.S. Happy Easter! He is risen! He is risen, indeed!