Today I’m sharing what I’ve been reading this month. I’m including a book that even made me cry!
March was a great month in terms of reading for me. I read so many great books from all different kinds of genres, from celebrity memoir to historical fiction to thriller to non-fiction. This was one of those times when I just kept picking really good books. There wasn’t a bad one in the bunch.
The Nightingale
My favorite book that I read this month was The Nightingale (affiliate link) by Kristin Hannah. It follows the story of two sisters in France during WWII and it’s aftermath. I’m a huge fan of historical fiction, so I figured I would like The Nightingale. The writing was great which was a nice surprise. It was the first book of Kristin Hannah’s that I’ve ever read and I know I’ll be reading more of her books because I liked this one so much. In fact, this was my favorite book of 2021 so far.
There are a couple really sad parts in this book. I knew going into it that there would probably be characters who died in the book, which I was right about. It made me realize again how terrible war is and how people suffered in so many ways in WWII. This is the book that made me cry. The only other two that have done that to me were The Book Thief and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
Tidelands
Like I mentioned above, historical fiction is one of my favorite genres of books to read. I’ve read most of Philippa Gregory’s books with the exception of just a couple. I put Tidelands (affiliate link) on hold at the library and was super excited to be able to read it when I got the email that it was available to be picked up.
This one was a bit different from Philippa’s other books. Instead of the main character being a royal, she’s a poor woman raising two teenaged children on her own. Tidelands is the first book in a series. That was pretty clear in the way that Tidelands ended. The ending felt a bit rushed and kind of sudden. Needless to say I was a bit disappointed with that. I did like Tidelands enough to read the next book in the series though.
Open Book
I’m usually not into celebrity memoirs (I think this is the first one I’ve ever read), but I was intrigued by Open Book (affiliate link) by Jessica Simpson. I remember watching the reality show she had on MTV with her ex-husband Nick Lachey back in the day. Just about everyone knows about the chicken of the sea conversation she had with him. I really liked how honest she was with the different things she’s experienced in her life – both good and bad.
While I know that being in the entertainment industry puts a lot of pressure on people to look a certain way, I didn’t realize it was so overwhelming. Hearing the things that Jessica was told about her body was heartbreaking. I have no idea how I would react if I was told similar things. Being in the public eye and having your body and everything you do scrutinized would be really tough.
Her One Mistake
I can’t remember where I heard about Her One Mistake (affiliate link) by Heidi Perks, but I’m so glad that I did because I really enjoyed it. The premise of the book is that one mom babysits another mom’s daughter. She takes her to the school fair along with her own children. The daughter manages to disappear no one saw her wander off or be abducted.
It was one of those books that kept you guessing about what was going to happen next. I didn’t want to put it down – I kept telling myself just one more chapter. It was a quick fun read. I have her second book, Three Perfect Liars (affiliate link), on hold at my library. I’m really looking forward to reading it.
The Wizard of Lies
I’m currently finishing up The Wizard of Lies (affiliate link) by Diana B Henriques. I first heard about this book while I was listening to the American Scandal podcast. They did several episodes about Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme and mentioned Diana Henriques’ book. I put it on hold at the library thinking it would be interesting to get more details about what happened. This book was really readable. I knew that there would be a lot of discussion about the stock market and lots of financial stuff. To be honest it’s not an industry that I know a lot about, so I didn’t think I would understand all of the details. I was pleasantly surprised that she made it relatively easy to understand and I could follow everything that she wrote about.
I have about a hundred pages left to go, but so far the big thing I’ve learned is that Bernie Madoff was so good a lying to just about everyone. Even after he was arrested he wouldn’t be honest with the investigators and lawyers. It was shocking to me that lying seemed so normal for him and he did it so easily. I probably should be so surprised about that. My understanding is that it’s still not really known when the ponzi scheme started. He just lied so much and falsified so much paperwork.
What did you read this month? Share your favorite book in the comments below.
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