Only five books and two films for March - work and illness both getting in the way - but March also saw this reader do some incredible traveling. From Salem in the days just before witch hysteria took over, to the broiling desert-like wastelands of the Australian Outback where a dead body is found next to a monument grave, to journeying back in time to the day of being a snark-filled kid dealing with bullies and hated teachers, to a young Japanese boy's childhood crush potentially growing into full love as a man, to a Victorian England manor home plagued by witchcraft and demons ... March was the final confirmation I needed that it had been a long, LONG time since I'd read a book that caught me heart and soul. A book that kept pulling me back like a mermaid's song whenever I had to put it down, had me squawking out loud at/to characters while reading - or even force me to set it aside for a day or two because I knew what was coming and didn't want it to happen.
March taught me again, at last, why I love books in the first place. The worlds the right ones can take you away to, the escape from your every day life because you are caught up in the lives of those on paper; those on paper whom, through a writer's hard work and talent, seem as real to you as your best friend or next door neighbor. March reminded me of why I read, and why I feel sad to the point of hurting for those who don't. It's not about escape, it's about adventure. You can travel across worlds, time, and dimensions via a good book. Unlike enjoying a movie, with books you make the commitment to know and hang with the characters for a length of time - something watching a film wouldn't allow. You become invested, even addicted. For the first time in years I have found myself with book hangover, not once but twice in March alone! Even the graphic novel I just finished, my first book for April, resonated with this cynic and left him pining for such a romance as depicted in it.
Please click on the images to enlarge, if you need to see them better. This was my March, which BIG-TIME made up for quality anything lacking in quantity. The Lost Man still haunts my thoughts, hoping Nathan and his family are all okay and staying that way - and even after finishing The Silent Companions maybe ten days ago now, I still check any shadow that so much as flickers out of the corner of my eye.
Reviews to come for those not already on here. Meanwhile, I know if you are even on this blog chances are you are already a reader - just please always encourage your own friends, family, and especially kids to read. If a parent, read to children when they're young and get them hooked. And always keep striving to find books that suck you into their world and won't let go ... because oh, the places you'll go!
Bring it on, April!
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