March Madness, Book Edition

So while everyone else is watching their brackets, I’m still reading away!

I am happy to have even more books this month than either of the previous, but am not sure it really counts, since March is longer than February and I actually didn’t finish one of the books I put in my log, so maybe March and February are tied at 15 each. I read even more graphic novels this month, and ventured slightly more into nonfiction as well! Hopefully more nonfiction is to come, as I’ve chosen to focus on Biographies for my Young Adult Lit class’s Special Project.

So, Top Pick: Probably The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Hugo is actually just absolutely lovely and everyone should read it. It combines books and clocks and movies in a way quite unexpected and beautiful. It’s a weird crossover between novel and graphic novel, which makes it almost like a silent movie (which, no spoilers, is really cool given the content). It’s a quick read, and I definitely stayed up late two nights after work to knock it out! One of these days I will get around to watching the movie as well…

Worthwhile reads: Amelia Lost and Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX. These are both nonfiction titles for middle grades that I really enjoyed. Amelia Earhart is downright inspiring (if bullheaded and – at times – a bit foolish) and this book does a good job of highlighting her pioneering bravery without idolizing her. Let Me Play resonated with me personally, as both a high school and collegiate athlete, and an advocate for women’s education. Most people don’t realize how recent of a development Title IX is, or even what it is. I learned a great deal about the amount of effort and fighting it took by the women in Congress to even get this amendment to the Equal Rights Amendment considered in the 1970’s, and the amount of fighting they’ve had to do to keep it there! So, for all the women doctors, lawyers, and athletes you see: thank Title IX. The women of today are able to do so much more than those even one or two generations before us.

Other memorable books this month: The Price of Salt, which I read after seeing CAROL – I’m still comparing them, so if you have thoughts, please send them my way! I hit up some more graphic novels: Long Walk to Valhalla, which I quite enjoyed, Stitches (thanks April, for the suggestion!), and Persepolis, a graphic memoir of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. I struggled to get through fantasy title Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and found both Bone Gap and Going Bovine a little wacky for my taste. But, I am happy to have read 32 of the necessary 50 for one of my classes, and am already making a list for summer, when I’m back to free choice!